MATLAB Quick Reference

Operators
Matrix Operations Array or Element by Element
+ Addition

- Subtraction

* Matrix Multiplication .* Element by Element Multiplication

/ Right Matrix Division b / A= bA−1 ./ Element by Element Right Division

\ Left Matrix Division A∖ b= A−1 b .\ Element by Element Left Division

A.∖ B= B./ A

^ Raise Matrix to a power .^ Raise each Element to a power

' Transpose matrix (conjugate if complex) .' Transpose matrix (no complex
A' conjugation) A.'

Relational Operators Logical Operators

< Less Than & And

<= Less Than or Equal | Or

> Greater Than ~ NOT

>= Greater Than or Equal

== Equal

~= Not Equal

Special Number Symbols

pi π i  −1
inf ∞ j  −1

NaN Not a number ie 0/0

1
Entering Matrices
x = [ 1 2 3; 4 5 6; 7 8 9] Comma or space between elements.
Semicolon or return for new row.
x = [ 1,2,3
Enclosed in square brackets.
4,5,6
7,8,9 ]
a = [ exp(0) sqrt(4) 1+2 ] Each element can be an expression.
C = [ A B] A and B are matrices with the same number of rows.
C = [ A ; B] A and B are matrices with the same number of columns.

Indexing
Vector Indexing
variable(V) V is a vector of indexes
Examples
A(3) The third element in vector A.
A([3 8 11]) The third, eighth and eleventh elements of A.
A(3:11) The third to eleventh elements of A.
A(11:end) All elements from the eleventh to the last element

Matrix Indexing
variable(R,C) R is a vector of rows and C a vector of Columns
Examples
M(2,3) The element in the second row and third column of M.
M(2, [3 8 11]) Second row, third, eighth and eleventh column.
M(4,3:11) Forth row, third to eleventh column.
M(11:end,2) Eleventh to the last row, second column.
M(5,:) Fifth row, all columns.
M(11:end,:) Eleventh to the last row, all columns.

Output Display Format

format short 4 decimal places format long 15 decimal places
format Same as above
format shortE Scientific notation, format longE Scientific notation,
4 decimal places 15 decimal places
format shortEng Engineering notation, format longEng Engineering notation,
4 decimal places 15 decimal places

2
Generating Vectors
<start> : <end> x=1:5 generates x = [ 1 2 3 4 5]
<start> : <separation> : <end> y = 0:5:20 generates y = [ 0 5 10 15 20]
linspace(start,end,n) n = number of elements linspace(0,10,5) generates [ 0 2.5 5 7.5 10]
logspace(d1,d2,n) n elements logarithmically logspace(-1,2,4) generates [0.1 1 10 100]
spaced between 10 d 1 and 10 d 2 .

Utility Matrices
zeros(n) n by n matrix where each element is zero.
zeros(m,n) m by n matrix where each element is zero.
zeros(a,b,c) 3 dimensional array, a by b by c.
ones(m,n) m by n matrix where each element is one.
rand(m,n) m by n matrix of random numbers.
eye(n) n by n identity matrix.

Variable Control
who List all variables in memory.
whos Same as above but with more information.
clear Remove all variables from memory.
clear <variable> Remove specified variables from memory.

File Control Commands

dir List contents of current directory.
ls List contents of current directory.
what List the Matlab files in the current directory.
cd <directory> Change the current directory.
type <filename> Display the contents of a text or .m file.
delete <filename> Delete a file.
diary <filename> Record all commands and results to a file.
diary off Stop above.

Help
help Display help topics.
help <function> Help on a particular function.
lookfor <word> Look for word in function descriptions.
doc <function> Full documentation on function.

3
In Built Functions
Hit fx icon next to prompt for function browser. Only selected functions shown here.

abs(x) The absolute value. Modulus round(x) Round to the nearest integer.
sqrt(x) The square root. ceil(x) Round up.
x
exp(x) The exponential base e. e floor(x) Round down.
log(x) The natural logarithm. log e  x fix(x) Round towards zero.
log10(x) The log base 10. log 10  x  rem(x,b) Remainder of x divided by b.

Trigonometry
sin(x) Sine. x in radians.
sind(x) Sine. x in degrees.
asin(x) The arcsine. The inverse of sin(x). Radians
asind(x) The arcsine. Degrees
sinh(x) Hyperbolic Sine.
asinh(x) The inverse Hyperbolic Sine.
The above variations are also available for the following functions.
cos(x) Cosine
tan(x) Tangent cot(x) Cotangent
sec(x) Secant csc(x) Cosecant

Complex Numbers
real(z) The real part of z. imag(z) The imaginary part of z.
abs(z) The modulus of z. angle(z) The phase angle of z.
conj(z) The complex conjugate of z.

