MATLAB is software originally developed as a matrix library that has since added numerical, symbolic, and visualization tools. It allows users to write scripts called m-files to perform calculations and analyze data. Built-in functions include trigonometric, exponential, rounding, and display formatting functions. Plots can be generated by providing x and y data to the plot command. Polynomial roots and solutions to systems of equations can be found. Control structures like for loops are used to iterate calculations.