Matlab Introduction: Dr. Antonio A. Trani Professor Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Matlab Introduction
Dr. Antonio A. Trani

Professor
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Virginia Tech (copyright A.A. Trani)

Purpose of this Section
• To illustrate simple uses of the MATLABTM Technical

language
• To help you understand under what circumstances is
MATLAB a better choice than spreadsheets and high-
level languages
• To understand some of the MATLAB toolboxes used in
specialized technical computation
• Just for the fun of learning something new (the most
important reason)
TM trademark of the Mathworks (Natick, MA)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 2 of 58

What is MATLAB?
• A high-performance language for technical computing

(Mathworks, 1998)
• Typical uses of MATLAB:
• Mathematical computations
• Algorithmic development
• Model prototyping (prior to complex model development)
• Data analysis and exploration of data (visualization)
• Scientific and engineering graphics for presentation
• Complex analysis using MATLAB toolboxes (i.e., statistics,
neural networks, fuzzy logic, H-infinity control, economics, etc.)

Why is MATLAB Good for Me?
• Because it simplifies the analysis of mathematical

models
• It frees you from coding in high-level languages (saves a
lot of time - with some computational speed penalties)
• Provides an extensible programming/visualization
environment
• Provides professional looking graphs
• The learning curve of this language is moderate (my own
bias)
• Our students learn the language in EF, Math and Physics.
Perhaps we should exploit this fact in our junior and
senior courses

Where is MATLAB in the Scheme of Things?
Complimentary tool to spreadsheets and prog. languages
Tool My Remarks (subjective)

Spreadsheets (Excel) • Easy to use
• Good for general purpose computation
• Nice standard graphics
• Good connectivity to other applications
• Platform independent
Numeric/Symbolic Tools (MATLAB, • Moderate learning curve

Mathematica/Mathcad) • Good for general and scientific computa-
tions
• Excellent graphics
• Good connectivity to other applications
Compiled Languages (C/C++) • Require a fairly steep learning curve

• Best control over the development cycle
• Good graphics if a separate library is
available
• Generally platform dependent

A Few More Facts About MATLAB
• MATLAB was created to be a numerical computation

package (based on the LINPACK routines)
• MATLAB is usually faster than Mathematica and Maple
in numeric intensive tasks
• MATLAB has more textbooks than other packages
combined (850+ books). Perhaps this speaks on the
acceptance by the user community
• Go to www.mathworks.com for a complete set of books
on various subjects

Tutorial Outline
• Basics of MATLAB (various modes of operation)

• Input-output commands
• Data analysis functions
• Matrices and vector operations
• Script files and programming issues
• Output graphics and plots (bar, 2D and 3D commands,
interactive features)
• Numerical solutions to differential equations (queueing
and dynamic system applications)
• Simulink and other MATLAB toolboxes (C compiler,
Neural Networks, Statistics, etc.)

Basics of the Technical Language
• MATLAB is a technical language to ease scientific

computations
• The name is derived from MATrix LABoratory
• It provides many of the attributes of spreadsheets and
programming languages
• MATLAB is a case sensitive language (a variable named
“c” is different than another one called “C”)
• MATLAB can be used in interactive mode or in full
compiled version (platform specific mode)
• In interactive mode MATLAB scripts are platform
independent (good for cross platform portability)

MATLAB Foundations
• MATLAB works with matrices

• Everything MATLAB understands is a matrix (from text
to large cell arrays and structure arrays)
• Various data types exist within MATLAB
- single precision
- double precision
- integer (8 bit)
• Performance of MATLAB scripts can be improved using
vector operations (more on this later)
• MATLAB has advanced data structures including object-
oriented programming functionality and overloadable
operators
The MATLAB Environment

Basic Components of the MATLAB Environment
MATLAB has the following basic window components:

• Launch Pad Window
• to access all MATLAB services and toolboxes
• Command Window
- to execute commands in the MATLAB environment
• Current Directory Window
- to quickly access files on the MATLAB path
• Figure Window
- to display graphical output from MATLAB code

Basic Components of the MATLAB Environment
• Workspace Window
- to view variable definitions and variable memory
allocations
• M-File Editor/Debugger Window
- to write M-files (includes color-coded syntax features)
- to debug M-files interactively (break points)
• MATLAB Path Window
- to add and delete folders to the MATLAB path
• Command History Window
- displays all commands issued in MATLAB since the last
session (good for learning and verification)

Composite MATLAB Window Environment
• A Java-based GUI environment allows you to easily

navigate between various windows
Workspace
Window
Current
Folder
Command
Window
Command
History