Matrix
det(A) Determinant sqrtm(A) The matrix square root.
norm(A) Norm expm(A) The matrix exponential base e.
inv(A) Inverse logm(A) The matrix natural logarithm.
d = Eigenvalues,
[v,d]=eig(A)
v = Eigenvectors

Statistics
max(x) Maximum median(x) Median var(x) Variance
min(x) Minimum mean(x) Average std(x) Standard Deviation

4
Polynomials
p = [1 2 3 4 5]; can represent the polynomial x 42x 33x 24x5
y = polyval(p,x) Evaluate polynomial for each value in x.
roots(p) Roots of polynomial.
p = poly( <roots>) Polynomial with given roots.
p = polyfit(x,y,n) Best fit of x,y data points to nth order polynomial.

Saving, Exporting and Importing Data

save <filename> Save all variable to the file filename.mat
load <filename> Load in variables from the file filename.mat
Save only the variable variable to the file
save <filename> <variable>
filename.mat
save <filename> <variable> -ascii Save variable to the text file filename
Load from the text file, to a variable called
load <filename>.<ext>
filename
Misc
x = input( 'What is x ? ') Ask the user for a number.
[x,y] = ginput(1) Graph coordinates of a clicked on point.
pause Wait for the user to press a key.
pause(5) Wait for 5 seconds
! command Execute an operating system command
display(a) Suppose a = 5. This would print "a = 5";
disp(a) Same as above, but with out the "a = ".

fprintf Formatting
%f Fixed point %5f 5 characters wide \n New line
%e Exponential Notation %5.2f 2 decimal places (dp) \t Horizontal tab
%g auto chooses %f or %e %-5.2f Left justify \\ Back slash
%s String of Characters %+5.2f Print sign (+ or -) %% Percent character
%d Integer (Whole numbers only)

Examples What is printed Comment

fprintf(' x = %f ',pi) x = 3.141593 No new line after
fprintf(' x = %f \n',pi) x = 3.141593 Moves to a new line after
fprintf(' L%6.2fR \n',pi) L 3.14R Number is 6 chars wide with 2 dp
fprintf('%s L%-6.2fR','Hi',pi) Hi L3.14 R The string 'Hi', then left justify number
S = sprintf(' x = %f ',pi); NOTHING S is a string containing ' x = 3.141593'

5
Graph Commands
plot(y) Plot y against index number.
plot(x,y) Plot y against x
plot(x1,y1,x2,y2) Plot y1 against x1 and y2 against x2.
plot(x,y,'r+') Plot y against x using red plus signs.
plot(x1,y1,'r+',x2,y2,'go') Red plus signs for x1 and y1, Green circles for x2 y2.

Symbol Line Type or Mark Symbol Colour Other Types of Plot

. Point r Red fill(x,y,'r') Red filled graph
o Circle g Green bar(x,y) Bar graph
x X mark b Blue loglog(x,y) x & y log scale
+ Plus sign y Yellow semilogx(x,y) x log, y linear
* Stars m Magenta semilogy(x,y) x linear, y log
- Solid line c Cyan polar(theta,r) Polar plot
: Dotted line w White surf(x,y,z) 3D surface
-. Dash dot line k Black mesh(x,y,z) 3D mesh
-- Dash Line plot3(x,y,z) 3D line plot

Other Graphics Commands

title('Title') Graph title.
xlabel('X axis') Label the x-axis.
ylabel('Y axis') zlabel('Z axis') Label y and z axis.
text(x,y,'My Text') Place text at coordinates x,y.
grid Place a grid on the graph.
hold on Add any new plot to the current graph.
hold off Replace current plot with any new plot.
subplot(r,c,n) Split figure into r rows by c columns of subplots.
subplot(2,3,1) subplot(2,3,2) subplot(2,3,3)
subplot(2,3,4) subplot(2,3,5) subplot(2,3,6)

axis([minX maxX minY maxY]) Set the limits of the graph in X and Y. (Note 4 element vector)
h = figure New graphics window.
figure(h) Change to plotting in figure h.
delete(h) Delete figure h.
clf Clear current figure.
drawnow Force the graph to update now.

