Designed for students in physics, engineering, and other disciplines taking a course on MATLAB® or Octave, this text presents the essential commands and structures that allow students to unlock the capabilities of MATLAB and Octave without having to understand too many technicalities. Given the similarities in syntax between both languages, the book shows students how to write code that can be used in both environments. The text assumes no prior programming knowledge, making it accessible to a wide range of students.