How to Write and Run a MATLAB Script

Edited 2 weeks ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

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MATLAB, which stands for Matrix Laboratory, is a powerful tool widely used in the mathematics, science, and engineering fields. It is designed to work efficiently with matrices and vectorized calculations. MATLAB scripts are essentially program files with the .m extension that can be executed to perform specific tasks or calculations. If you are new to MATLAB and scripting, this guide will introduce you to the simple steps of writing and running MATLAB scripts.

What is a MATLAB script?

A MATLAB script is a file that contains a sequence of MATLAB commands. These scripts do not accept input arguments or return output arguments. They operate on data in the workspace where they are executed. Scripts are commonly used to automate tasks, perform calculations, and visualize data.

Creating a MATLAB script

Starting MATLAB

Before you can create the script, you must start the MATLAB environment. This is usually done by double-clicking the MATLAB icon on your desktop or by selecting it from your Programs menu. Once MATLAB is launched, you will find yourself in the MATLAB command window.

Accessing the editor

Editing scripts is done in the MATLAB editor. To open a new script, you can click the "New Script" button in the Home tab of the MATLAB toolstrip. This opens a new file in the editor.

% Explanation of access: % 1. Launch MATLAB. % 2. Navigate to the Home tab on the top toolstrip. % 3. Click on the "New Script" button. % 4. The Editor will open, showing a new script file.

Writing the script

Once you have the editor open, you can start typing your commands. An example of a simple script that calculates the area of a circle based on its radius might look like this:

% A Simple MATLAB Script to Calculate the Area of a Circle radius = 5; % Define the radius of the circle area = pi * radius^2; % Calculate the area disp(area); % Display the calculated area

Let's break down this script:

• Comment line (%): This is a comment. In MATLAB, anything that comes after a percent sign (%) on a line is considered a comment and is ignored by the program.
• Variable definition: radius = 5; This line assigns the value 5 to the variable radius.
• Calculation: area = pi * radius^2; This line calculates the area of a circle using the formula area = πr².
• Displaying the output: disp(area); This line displays the calculated area in the MATLAB command window.

Saving your script

Once you've written the script, you'll need to save it before you can run it. Go to the "File" menu in the editor and choose "Save" or use the shortcut Ctrl+S (Windows) or Cmd+S (Mac). Save your script with a descriptive name and make sure it ends with the .m extension, such as circle_area.m.

Running the MATLAB script

Using the MATLAB editor

After you save your script, you can run it directly from the MATLAB editor by clicking the "Run" button, represented as a green triangle in the editor window's toolbar. Your script will execute, and any output will be displayed in the command window.

Using the command window

Alternatively, you can run your script from the MATLAB command window. Simply type the name of your script (without the .m extension) and press Enter:

circle_area

When you run your script from the command window, MATLAB executes the commands given in the script in the current workspace.

Troubleshooting and error handling

If you encounter an error while running your script, MATLAB will usually provide an error message in the command window. This message will give you a hint as to what went wrong and where in your script the error occurred. Common problems may include:

• Syntactic errors due to missing characters such as brackets, quotation marks, etc.
• Incorrect command names or misspelled variable names.
• Logical errors in operations or calculations.

Improvements to MATLAB scripting

You may want to make your script more refined and user-friendly. Here are some improvements you might consider:

User input

To make your script interactive, you can use input function to prompt the user for input:

% Prompting User for Input radius = input('Enter the radius of the circle: '); area = pi * radius^2; disp(['The area of the circle is: ', num2str(area)]);

Work

If you find yourself writing code blocks that you've used in other scripts, consider creating functions. A function file in MATLAB contains reusable code that can be called with input arguments and returned output:

% Example of a Function in MATLAB function area = calculate_circle_area(radius) area = pi * radius^2; end

Save the above code in a separate file named calculate_circle_area.m and call it in your script or command window like this:

area = calculate_circle_area(5);

Conclusion

Creating and running scripts in MATLAB is a basic skill that allows you to efficiently automate calculations and tasks. Understanding the basics of writing scripts, saving files, and debugging errors is important for anyone who wants to use MATLAB effectively. By incorporating user input and functions, your scripts can become dynamic and versatile, increasing your productivity and expanding your program's capabilities. With practice and exploration, you'll find that MATLAB scripting is an invaluable tool in your computational toolkit.

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