A Brief Introduction to Matlab , the Matrix Laboratory

What is Matlab


1. Type matlab at the Unix prompt to start running the program. (Note for unix users: if you do not see a small "Matlab" graphic open quickly and then close while Matlab opens, you should probably make sure that your xterm display settings are correct.)

 
2. Type help.  This gives a list of text-based help topics for you to explore.  For instance, you can type help general to list commands of general use in Matlab.



3. Type helpdesk. This opens a very useful web-browser based interface to help commands. All of the functions are documented and most of them have usage examples. Under the Getting Started option in the helpdesk is a lot of useful information about Matlab. I encourage you to browse through this.  



4. Type demo. This opens a graphical user interface Matlab demonstration. It has its good points as well as its bad, but is useful in demonstrating the wide range of potential Matlab applications from the mundane to the gee-whiz.  



5. Below is a short table of commands extracted from various help topics.  


1. general
2. operators
3. plotting
4. language


6. 'lookfor topic' is a handy command if you can't remember the name of a Matlab command, but remember what it does.  Type lookfor max to view the names of Matlab functions that contain the string 'max'.