MATLAB

Matrix Laboratory

Important!
You must include comments in your
programs you turn in - otherwise we will
have great difficulty knowing what you
are thinking and doing. You will have
difficulty knowing what you were doing
if you need to reuse the programs.

MATLABs 3 Windows
Command Window
- enter commands and data
- print results
Graphics Window
- display plots and graphs
Edit Window
- create and modify m-files

Now we have seen Command Window,

Graphics Window, and Edit Window
There is another window which is very useful:
the Help Window
You can also type help in Command Window
e.g.,
help input

MATLABs basic component is a matrix

i.e., all variables are treated as matrices
All operations are vectorized (optimized
for vector use)
Loops run much slower in MATLAB
than in Fortran (not a vector operation)

Scalar, vector, and matrix

Matrix:

1 2 3 4
a 3 5 7 9

2 4 6 8

m n matrix
m rows (m = 3)
n columns (n = 4)

Scalar: k = 5
11 matrix
Vector:

b 1 2 3 4
14 matrix, or
a row vector

1
c 3

2
31 matrix, or a
column vector

Variable
may consist up to 31 characters
starting with a letter and followed by any
combination of letters, digits, and underscores
(Variable names must start with a letter)
punctuation marks and spaces should not be
included
e.g., CVEN_302, TIME, Time, time, velocity, force_x,
force_y

Data Type
All numbers are double precision
Text is stored as arrays of characters
You dont have to declare the type of data
(defined when running)

Variables are case sensitive

e.g., CVEN_302, TIME, Time, time, velocity, force_x,
force_y

Arithmetic operation of scalars

Addition:
a+b
multiplication: a*b
exponentiation: a^b= ab

subtraction: a-b
division: a/b

Elementary math functions

abs(x) : absolute value
sqrt(x) : square root = x^(1/2)
sin(x) : sine
asin(x) : inverse sine
sinh(x) : hyperbolic sine
asinh(x) : inverse hyperbolic sine
log(x) : natural logarithm
log10(x) : common logarithm
exp(x) : exponental: ex (e = 2.7183.)

 a = 5;
b = 3;
a*b
ans =
15
d = ans * 3
d=
45
e = ans * 3;
e
e=
45
a^2
ans =
25

a/b
ans =
1.6667
format long
a/b
ans =
1.66666666666667
format short
a/b
ans =
1.6667

 exp(2)
ans =
e2
7.3891
10^2
ans =
100
log(100)
ln 100
ans =
4.6052
log10(100)
ans =
log 100
2
pi
ans =
3.1416

; - result not displayed

format long - 15 digits
format short - 5 digits
ans - result from previous calculation
pi -

Ctrl-c : terminate a running program

Array Operations
An array operation is performed element-byelement - Need . in front of the operator
MATLAB: C = A.B;

C(1) A(1) B(1);

C(2) A(2) B(2);
C(3) A(3) B(3);
C(4) A(4) B(4);
C(5) A(5) B(5);

Arithmetic operation of Arrays

Addition:
a+b
multiplication: a.*b
exponentiation: a.^b

subtraction: a-b
division: a./b
= ab

MATLAB variables and matrix operation

b 4 5 6
b = [4 5 6]
b=
4 5 6
c = [1
3
2]
c=
1
3
2

1
c 3

2

c = [1; 3; 2]
c=
1
; - a new line
3
2
d = c'
- transpose
d=
1 3 2

b 4 5 6

1
c 3

2

b*c
ans =
d 1 3 2
31
b.*d
ans =
b.*d = [4*1 5*3 6*2]
4 15 12
b./d = [4/1 5/3 6/2]
b./d
ans =
4.0000 1.6667 3.0000
f(2,3)
f = [b; d; [3 6 8]]
ans =
f=
2
b
4 5 6
size(f)
d
1 3 2
[3 6 8]
3 6 8

size - size of a matrix

Matrix Operation (conti.)

x 1 2 3 ;

y 7 9 4

z x y 1 2 3 7 9 4

u x ; y 1 2 3
7 9 4
s = [1 2 3 4; 5 6 7 8]
t = [1 2 3 4....
5 6 7 8]

continue

Colon Operator
Creating new matrices from an existing matrix
C = [1,2,5; -1,0,1; 3,2,-1; 0,1,4]
F = C(:, 2:3) = [2,5; 0,1; 2,-1; 1,4]
all columns

E = C(2:3,:) = [-1 0 1; 3 2 -1]

G = C(3:4,1:2) = [3,2; 0,1]
1
1
C
3

2
5
0
1

2 1

1 4

5
2
0
1

F
2 1

1
4

rows 2 to 3

1
1 0
E

3
2
1

3 2
G

0
1

a : step : b

gives number from a to b with

the specified step between elements
step = 1 if not specified

x = 1:10
x=
1 2 3 4
t = 1 : 2 : 10
t=
1 3 5 7
k = 5:-1:-3
k=
5 4 3 2

-1

-2

-3

10

What if the step is not easy to calculate, or is an odd number?

y = linspace (a, b, n_pts)
y = linspace (0, 1, 4)
y=
0 0.3333 0.6667

2 end points are

included in n_pts.

1.0000

y = linspace (0,1)
a number of 100 for
n_pts is assigned.