MATLAB Command Window
• The command window allows you to interact with

MATLAB just as if you type things in a calculator
• Cut and paste operations ease the repetition of tasks
• Use ‘up-arrow’ key to repeat commands (command
history)

MATLAB Launch Pad Window
• The launch window allows you to quickly select among

various MATLAB components and toolboxes
• Shown below are MATLAB and three installed toolboxes
in the launch window environment

MATLAB Current Directory Window
• Provides quick access to all files available in your Path

• Provides a brief description (when files are commented
out) of each M-file

MATLAB Editor/Debuger Window
• Provides the same functionality found in most

programming language development environments
- Color codes MATLAB built-in functions (blue color)
- Easy access to cut, paste, print, and debug operations
- Checks balance in MATLAB function syntax

MATLAB Editor/Debugger
MATLAB has an interactive debugger to help you step

through your source code. This debugger has many of the
same functional features found in high-level
programming languages (i.e., FORTRAN, C/C++, etc.).

MATLAB Debugger
• Allows standard programming techniques such:

- Breakpoints
- Break on error, warnings and overflows
- Step in and out of script
- Function dependencies

MATLAB Figure Window
• Displays the graphic contents of MATLAB code (either

from Command Window, an M-file, or output from MEX
file)

MATLAB Figure Window (cont.)
Figure properties can be changed interactively using the

following commands:
• PlotEdit
- allows interactive changes to plots (add legend, lines,
arrows, etc.)
- This function is automatically invoked in MATLAB 5.3
• PropEdit
- Allows changes to all Handle Graphic properties in a
MATLAB plot
- Requires knowledge of Handle Graphics (more on this
later)

MATLAB Figure Property Editor
• Propedit : Allows you to change properties of a plot

MATLAB Workspace
As you develop and execute models in MATLAB the

workspace stores all variables names and definitions for
you. All variables are usually available to you unless the
workspace is clear with the ‘>>clear’ command.

Array Editor of Workspace Variables
• The workspace window allows you to inspect (and

modify) variables in a spreadsheet-type window
• Cut and paste operations from the clipboard are also
permitted from other applications

Matlab Help Window
• Provides acces to various help files (both internal and on-

line files available on the web)

MATLAB Workspace (Macintosh Model)
MATLAB Workspace
MATLAB Memory Allocation

MATLAB
Application
Computer RAM

MATLAB Workspace (Windows/UNIX Models)
MATLAB Workspace
MATLAB Memory Allocation
Computer RAM
Swap Space Memory
MATLAB
Application
Another
Application

MATLAB Path Window
• Shows all folders contained in the MATLAB path
• Allows you to include other folders from within
MATLAB can be executed

MATLAB Command History Window
• Displays all previous commands issued in a MATLAB

session
• Good to verify computation sequences and for learning

Interacting with MATLAB
There are several options to interact with MATLAB
Mode Remarks
Command line • Interactive mode
• Good for quick computations or
changes
M-files (script files) • Semi-interactive mode
• Good to prototype small to com-
plex models
• Used most of the time
Executable MEX files • Require a C/C++ compiler
• Fastest to execute
• Platform specific (target specific)

Interactive Mode (I)
• Use the MATLAB Command Window to interact with

MATLAB in “calculator” mode
>> a=[3 2 4; 4 5 6; 1 2 3]
Try this out
• Multiple commands can be executed using the semi-
colon “;” separator between commands
>> a=[3 2 4; 4 5 6; 1 2 3] ; b=[3 2 5]’ ; c=a*b
This single line defines two matrices (a and b) and
computes their product (c)

Interactive Mode (II)
• Use the semi-colon “;” separator to tell the MATLAB to

inhibit output to the Command Window
>> a=[3 2 4; 4 5 6; 1 2 3]
>> a=[3 2 4; 4 5 6; 1 2 3];
Try this and see the difference
• Note that the semi-colon is also used to differentiate
between rows in a matrix definition
• All commands that can be executed within the MATLAB
Command Window

General Purpose Commands
helpwin help window with hypertext navigation

demo runs MATLAB demos from a MATLAB
created Graphic User Interface (GUI)
helpdesk troubleshooting with hypertext navigation
ver tells you the version of MATLAB being used
who lists all variables in the current workspace
whos lists all variables in the workspace including
array sizes
clear clears all variables and functions from
memory

General Purpose Commands (cont.)
pack consolidates workspace memory

load load workspace variables from disk (from a
previous session)
save saves all variables and functions in the
workspace to disk
quit quits MATLAB session
what lists MATLAB files in directory
edit edits a MATLAB M-file
diary save text of MATLAB session

