Chapter 2

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Get started with Matlab
Explore the Matlab windows
Solve some problems using Matlab
Learn how to save our work

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In Windows or Apple operating systems click on
the desktop icon

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 Matlab uses a standard
windows menu bar
Current To exit Matlab use the
Directory MATLAB Windows
close icon

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Matlab uses several different windows to
display data, commands and results.
They are not necessarily all open at once

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You can use the command window much
like you’d use a calculator
The standard order of operation rules
apply

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Similar to a scratch pad
Once you hit enter, you can’t edit any
commands
You can retype them or use the arrow keys to
retrieve commands and edit them before hitting
enter again

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Records the commands you issue in the
command window
When you exit the command window, or when
you issue the clc command, the command
window is cleared
But the command history remains

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You can transfer commands from the command
history to the command window
◦ Double click on a command
◦ Click and drag

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Keeps track of the variables you’ve defined
◦ Name
◦ Value
◦ Class
◦ Size
◦ Bytes
You may need to click on the name bar and
select size and bytes in order to see these
parameters

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 Scalar

Vector

2-D
Matrix

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The current directory window is a list of files
When you try to load information from a file or
try to save information – Matlab uses the
current directory

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 Scalar

Vector

2-D
Matrix

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If you double click on any variable in the
workspace window Matlab launches a
document window containing the array editor
You can edit variables in the array editor

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 Documet Window
Document Window

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When Figures are created a new window opens
It’s extremely easy to create graphs in Matlab

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 The semicolon suppresses
the output from each
command

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This window allows you to type and save a
series of commands without executing them
There are several ways to open an editing
window
◦ From the file menu
◦ With the new file icon

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 The semicolon suppresses
the output from each
command

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 Save and Run

Write your code in the editing window,

then run it using the Save and Run
icon

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We’ve already solved some simple
problems
We need to understand how Matlab
works to solve more complicated
problems

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MATLAB allows you to assign a value to a
variable
A=3
Should be read as A is assigned a value of 3
Use the variables in subsequent calculations

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All names must start with a letter
They may contain letters, numbers and the
underscore ( _ )
Names are case sensitive
There are certain keywords you can’t use

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iskeyword
ans =

'break' 'global'
'case' 'if'
'catch' 'otherwise'
'continue' 'persistent'
'else' 'return'
'elseif' 'switch'
'end' 'try'
'for' 'while'
'function'

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Matlab will let you use built-in function names
as variables – but it’s a really bad idea

sin = 3 changes sin from a

function to a variable name

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test
Test
ifx
x
my-book
my_book
x
Thisisoneverylongnamebutisitstillallowed?
x
1stgroup
group_one
zzaAbc x x
z34wAwy?12#
sin bad
log idea

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Group of numbers arranged into rows and
columns
Single Value (Scalar)
◦ Matrix with one row and one column
Vector (One dimensional matrix)
◦ One row or one column
Matrix (Two dimensional)

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You can use MATLAB like you’d use a calculator

Comman
d Prompt
>> 9 + 10
ans=19
Result

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To define a variable a we might type
a=1+2
which should be read as:
a is assigned a value of 1+2

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In algebra the equation
x=3+5
means that both sides are the same
In computers when we say
x=3+5
we are telling the machine to store
the value on the right hand side of
the equation in a memory location,
and to name that location x

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Yes!!!
In algebra this is not a true statement
x=x+1
In computers (assignment statements) it
means replace the value in the memory
location named x, with a new value equal to
x+1

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Same as you’ve learned in math class
Same as your calculator
◦ Parentheses first
◦ Exponentiation
◦ Multiplication / division
◦ Addition / subtraction

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5*(3+6) = 45

5*3+ = 21
6
White space does not
matter!!!
5*3 + = 21
6

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Use only ( )
{ } and [ ] mean something different
MATLAB does not assume operators

5 * (3+4) not
5(3+4)

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5*6/6* = 25
5
5*6/(6*5) = 1

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r = radius h = height
r=5 h = 10

π r2
2π r * h

π r2

SA  2r  2rh  2r ( r  h )

2

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Using Matlab as a glorified calculator is OK, but
its real strength is in matrix manipulations

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To create a row vector, enclose a list of
values in brackets

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You may use either a space or a
comma as a “delimiter” in a row
vector

