This text is an extensive revision of the author's highly successful text, Linear Systems Theory and Design. In the third edition, the author is revising his formerly more theoretical approach to the topic of linear systems, choosing instead a more general approach that will appeal to a wider audience. A key feature of the revision is the incorporation of MATLAB throughout the text, with an emphasis on the ideas behind the computation and the interpretation of the results. All theorems or results are developed in a logical way so that the reader gains an intuitive understanding of the theorems, contrasting existing texts in which the theorems are simply listed without explanation. The revised text will also begin with the time-invariant case and extend through the subject of time-variant case, although this section may be omitted upon the instructor's discretion. The result is a user-friendly approach to linear systems, striking a balance between theory and applications.
This new edition is geared for classroom use and engineering applications; therefore many topics in the original edition have been deleted, including strict system equivalence, deterministic identification, computational issues, some multivariable canonical forms, and decoupling by state feedback. It is intended for use in senior/first-year graduate courses on linear systems and multivariable system design in electrical, mechanical, chemical, and aeronautical engineering departments. The mathematical background assumed is a working knowledge of linear algebra and the Laplace transform and an elementary knowledge of differential equations. Because linear system theory is such a vast field, in the text, discussion has been limited to the conventional approaches of state space equations and the polynomial fractional method of transfer matrices. The text is appropriate for undergraduate students of linear systems and multivariable system design.