Some useful special matrices

eye (3)
ans =
1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1
ones (3)
ans =
1 1 1
1 1 1
1 1 1
ones (1,4)
ans =
1 1 1

eye (m,n)
ones (m,n)
zeros (m,n)

zeros (2,3)
ans =
0 0 0
0 0 0

eye (n)
ones (n)
zeros (n)

Plotting
plot (x, y)

plot(x1, y1, x2, y2)

plot (x, y, color symbol line style)

x = linspace(0, 2*pi);
y = sin (x);
z = cos (x);
plot (x, y)
figure or figure (#) : open a figure
plot (x, y, x, z)
figure (2)
plot (x, y, 'r o -'); grid on add grids
try help plot
hold on
red, circle, solid
plot (x, z, 'b x :')
blue, x-mark, dotted
try grid off

Plotting (continue)
xlabel ( label )
ylabel ( label )
title ( title of the plot )
text ( x_location, y_location, text )
axis ([ x_min x_max y_min y_max ])
xlabel ('x')
ylabel ('y')
title ('sine and cosine')
text (2, 1, 'This is a sine fuction')
axis ([0 2*pi -2 2])
hold off

- text string

hold on: hold the

plots to avoid
overwriting

Plotting (continue)
subplot ( m, n, figure number ) - break the
figure window into m by n small figures, and
plot the specified figure
figure
subplot (3, 2, 1)
plot (x, y)
subplot (3, 2, 2)
plot (x, z)
subplot (3, 2, 4)
plot (x, y-z)

1
3
5

2
4
6

semilogx (x, y) logarithmic scales for the x axis.

semilogy (x, y) logarithmic scales for the y axis.
loglog (x, y) logarithmic scales for the x and y axes
x = 10.^[-1:0.1:2];
y = exp(x);
figure(1)
semilogy(x,y,':^')
figure(2)
loglog(x,y,'-s')
grid on

More control on plotting

get(H) get object properties
set(H,'PropertyName',PropertyValue,...)
set object properties
figure(2)
h = loglog(x,y,'-sr')
grid on
get(h)
set(h, 'LineWidth',2)
set(h, 'MarkerFaceColor', [0 0 1])

Some useful commands

who
list of current variables
clc
clear the command window
clf
clear the graphical windows
clear x
clear the variable x
clear all clear all variables
close
close the current figure
close all close all figures
cd y:\cven302\
change directory
dir
list all files
what
list all m-files
CTRL-C Abort

semicolons (;) at the end of line: Calculation results

will not be displaced on the command window

Initializing Variables

Explicitly list the values

reads from a data file
uses the colon : operator
reads from the keyboard

Input and output (I/O)

a = input ( enter a value or string )
- wait for input from the keyboard
load file_name
- input an existing data file (ASCII format)
diary file_name
- save anything in the Command Window
diary off
save file_name variable(s) -ascii
- save the data of the variable(s) to a file in
ASCII format
You may need to go to certain directory before loading and/or
saving files

M-Files: Scripts and Functions

You can create and save code in text files using
MATLAB Editor/Debugger or other text editors
(called m-files since the ending must be .m)
M-file is an ASCII text file similar to FORTRAN or
C source codes ( computer programs)
A script can be executed by typing the file name, or
using the run command

Functions
distinguished from the script that the first line is of the
form
function x = function_name (input arguments)
function [x, y] = function_name (input arguments)
A function has to be stored as a stand-alone file ended
with .m. The name of the function is usually (but
not necessary) the same as the name of the file.

Difference between scripts and functions

Scripts share variables with the main workspace
Functions do not

Decision Making: Control Flow

(a)

For Loops

(b)

While Loops

(c)

If-Else Structures

For Loops
for x = array
commands
end
Without this line you will get:
Warning: Reference to uninitialized
variable z.

z = 0;
for i = 1:10
y(11-i) = i;
z = z+i;
end

y
y=
10 9
disp(z)
55

disp (x) - display the value of x

Filename: lec2a.m
% Find sum of 1 to b
% Comments begin with %
% cd y:\cven302\
clear all
sum = 0;
b = input('what is the value of b?
for i = 1 : b
sum = sum + i
end

')

While Loops
while expression (is true)
commands
end
eps = 1;
count = 0;
while (1+eps) > 1
eps = eps/2;
count = count + 1;
end
eps = eps*2
display(count-1)

eps =
2.2204e-016
ans =
52

Determining machine
epsilon

Floating point relative accuracy

52 digits in double precision (64 bit)

If-Else Structures
if expression (is true)
commands
end

if expression
commands 1
else
commands 2
end

if expression 1
commands 1
elseif expression 2
commands 2
elseif expression 3
commands 3
:
:
else
commands n
end

Relational Operators
<
<=
>
>=
==
~=

less than
less than or equal to
greater than
greater than or equal to
equal to
not equal to

Logical Operators
&
|
~

and
or
not

eps = 1;
count = 0;
while (1+eps) > 1
eps = eps/2;
count = count + 1;
if count > 100
break
end
end
eps = eps*2
display(count)
eps = 1;
count = 0;
while (1+eps) > 1 & count < 100
eps = eps/2;
count = count + 1;
end
eps = eps*2
display(count)

a = input('what is the value of input data?

if a > 0
sign = 1;
elseif a < 0
sign = -1;
else
sign = 0;
end
disp(sign)

')

Print figures to image files

print - print out current figure
print -djpeg filename - save current figure in
jpeg format
print -djpeg# filename - save current figure in
jpeg format with # (resolution level)
between 0 and 100 (default 75)
print -dtiff filename - save current figure in
tiff format
print -dpsc filename - save current figure in
color PostScript format
See help print for more