CMPSCI 689: Machine Learning, Spring 2015

p0: Intro to MATLAB and EDLAB

Step 1. Obtain MATLAB

For all your programming projects you will need access to MATLAB. It is simple to learn if you already know Java,C++ or Python.

First you need to get hold of a working copy of MATLAB. You may either:

• Get it via your lab (one of your machines may have it).
• Purchase a student copy from MathWorks. Get the MATLAB suite which costs 99$ and includes various toolboxes. The image processing toolbox is particularly useful when dealing with images.
• Access MATLAB via EDLAB by remotely logging in to the instructional machines. More information on how to create an account can be found here.

Step 2. Learn basic programming in MATLAB

MATLAB is great for prototyping and visualization which is why we choose it. There is a free alternative to MATLAB called Octave which is similar and may be used instead. However, I can't guarantee that the starter code will work with Octave. Here are some useful resources for getting started with MATLAB:

• MATLAB for ML by Piyush Rai @ Duke
• MATLAB tutorial and learning resources from Mathworks.
• Writing fast MATLAB code by Pascal Getreuer.