Computer Explorations in Signals and Systems Using MATLAB
A comprehensive set of computer exercises of varying levels of difficulty covering the fundamentals of signals and systems. The exercises require the reader to compare answers they compute in MATLAB ® with results and predictions made based on their understanding of material. Chapter covered include Signals and Systems; Linear Time-Invariant Systems; Fourier Series Representation of Periodic Signals; The Continuous-Time Fourier Transform; The Discrete-Time Fourier Transform; Time and Frequency Analysis of Signals and Systems; Sampling; Communications Systems; The Laplace Transform; The z-Transform; Feedback Systems. For readers interested in signals and linear systems.
Why Read This Book
You should read this book if you want a lab-oriented, example-driven way to build intuition for signals and systems using MATLAB: you'll confirm analytic predictions with numerical experiments and visualizations. It translates textbook theory into practical exercises that make transforms, sampling, filtering and basic communications concepts concrete.
Who Will Benefit
Undergraduate or early-graduate students and practicing engineers who know basic calculus/linear systems and want hands-on MATLAB experience to deepen understanding of transforms, LTI behavior, sampling, and introductory communications.
Level: Intermediate — Prerequisites: Basic calculus and linear system concepts (signals, convolution), familiarity with complex numbers and basic probability; basic MATLAB skills are strongly recommended.
Key Takeaways
- Visualize and compute Fourier series, continuous and discrete-time Fourier transforms using MATLAB to connect analytical formulas with spectra
- Simulate and analyze LTI systems, impulse/step responses and convolution numerically to verify stability and system behavior
- Apply sampling and reconstruction principles in MATLAB to observe aliasing, anti-aliasing filtering, and practical sampling effects
- Use the z-transform and Laplace transform computationally to analyze discrete- and continuous-time system poles/zeros and stability
- Model and simulate basic communications signal blocks (modulation, filtering, sampling) to link system-level concepts with signals
- Experiment with time- and frequency-domain analysis techniques to build intuition for spectral analysis and filter behavior
Topics Covered
- Introduction and MATLAB primer / How to use the explorations
- Signals and Systems — basic signal types and operations
- Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) systems — convolution, impulse and step responses
- Fourier Series representation of periodic signals
- The Continuous-Time Fourier Transform (CTFT)
- The Discrete-Time Fourier Transform (DTFT)
- Time and frequency analysis of signals and systems — windowing and spectral estimation
- Sampling and reconstruction — aliasing and anti-aliasing
- Communications systems — basic modulation and demodulation experiments
- The Laplace transform and continuous-time system analysis
- The z-transform and discrete-time system analysis
- Feedback systems — block diagrams, stability and response
- Appendices: MATLAB scripts and functions used in the exercises
Languages, Platforms & Tools
How It Compares
More hands-on and MATLAB-focused than Oppenheim & Willsky's Signals and Systems (which is more theory-heavy); comparable in spirit to lab-oriented texts but with tighter focus on MATLAB experiments rather than textbook derivations.