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 Use a semicolon as a delimiter to create
a new row

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 Use a semicolon as a delimiter to create
a new row

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 Hint: It’s easier to keep track of how many
values you’ve entered into a matrix, if you
enter each row on a separate line. The
semicolons are optional

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While a complicated matrix might have to be
entered by hand, evenly spaced matrices can
be entered much more readily. The command
b= 1:5
or the command
b = [1:5]
both return a row matrix

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 The default increment is 1, but if you
want to use a different increment
put it between the first and final
values

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linspace
logspace

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 number of elements in
the array
Initial value in the Final value in the
array array

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 number of elements in
the array
Initial
Initialvalue
valueininthe
the Final value in the
array
arrayexpressed
expressed array expressed
asasa apower
powerofof1010 as a power of 10

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You can include mathematical operations inside
a matrix definition statement.
For example

a = [0: pi/10: pi]

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Matrices can be used in many calculations
with scalars
There is no confusion when we perform
addition and subtraction
Multiplication and division are a little different
In matrix mathematics the multiplication
operator (*) has a very specific meaning

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 Addition between arrays is
performed on
corresponding elements

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 Multiplication between
arrays is performed on
corresponding elements if
the .* operator is used

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Matlab interprets * to mean matrix
multiplication. The arrays a and b are
not the correct size for matrix
multiplication in this example
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Array multiplication .*
Array division ./
Array exponentiation .^

In each case the size of the arrays must match

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For example, assume you have a list of angles in
degrees that you would like to convert to
radians.
◦ First put the values into a matrix.
◦ Perform the calculation

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 Either the * or the .* operator can be
used for this problem, because it is
composed of scalars and a single
matrix

The value of pi is built into Matlab as a

floating point number, called pi

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Because pi is an irrational number, it can not be
expressed exactly with a floating point
representation
The Matlab constant , pi, is really an
approximation.
If you find sin(pi) Matlab returns a very small
number.

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The transpose operator changes rows to
columns or vice versa.

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 The transpose operator
makes it easy to create
tables

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table =[degrees;radians]’ would have given
the same result

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 The transpose
operator works on
both one dimensional
and two dimensional
arrays

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Scientific Notation
◦ Although you can enter any number in decimal
notation, it isn’t always the best way to represent
very large or very small numbers
◦ In Matlab, values in scientific notation are
designated with an e between the decimal number
and exponent. (Your calculator probably uses similar
notation.)

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 It is important to omit blanks between
the decimal number and the
exponent. For example, Matlab will
interpret
6.022 e23
as two values (6.022 and 1023 )

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Multiple display formats are available
No matter what display format you choose,
Matlab uses double precision floating point
numbers in its calculations
Matlab handles both integers and decimal
numbers as floating point numbers

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The default format is called short
If an integer is entered it is displayed without
trailing zeros
If a floating point number is entered four
decimal digits are displayed

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Changing the format affects all subsequent
displays
◦ format long results in 14 decimal digits
◦ format bank results in 2 decimal digits
◦ format short returns the display to the default 4
decimal digits

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When numbers become too large or too small
for Matlab to display using the default format,
it automatically expresses them in scientific
notation
You can force scientific notation with
◦ format short e
◦ format long e

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For long and short formats, a common scale
factor is applied to the entire matrix if some of
the elements become very large, or very small.
This scale factor is printed along with the scaled
values.

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 Common
Scale Factor

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format +
format rat

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The format command also allows us to control
how tightly information is spaced in the
command window
◦ format compact
◦ format loose – (default)
Most of the examples in this presentation use
format compact
Notice that the value of A is still
being displayed using the rat
format, because we haven’t
changed it back to format short

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If you save a MATLAB session, all that is saved
are the values of the variables you have named

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If you want to save to another format, such a
s .dat, you need to explicitly tell the program

save <file_name> <variable_list> -ascii

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If you want to save your work, you need to
create an M-file
File->New->M-file
Type your commands in the edit window that
opens

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The file is saved into the current directory
It runs in the command window

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Be sure to comment your code
◦ Add your name
◦ Date
◦ Section #
◦ Assignment #
◦ Descriptions of what you are doing and why

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The % sign identifies comments

You need one on each line

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Introduced the MATLAB Windows
Basic matrix definition
Save and retrieve MATLAB data
Create and use script M-files

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