How can I solve an ODE in Matlab (2008a)

I have an old version of Matlab (2008), when I try to create an ODE function and solve it, it does not work and errors appear as follows:

>> syms y(t)

??? Undefined function or method 'syms' for input arguments of type 'char'.

>> y(t) = dsolve(diff(y,t) == t*y)

??? Undefined function or variable 'y'.

In fact,this is a simple example to practice solving this type of equations. I want to solve another equation in the form of:

(dq_Pl (t))/dt = f_(Pl,T) R_T N_(T,0) e^(K_GR t) + f_(Pl,H) R_H N_(H,0) - k_El q_Pl (t)

I want to know the basics of solving such ODE's.

Thanks,

[Star Strider]

Do you have the Symbolic Math Toolbox?

In the Command Window type:

ver

If you have it, it should appear in the list.

---------------------------

Assuming that you have it, then, type either:

help dsolve

or:

doc dsolve

to get the relevant information on how to use the function.

[Esraa Abdelkhaleq]

Thanks for your help. It showed that dsolve not found. Is the Symbolic Math Toolbox unique to all Matlab versions, or each version has its own toolbox. I have older Matlab version (2008).