Preface xv
Finally, Chapter 12 explores topics of interest in digital communications, computer control, and digital signal
processing. The aim of this chapter is to provide a brief presentation of topics that students could pursue after
the basic courses in signals and systems.
TEACHING USING THIS TEXT
The material in this text is intended for a two-term sequence in signals and systems: one on continuous-time
signals and systems, followed by a term in discrete-time signals and systems with a lab component using MAT-
LAB. These two courses would cover most of the chapters in the text with various degrees of depth, depending
on the emphasis the faculty would like to give to the course. As indicated, Chapter 0 was written as a necessary
introduction to the rest of the material, but does not need to be covered in great detail—students can refer to it as
needed. Chapters 6 and 11 need to be considered together if the emphasis on applications is in filter design. The
control, communications, and digital signal processing material in Chapters 6 and 12 can be used to motivate
students toward those areas.
TO THE STUDENT
It is important for you to understand the features of this book, so you can take advantage of them to learn the
material:
- Refer as often as necessary to the material in Chapter 0 to review or to learn the mathematical background;
to understand the overall structure of the material; or to review or learn MATLAB as it applies to signal
processing.
- As you will see, the complexity of the material grows as it develops. The material in part three has been
written assuming good understanding of the material in the first two. See also the connection of the material
with applications in your own areas of interest.
- To help you learn the material, clear and concise results are emphasized by putting them in boxes. Justi-
fication of these results is then given, complemented with remarks regarding issues that need a bit more
clarification, and illustrated with plenty of analytic and computational examples. Important terms are
emphasized throughout the text. Tables provide a good summary of properties and formulas.
- A heading is used in each of the problems at the end of the chapters, indicating how it relates to specific
topics and if it requires to use MATLAB to solve it.
- One of the objectives of this text is to help you learn MATLAB, as it applies to signal and systems, on your
own. This is done by providing the soft introduction to MATLAB in Chapter 0, and then by showing examples
using simple code in each of the chapters. You will notice that in the first two parts basic components of
MATLAB (scripts, functions, plotting, etc.) are given in more detail than in part three. It is assumed you are
very proficient by then to supply that on your own.
- Finally, notice the footnotes, the vignettes, and the historical sidebars that have been included to provide a
glance at the background in which the theory and practice of signals and systems have developed.