6
 Programming
Enumerated Loops (for)
The general form of a for loop is :-

for <variable> = <vector>

<statement>
<statement>
etc
end

Examples
A = rand(1,5); for k = [ 1 7 3 pi i]
for a = A disp(k)
disp(a) end
end

Precondition Loops (while)

Below is the general form of a while loop.

while(<condition>)
<statement>
<statement>
etc
end False
condition

Example
True
A = 7; %Find the square root of A.
x=1; %First guess statement
err=1; %Set error to get started

% Newton Raphson Iteration statement

while(err>0.0001)
x = (x.^2+A)./(2*x);
% calculate the error
err = abs(A-x.^2);
end

disp(x);

7
Conditional Execution (if)
General form of a simple if statement.
If <condition>
<statement>
<statement> False
etc condition
end
True
statement

statement

The form of if statement with else

if <condition>
<statement1> False
<statement2> condition
etc
else True
<statement3> statement1 statement3
<statement4>
etc
end statement2 statement4

You can also have as many elseif parts as you

like.

if <condition1> Con False

<statement1> 1
etc
elseif <condition2> True Con False
<statement2> 2
etc
else True
<statement3> statement1 statement2 statement3
etc
end

8
Switch
Execution depends on the value of a variable.

switch <variable>
case 1
<statement1> A True
== statement1
etc 1
case 2
<statement2> False
etc
A True
case 3 == statement2
<statement3> 2
etc
False
otherwise
<statement4> A
etc True
== statement3
end 3
False
The case values can be any value that the switch
statement4
variable can take. You can also put multiple
values after the case.
case {1,2,3,4,5}
<statement>
etc

On the right A is the switch variable.

Functions

Function Definition Using the Function

function sum = myadd(a,b)

% The first block of comments

% defines what is printed out when s = myadd(<expression>,<expression>)
% you type help myadd

% Comment not part of help

sum = a + b;

function [sum,diff] = add_sub(a,b)

sum = a + b;
diff = a - b; [s,d] = add_sub(<expression>,<expression>)

9
Unix Commands
Linux and MAC OSX operating systems are both based on UNIX.
File and Directory Paths
/var/tmp Absolute path from root
p5computing/exercise1 Relative path from current working directory.
. The current directory cp /tmp/myfile .
cd ../exercise2
.. The directory above.
cd ../../..
cp /tmp/myfile ~
~ Your home directory
cd ~/p5Computing

Commands
ls List the contents of the current directory.
ls -a List current directory, showing hidden files.
ls -l List current directory, long format. More information.
ls <directory path> List the contents of the specified directory.
ls -al <directory path> As above showing hidden files and long format.
mkdir <directory name> Make a new directory with the given name.
cd <directory path> Change the current working directory.
pwd Print the current working directory.
cp <file path> <new file name> Copy a file to a new file.
cp <file path> <directory path> Copy a file into the specified directory.
mv <file path> <new file name> Change the name of a file to a new file name.
mv <file path> <directory path> Move a file into the specified directory.
rm <list of files> Remove all files in the list.
rm -i <list of files> Remove all files in the list, asking for confirmation.
rm -R <directory path> Remove a directory and its contents.
rmdir <directory path> Remove an empty directory.
cat <file path> Type file to screen.
more <file path> Type file to screen a page at a time.
man <command> Display manual pages for the command.

Wild Cards
? A single character rm prog?.m Remove prog1.m, prog2.m etc
* A character string cp *.m MatlabFiles Copy all files ending .m to a directory.

10
DOS Commands
The commands you can use in a windows command prompt.

File and Directory Paths

Drive:<path><filename> For Example C:\TEMP\mydirectory\myfile.txt
Drive: For example
A: Floppy drive D: DVD
C: The main hard disc. F: USB Memory Stick
If omitted, use the current drive.
<path> Absolute path from the root of the drive. \TEMP\mydirectory\
or the path from the current directory. p5computing\exercise2\myfunction.m
If directory names contain spaces, use double quotes. “Program Files\MATLAB”
If omitted, use current working directory.
. The current working directory
.. The directory above.

Commands
dir List the contents of the current directory.
dir /w List current directory using wide format.
dir <directory path> List the contents of the specified directory.
mkdir <directory name> Make a new directory with the given name.
cd <directory path> Change the current working directory.
copy <file path> <new file name> Copy a file to a new file.
ren <file path> <new file name> Rename a file to a new file name.
move <file path> <directory path> Move a file into the specified directory.
del <list of files> Delete all files in the list.
del <list of files> /P Delete all files in the list, asking for confirmation.
rmdir <directory path> Remove an empty directory.
type <file path> Type file to screen.
help <command> Display help on command.

Wild Cards
? A single character del prog?.m Remove prog1.m, prog2.m etc
* A character string move *.xls mydir Copy all files ending .xls to a directory.

Note: In windows, directories are also called folders.

11
Matlab Quick Reference, Version 2.1
Eric Peasley, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford

12