Numerical Methods with MATLAB: Implementations and Applications Numerical Methods with MATLAB:
Implementations and Applications

Gerald Recktenwald

© 2000, Prentice Hall
ISBN: 0201308606
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MATLAB programs (script and function m-files) and data files appearing in Numerical Methods with MATLAB: Implementations and Applications by G.W. Recktenwald can be downloaded from links on this page. The collection of m-files and data is referred to as the NMM Toolbox.

Contents


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Before downloading any of this material please consider two important points

1   This Material is Copyright © 1996 - 2007, Gerald Recktenwald, All rights reserved
 
  You may freely distribute these files for non-commercial educational purposes. You cannot charge for access to these programs.
2   You Assume All Risk Associated with Use of These Programs
 
  This material is provided "as is", with no guarantees, warranties, or promises that it will serve any useful purpose whatsoever. You, the user, assume any and all risk for the use of these programs, including any risk posed by their mere existence on any computer to which you transfer them. There. Is America great, or what?

Links to Download the NMM Toolbox


  Version Platform (format)   Size   Transfer Protocol  

 1.05Windows/Macintosh (zip)   320 K   HTTP Download   FTP Download
  Unix/Linux (tar.gz)   264 K   HTTP Download   FTP Download
  Macintosh (sit)   308 K   HTTP Download   FTP Download

 1.04Windows/Macintosh (zip)   340 K   HTTP Download   FTP Download
  Unix/Linux (tar.gz)   260 K   HTTP Download   FTP Download
  Macintosh (sit)   308 K   HTTP Download   FTP Download

 1.03Windows/Macintosh (zip)   340 K   HTTP Download   FTP Download
  Unix/Linux (tar.gz)   260 K   HTTP Download   FTP Download
  Macintosh (hqx)   460 K   HTTP Download   FTP Download


Installing the NMM Toolbox

Instructions for installing the NMM Toolbox are contained in the install.m file which is in the root directory of the compressed toolbox archive. You can view the instructions here, before downloading the toolbox.


Version Numbers

The most current version 1.04, hence the ``104'' in the names of the compressed archives. Version 1.04 was released on 2 February 2003. Version 1.03 was released on 20 August 2001.

Check the revision history for a list of changes in each verion of the toolbox.

Platforms and Compression Formats

The NMM toolbox is available as a single compressed archive or as individual files. The archives are specific to the kind of computer you will use to download and run MATLAB. By clicking on one of the links above, you will download the archive as a single, compressed file. Depending on how your web browser is configured, the archive may automatically decompress itself onto the hard drive of your computer. Otherwise you will need to use a helper application to decompress the archive.

You may as well download the complete archive appropriate for your computer. The archive is relatively small and downloading it now will save you the trouble of returning to this site each time you need another file. The archives will also contain the latest version of all of the m-files in the NMM Toolbox. On the other hand, if you wish to look at or download individual files there is a separate page containing links to each file in the archive.

Transfer Protocols

Depending on the state of the internet (and our server) you may have better luck transferring the files via HTTP or FTP, or vice versa. You only need to use one protocol. The files are relatively small so the transfer speed should not be affected on the server end. If you are using a modern web browswer to download the files, either protocol should work.

Installation Notes

After you download the archive to your computer and unpack it, read the Readme.m and install.m files.


A Note on MATLAB Version 6

In November 2000, the Mathworks released version 6 of MATLAB. In addition to a number of user interface and other changes, Version 6 is built with the LAPACK library. LAPACK is the state-of-the-art in production code for numerical linear algebra.

The use of LAPACK in MATLAB version 6 causes problems with some of the m-files in the NMM Toolbox. The problem is that flops function, which was built into MATLAB version 5.3.1 and earlier, is no longer available. The flops function provides an estimate of the number of floating point operations performed by a sequence of MATLAB statements. I use the flops function to compare the numerical efficiency of different algorithms for performing the same task. I finished the final page proofs of the book in July 2000, about four months from the official release of MATLAB 6. I found out about the removal of the flops function when I got a pre-release copy of MATLAB 6, but it was too close to the printing deadline for me to change all of the examples.

The affected m-files are those that demonstrate a particular concept. These m-files appear in the Examples in the text. None of the more general purpose m-files use the flops function.

I have a preliminary version of the NMM Toolbox that is compatible with MATLAB version 6. It is easy to strip out all references to the flops function. However, it is a bit more difficult to modify the functions so that the simple and obvious comparisons of computational efficiency can be made without the relying on flops. Even more time consuming is the development of alternative versions of the Examples in the text that explain efficiency in terms of flops. These are not intellectually difficult tasks, but it takes time. I am trying to balance the job of rewriting these Examples with my other responsibilities.

Note that the removal of the flops function has been met with some protest from the numerical analysis community --- the core of MATLAB's intellectual support. There is talk flops may return in future versions of MATLAB. I am not going to wait for this.

When it is complete, I will post a version of the NMM Toolbox that is compatible with MATLAB version 6. Until then, you can use the current version of the NMM Toolbox and ignore all those warnings that the flops function no longer available. I apologize for the inconvenience.


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