Fundamental Concepts of MATLAB Programming: From Learning the Basics to Solving a Problem with MATLAB

CHAPTER 1

Basics of MATLAB

We will study the following topics in this chapter:

Introduction

Importance of MATLAB

The MATLAB interface

The features of MATLAB

The MATLAB paradigm

Applications of MATLAB

The MATLAB setup

Some helpful screenshots

Command window

Current Directory section

Workspace section

Command History section

Exercise

Objective

The objective of this chapter is to introduce the fundamental description of MATLAB. This chapter also describes the MATLAB installation and the different characteristics of MATLAB.

Introduction

MATLAB stands for Matrix Laboratory; it is a high-level language. MATLAB is used for a computational point of view. When data is in a matrix or vector form, then it is easy to manipulate or compute efficiently. MATLAB provides various inbuilt functions and tools that are are very easy to work and adapt to your task. MATLAB allows matrix manipulation according to the task; it is a high-level language. MATLAB is also helpful for mathematical computations. Some mathematic calculations are Matrices and Arrays, Algebraic Equations, Non-linear Functions, Statistics, 2-D and 3-D Plotting and graphics, Linear Algebra, Calculus, and Differential Equations, Numerical Calculations, Integration, Transforms, Curve Fitting, Data Analysis, and so on.

Figure 1.1: Built-in Functions and tools of MATLAB

Importance of MATLAB

These are various importance of MATLAB:

Easy to numerical computation

Processing of massive amount of data

Representation and visualization of data

User interactive environment

Mathematical equations and computations

Statistical measurement and computations

Prove tools for creating applications

Support other languages like C, Java, .Net, and so on.

The MATLAB interface

In a MATLAB interface, there are the following components such as MATLAB desktop, command window, MATLAB prompt, current directory pane, and so on. The MATLAB desktop contains various menus such as HOME, PLOTS, APPS, EDITOR, PUBLISH, and VIEW.

The MATLAB desktop contains various sub-windows. This represents a complete description of MATLAB. In Figure 1.2, we quickly understand about MATLAB desktop.

Figure 1.2: MATLAB interface

The Features of MATLAB

These are the following features of MATLAB:

Symbolic integration, differentiation, transforms, and linear algebra

Algebraic and ordinary differential equation (ODE) solvers

Simplification and manipulation of symbolic expressions

Unit systems for specifying, converting, and computing using SI, US, and custom unit systems

Plotting of analytical functions in 2D and 3D

Symbolic expression conversion to MATLAB, Simulink, C, Fortran, and LaTeX

Variable-precision arithmetic

The MATLAB paradigm

These are the following paradigm from understanding the necessary details of MATLAB. This is very important for various tasks performing on MATLAB. This paradigm is showing the different properties of MATLAB, such as Comment Window, Current Folder path, Editor, Command Window, and so on.

Figure 1.3: 1MATLAB Paradigm

Applications of MATLAB

There are various applications of MATLAB. Some of them are listed as follows:

Industries

Banking

Academic organizations

Medical field

Statistical field, and many more.

The MATLAB setup

The following are the steps to install the setup of MATLAB:

Firstly, choose the clients-Windows such as XP-SP2/Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8, then download MATLAB setup from an official website. Choose win32.rar or win64.rar according to your system configuration. Follow these steps for setting up MATLAB.

Start the installer.

For Windows, double-clicking on setup.exe file

Click on Install without using the Internet

When it starts, the installer displays the following dialog box. Select the option mentioned above and click OK to proceed with the installation.

Figure 1.4: MATLAB installation process

File Installation Key: Enter your File Installation Key and click OK.

Figure 1.5: MATLAB installation process

Choose Installation Type: In the Installation Type dialog box, specify whether you want to perform a Typical or Custom installation and click Next.

Figure 1.6: MATLAB installation process

Specify installation folder: Specify the name of the folder where you want to install MathWorks products. Accept the default installation folder or click Browse to select a different one. If the folder doesn’t exist, the installer creates it.

Figure 1.7: MATLAB installation process

Specify Products to Install (Custom only): Leave it by default and Continue.

Specify the location of the License File: Enter the full path of your license file in the text box (or drag and drop the file) and click Next.

Figure 1.8: MATLAB installation process

Specify Installation Options (Custom only): After selecting installation options, click Next to proceed with the installation.

Figure 1.9: MATLAB installation process

Confirm your choices and begin copying files: Before it begins copying files to your hard disk, the installer displays a summary of your installation choices. To change a setting, click Back. To proceed with the installation, click Install.

Figure 1.10: MATLAB installation process

As it copies files to your hard drive, the installer displays a status dialog box to show the progress of the installation.

Complete the installation.

Figure 1.11: MATLAB installation process

Set Environment Variables

Right-click on My Computer

Select Properties | Advanced System Settings | Environment Variables | New and then fill the entries.

Some helpful screenshots

Here are a few screenshots which might help you understand better.

Command window

The Command window is the main window. When you want to create a variable or run any commands, then you have to write on the command window. It is for user writing programs. In Figure 1.12, we quickly understand about command window.

Figure 1.12: Command window

Current directory section

The current directory section is located on the left side of the command window. We can see the file navigation. This directory is for the current work directory. Make sure that this is the directory where you want to work so that MATLAB has access to your files and where it can save your new files. In Figure 1.13, we quickly understand about current directory.

Figure 1.13: Current directory

Workspace section

In this section, it shows lists of all variables that you have generated. It also shows the type and size of the variable. In Figure 1.14, we can easily understand about workplace