MATLAB, an interactive software system for solving matrix problems, has a module especially for control system problems. This text describes the features of the CSAD Toolbox, a set of MATLAB M-files created by the authors to help students solve control system problems encountered in third- and fourth-year courses. The book is intended only as a supplemental text, and the authors assume that a current version of MATLAB is available to the students along with documentation.

After short chapters on installation and some details of the user interface to CSAD, the second part of the book has a chapter reviewing the mathematics of control systems, then one chapter each on state-variable, time-domain, and frequency-domain analysis. The final chapter discusses the design of some specific types of controllers. Each chapter in Part 2 ends with exercises.

Since it is a supplemental text with software, this book may be difficult to fit into the design of a course. The best fit would seem to be a course in system design for students who have already had one or two courses in control systems and are familiar with MATLAB. The discussions of theory are clear but short, and would have to be supported by another, more detailed text or previous coursework. The examples and exercises are well chosen to illustrate the different functions of the CSAD software.

The software itself is a set of functions that aid the student in setting up and analyzing systems. Many of the functions are menu-driven so the student can repeat procedures with different parameter values. For example, the function svstuff can perform a number of operations on single input/output systems, returning to a menu to allow the student to modify the system. While this capability and much more have long been available with special-purpose system design software, CSAD is a simple addition to MATLAB, and should be easy to learn for students already familiar with MATLAB and its module for control systems.