Lab 1. Part 2.

MATLAB intro

How to find MATLAB on a Wellesley public computer:
  • Macintosh:
    • Click on the Spotlight (magnifying glass icon) in the Mac menu bar upper right corner.
    • Type "MATLAB". It will suggest MATLAB_2017a
      .
    • Double-click the MATLAB_2017a icon
  • PC:
    • From the Search programs and files box, type in "MATLAB".

    • Select the MATLAB version (it will likely be more recent that the 2012a version shown above)

Important parts of your MATLAB screen:

  • Current Folder Window
     (circled in blue)
    Allows access to current directory
  • Command Window
    (circled in red)
    Where you type your commands
  • Workspace
     (circled in magenta)
    Variables (more on this later) are tracked here

Helpful hints
  • Resize your MATLAB window via the lower right corner
  • Restore your MATLAB window
    If your MATLAB windows somehow change their appearance, you can always restore the default setup by clicking on "Layout" on the top tool bar.

  • Reduce extra blank lines
    By typing format compact into your Command Window

  • Use the arrow keys

    Use the up-arrow key to get the command history. The left and right-arrow keys can help you edit within a line.

  • Recycle content from Command History pop up
    You can double-click a command in the Command History pop up, to run it again (faster and more accurate than re-typing!). This video shows how to re-execute commands from the pop-up command history window.
  • Clear the command window
    clc clears the command window
  • Comments in your code
    • % indicates a comment. MATLAB ignores everything after the % sign. For example:
      % CS112 Lab 1
      is a comment. Note that comments in the MATLAB editor appear green (but you can customize the MATLAB appearance).