Time
We estimate this tutorial will take 20–30 minutes. That includes time for a bit of playing around with the commands.
Getting Started
On Your Own Computer
If you have installed MATLAB on your own computer you start it the way you would for any other application.
On an Athena Computer
Athena is MIT's UNIX-based computing environment. OCW does not provide access to this environment.
- Open an athena terminal window.
- Give the command: add matlab [return]
- Give the command: matlab & [return]
(The ampersand (&) after 'matlab' allows the xterm to be used for other things, it is not necessary.)
Wait for MATLAB to start. This can take a few minutes. When it's ready you should see a MATLAB command prompt: >
If you have a question ask one of the people seated next to you. There's a good chance they know the answer.
Starting the desktop: If you have a window with several sections then the desktop started automatically. If you have a simple command line window with the MATLAB command prompt you should start the desktop with the command
> desktop [return]
Conventions
% This is an edited transcript of a MATLAB session.
% We've inserted comment lines, which begin with a '%'.
Command lines begin with a '>'. When copying a command you should enter everything after the '>' and hit return. MATLAB's response will be shown in the line or lines below the command.
Trick: you can use the up arrow to find previous commands. If you type the first letter of the command then the up arrow will only show previous commands that start with that letter.
MATLAB as a Calculator
% The basic operations are *, +, -, /, ^. Try the following:
> 2+3
ans = 5
> 2*3
ans = 6
> 2/3
ans = 0.66667
> 2^3
ans = 8
> 2*(3+1)^2
ans = 32
Using Variables
% You can store results in variables and use them in calculations. Try the following:
> x = 2+3
x = 5
> x
x = 5
> y = 1+2
y = 3
> x*y
ans = 15
> z = x^y
z = 125
The Variable ans
% If you don't name an expression MATLAB names it ans for you. This is useful if you forget to name something.
> 7+15
ans = 22
> ans
ans = 22
> x = ans
x = 22
% Of course MATLAB changes the meaning of ans the next time you don't name an expression.
> 7+15
ans = 22
> ans
ans = 22
> 9 + 2
ans = 11
> x = ans
x = 11
Functions
MATLAB has all the functions you know and love.
% We'll start with functions on numbers.
> sin(1)
ans = 0.84147
> sin(1.4)
ans = 0.98545
> sin(3)
ans = 0.14112
% MATLAB knows about pi.
> pi
ans = 3.1416
> sin(pi/2)
ans = 1
% The exponential function is given by 'exp'.
> exp(0)
ans = 1
> exp(1)
ans = 2.7183
Arrays
% An array is the same thing as a matrix, i.e. a table of numbers. (MATLAB is short for Matrix Laboratory.)
% You create arrays by using square brackets. You put commas between the entries in rows and semicolons between the rows.
% 1 x 4 array
> [1, 2, 3, 4]
ans =
1 2 3 4
% 2 x 3 array
> [1, 2, 3; 4, 5, 6]
ans =
1 2 3
4 5 6
% You can store arrays in variables.
> x = [1, 2, 3, 4]
x =
1 2 3 4
% You turn rows into columns and vice-versa with a single quote after the bracket.
> x = [1, 2, 3, 4]'
x =
1
2
3
4
% Turning rows into columns is called transposing. In MATLAB we use a single quote. In mathematics we use a T, e.g. AT. You read this as 'A transpose'.
> y = [1, 2, 3; 4, 5, 6]
y =
1 2 3
4 5 6
> y = [1, 2, 3; 4, 5, 6]'
y =
1 4
2 5
3 6
% If the entries are simple enough you can use spaces instead of commas between entries in a row. (You still need a semicolon between rows.)
> x = [1 2 3; 4 5 6]
x =
1 2 3
4 5 6
Accessing entries in an array
% Arrays are accessed with the notation A(row,col).
> A = [1, 2, 3; 4, 5, 6]
A =
1 2 3
4 5 6
> A(1,1)
ans = 1
> A(2,1)
ans = 4
> A(2,3)
ans = 6
% For one dimensional arrays you only need one index.
> x = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
x =
1 2 3 4 5 6
> x(1)
ans = 1
> x(4)
ans = 4
Matrix Arithmetic
% You can add or subtract matrices (arrays) of the same size.
> x = [1, 2, 3]
x =
1 2 3
> y = [4, 5, 6]
y =
4 5 6
> x + y
ans =
5 7 9
> x = [1 2; 3 4]
x =
1 2
3 4
> x + [6, 5; 1, 2]
ans =
7 7
4 6
% You can scale or divide matrices by a number.
> x = [1, 2, 3]
x =
1 2 3
> 2*x
ans =
2 4 6
> x/2
ans =
0.50000 1.00000 1.50000
% You can multiply compatibly sized matrices.
% 3x2 times 2x4 is 3x4.
> A = [1 2; 3 4; 5 6]
A =
1 2
3 4
5 6
> B = [1 2 3 4; 5 6 7 8]
B =
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
> A*B
ans =
11 14 17 20
23 30 37 44
35 46 57 68
% If the sizes aren't compatible you get an error message.
> A*A
Error using *
Inner matrix dimensions must agree.
