<p>Simulink is mind-blowing</p>
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<p>I agree! :)</p>
<p>Simulink with Stateflow takes you to another dimension. :D</p>
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And that’s what most work is.</p>
<p>The most important thing to know about ALL of these (MATLAB, C++, Excel, everything else) is that they are tools to be used; nothing more, nothing else. A hammer isn’t better or worse than a saw, but rather a different tool to be used to solve a different problem.</p>
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Couldn’t agree more. :)</p>
<p>Ask for a waiver and use Mathematica :D</p>
<p>Go with Matlab.</p>
<p>Use Maple if you are a Canadian. :p</p>
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I think he meant siddmax.</p>
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Very true, and they all have their limitations, and that in turn means that different people will see different levels of utility in each.</p>
<p>C++ is a full-scope programming language - it is extremely powerful and versatile, but is (to be honest) more than most engineers will really need. This came up at work recently, and out of dozens of EE’s, only a couple really remembered any C++ at all - it simply has not been worth maintaining when there are dedicated software engineers who live and breathe programming.</p>
<p>EXCEL is simple, cheap, and requires minimal training… but is really the least powerful. If you need to do something on a small scale and/or once, EXCEL is usually fine. But if you want to do it on a large scale, or do it repeatedly, it is not worth the hassle. Plus there are things that EXCEL simply will not do. I have seen a few engineers (mostly older) lay out complicated problems in EXCEL, but they are not well-liked in the company - it is simply a pain in the ass to troubleshoot and not very easy to modify. I was proficient in EXCEL long before I got into MATLAB, and the latter is much, much more to my liking.</p>
<p>MATLAB (and similar languages) are in the middle and are (IMO) the best match for most non-software engineers. It lets you do all the math you need using built-in functions, and does it quickly and efficiently both in programming and execution. It is widely understood in the engineering world and easily transferred, can handle very simple problems all the way up to the ragged edges where you must go to C++. I have been an engineer for all of 7 years now, spent ALL of it in MATLAB, and have yet to have any problems.</p>
<p>I would say that studying C++ is well worthwhile for an academic grounding, but MATLAB should be where you expect to spend most of your time. EXCEL should certainly be understood (note: learn functions AND macros!), but you will do yourself no favors by being dependent on it.</p>
<p>matlab is most useful at school, but c++ and excel is what most sought after when you are looking for a job.</p>
<p>If you can do stuff with vba i excel, you will be very popular at work. C++ is like a career in its own.</p>
<p>My program requires us to cover C++ and MATLAB (and technically two weeks spent in intro to engineering covering Excel, no vba though). I took the C++ class last summer and just finished up the numerical methods w/matlab class last Wednesday. I’m going to say I can already see how MATLAB is going to be the most useful tool for me going forward. That said, having already been exposed to programming concepts in C++ really helped with my confidence going into my MATLAB class. The most “structured” thing we did was for loops, but I definitely appreciate being able to compare and contrast syntax and formality.</p>
<p>To answer the OP’s original question, if you only have room/time for one class, take MATLAB. C++ and/or programming concepts can be self taught, but you may benefit from using a pre-defined lesson plan/instructor to answer questions.</p>
<p>speaking of MATLAB… Are we suppose to get a manual on how to use matlab while taking the course? At my university, they said no manual/booklet on how to use it and we have to memorize the functions?</p>
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And? Your university gets to set its own rules. </p>
<p>We had a manual but I never used it - the built-in help was enough, given that I already had some programming experience under my belt. And memorizing the functions should not be that big a deal, depending of course on how many functions you are expected to use!</p>
<p>If you need documentation for MATLAB, there is this web site:
[MATLAB</a> Documentation](<a href=“MathWorks - Site Temporarily Unavailable”>MATLAB Documentation)</p>
<p>Plus one for MATLAB.
And i will explain why it is so: I am computer science graduate and usually work with optimization and high load problems. At the moment i am good at any major programming language, but i choose Matlab for my solutions. The key reasons are: 1. You can easily manipulate the big data (import export stuff sucks in c++ or similar) - MATLAB has great GUI tools for that. 2) It is really easy to go for automated parallel computing 3) It’s super easy to debug and optimize because of parameter save step into and similar stuff. 4) It is not slower or even faster than C computing matrices!(in latest editions of MATLAB) 5) And more over you can easily build JAVA or C library with it.</p>
<p>The biggest pros so far is memory management, because it is restricted to fixed memory types of variables. I am now working with this <a href=“Matlab Assignment Help for Students”>http://www.homeworkhelponline.net/programming/matlab</a> company, so i’m out of monotony. But if you choose to become advanced in Matlab - you can easily find analytical jobs (at least related to electronics).</p>