This text is an introduction to MATLAB as a technical programming language. It is written to teach students how to write clean, efficient, and well-documented MATLAB programs. Stephen Chapman emphasizes top-down programming methodology and encourages students to think about the proper design of a program before beginning to code. The book is carefully structured to provide the students with programming practice boxes that highlight good programming practices, boxes that detail common pitfalls in MATLAB programming, as well as numerous programming exercises and examples. The book is design to emphasize how to take advantage of MATLAB's unique functionality and write reliable MATLAB programs. Students are taught how to use MATLAB as a programming language and how to locate any desired function with MATLAB's extensive on-line help facilities.