% You can raise square matrices to powers.
% Try the following:
> A = [6, 5; 1, 2]
A =
6 5
1 2
> A^2
ans =
41 40
8 9
> A^3
ans =
286 285
57 58
% Given how much we love exponentials it's nice that MATLAB can compute the exponential of a square matrix.
> exp(A)
ans =
914.31 911.60
182.32 185.04
% See what happens if the matrix is not square.
> B = [1, 2, 3; 4, 5, 6]
B =
1 2 3
4 5 6
> B^2
% My version of MATLAB produces the following error message.
Error using ^
Inputs must be a scalar and a square matrix.
To compute elementwise POWER, use POWER (.^) instead.
Elementwise Arithmetic
Sometimes you want to raise each element of an array to a power. The notation is a bit odd: it requires a period before the caret.
% Notice the '.' before the '^'.
> x = [1 2 3; 4 5 6]
x =
1 2 3
4 5 6
> x.^2
ans =
1 4 9
16 25 36
> x.^0.5
ans =
1.0000 1.4142 1.7321
2.0000 2.2361 2.4495
% The same notation works to multiply each element of an array by the same element in another array.
> [1, 2, 3; 4, 5, 6] .* [2, 4, 6; 8, 10, 12]
ans =
2 8 18
32 50 72
% Also to raise each element of an array to the same element in another array.
> [2, 2, 2, 2, 2] .^ [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
ans =
2 4 8 16 32
% Example: find the sum of the squares of the integers from 1 to 1024.
> x = [1:1024];
> sum(x.^2)
ans = 358438400
% This can be done in one command.
> sum([1:1024].^2)
ans = 358438400
Some Standard Array Operations
Here we will learn to find the determinant and inverse of a square array and the reduced row echelon form and rank of any array.
% Check each of the following computations.
> A = [6 5; 1 2]
A =
6 5
1 2
% Determinant
> det(A)
ans = 7
% Inverse
> inv(A)
ans =
0.2857 -0.7143
-0.1429 0.8571
% Another way to find inverses.
> A^(-1)
ans =
0.2857 -0.7143
-0.1429 0.8571
% Solving systems. Example: Solve the system:
6x + 5y = 4
x + 2y = 7
% We solve this using matrix methods:
% The coefficient matrix is our matrix A. Note the prime on the array in the next command.
> solution = A^(-1)*[4, 7]'
ans =
-3.8571
5.4286
% Solving systems is so important MATLAB has another, better way of doing this.
> solution = A\[4 7]'
ans =
-3.8571
5.4286
% Reduced row echelon form
> rref(A)
ans =
1 0
0 1
% That was too simple. Here's another example.
> B = [1 2 3; 4 5 6; 7 8 9]
B =
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
> rref(B)
ans =
1 0 -1
0 1 2
0 0 0
% Rank of a matrix
> rank(A)
ans = 2
> rank(B)
ans = 2
Creating Special Arrays
% [3:1:10] is the array from 3 to 10 counting by 1.
> x = [3:1:10]
x =
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
% Changing the 1 to 2 means count by 2's.
> x = [3:2:10]
x =
3 5 7 9
% You can count by any number.
> x = [3:1.8:10]
x =
3.0000 4.8000 6.6000 8.4000
% For counting by 1's, you can leave out the middle number.
> x = [3:10]
x =
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Suppressing Output to the Screen
% For large arrays you'll want to suppress output to the screen.
% You do this by putting a semicolon at the end of the line.
% We'll demonstrate on small arrays so you can see what happens.
% No semicolon (have output)
> x = [1:2:9]
x=
1 3 5 7 9
% With semicolon (no output)
> x = [1:2:9];
> y = 2*x;
> z = 2*x & no semicolon, yes output
z =
2 6 10 14 18
% If you forget the semicolon you can stop the screen output by typing a q followed by return. Try this with the following command:
> [1:1000]
Functions on Arrays
Most functions can be used on arrays.
% We'll start with functions on numbers.
% Sin acts on arrays by taking the sin of each element.
> x = [1, 2, 3; 4, 5, 6]
x =
1 2 3
4 5 6
> sin(x)
ans =
0.84147 0.90930 0.14112
-0.75680 -0.95892 -0.27942
% exp also acts on arrays.
> exp(x)
ans =
2.7183 7.3891 20.0855
54.5982 148.4132 403.4288
MATLAB Sums the Elements of Arrays
We don't need it just yet, but the sum function will be quite useful.
% For a single row or column sum adds them up.
> x = [1,2,3];
x =
1 2 3
> sum(x)
ans = 6
> y = x'
y =
1
2
3
> sum(y)
ans = 6
% Find the sum of the first 1000 integers.
> sum([1:1000])
ans = 500500
% Find the sum of the squares of the first 1000 integers.
> sum([1:1000].^2)
ans = 333833500
% For a two dimensional array sum produces the sum of each of the columns.
> x = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5; 7, 9, 11, 13, 15]
x =
1 2 3 4 5
7 9 11 13 15
> sum(x)
ans =
8 11 14 17 20
% Note the result is summing a 2x5 array is a 1x5 array.