Operating System Commands that Work in
MATLAB
cd changes directory
copyfile copy a file
dir lists files in current directory
pwd displays the working directory and its full path
delete delete a file
mkdir make a directory
dos execute DOS command and return result
unix execute UNIX command and return result

Creating MATLAB Files
Two ways to interact with MATLAB:

• Interactive console mode - allows you to do
computations and plots from the command line
• Through M-files - saves your “code” in a text file (with.m
termination) allowing you to reuse any function or
algorithm in it
• For this tutorial you will be working with M-files most of
the time
• Other types of files in MATLAB are MAT (binary) and
MEX (executable) files

MATLAB M-Files
• They can be saved, refined and reused as needed

• These files end in “.m” in all platforms
• Use the MATLAB editor to accomplish this task
• Any wordprocessor can also be used (save files as text)

Sample M-File
The following file generates random numbers

% Sample file to generate Random Numbers using
% MATLAB built-in functions
ntrials = 1000; % No. of trials to be simulated

i=1:1:ntrials; % defines a vector with 1k cells
RU(i) = rand(1,ntrials); % uniform random number
% generator
RN(i) = randn (1,ntrials); % normal random variate
% generator
hist(RU) % generates a histogram for
% variable RU
xlabel('RN') % adds the x-label to the plot
ylabel('No. of Trials') % adds the y-label to the plot

Executing the Sample M-File
• Type the previous file using the MATLAB Editor. Name

and save the file as randem.m
• To execute the M-file type randem in the Command
Window
• Or just go to Run from the Debug pull-down menu in
the Editor/DebugWindow
• Alternatively (in the Mac OS) select the “Save and
Execute” under the File menu
• Use the “up-arrow” key to go back to previous
commands (cycle back through the MATLAB Command
History)

Output of randem.m
The following figure illustrates the output of randem.m
140
120
100
No. of Trials
80
60
TextEnd
40
20
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
RN

Adding Comments to Your Code
It is a good practice to add comments to your source code.

Use the % operator to introduce comments in MATLAB
• Simplifies our task for code reviewing
• Easy to remember what you did in your code

Few Tasks to Try on Your Own
1) Modify the randem.m M-file and plot a histogram of

variable RN
2) Modify randem.m and plot the index variable i versus
the values of RN and RU
- Use the plot command as follows:
plot(x,y)
- where:
- x is the independent variable (index i in our case)
- y is the dependent variable (values of RU and RN)
3) From the Command Window execute the zoom

command and select an area in the plot to view in
more detail

Plot of i vs. RN and RU
This plot shows index i versus the values of RU and RN

4
1
RN and RU
TextEnd
-1
-2
-3
-4
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Index i

MATLAB Binary Files
• These files are convenient to store information that needs

to be reused
• MATLAB binary files end in .mat
• MATLAB mat files are platform independent
• Use the “save” command at the MATLAB command
line.
- save (saves all workspace variables to matlab.mat)
- save fname (saves all workspace to fname.mat)
- save fname x y (saves x and y to fname.mat)
- save fname x y -ascii (saves x and y in 8-digit text format)
- save fname x y -ascii -double -tabs (tab delimited format)

Properties of Binary Files
Binary files are compact files only interpreted by

MATLAB
• Good to store data to be reused later on
• Easy to transfer among PCs (compact size)
- This works well across platforms
- MATLAB 7/8 has good binary files backward
compatibility
• Easy to retrieve and work with using the ‘load’command
• Fast retrieval

Loading Binary Files
Binary files can be loaded simply issuing the ‘load’

MATLAB command.
Identified by .mat ending (e.g., traffic.mat)
For example if I want to load a file named traffic.mat
(notice the termination) just invoke the load command
and do not include the file type termination,
>>load traffic
>>who
>> observation density speed volume
>>
Note: that in this case the binary file has four variables

Importing Data into MATLAB
There are several ways to enter data in MATLAB:

• Explicitly as elements of a matrix in MATLAB
• Creating data in an M-file
• Loading data from ASCII files
• Use the Import Wizard in MATLAB (7.0 version or later)
• Reading data using MATLAB’s I/O functions (fopen,
fread, etc.)
• Using specialized file reader functions (wk1read, imread,
wavread, dlmread)
• Develop an MEX-file to read the data (if FORTRAN or
C/C++ routines exist)
Exporting Data from MATLAB
There are several ways to export data from MATLAB:

• Use the diary command (only for small arrays)
• ASCII (use the save command with ‘-ascii’ option)
• Use the function dlmwrite to specify any delimiters
needed
• Save data to a file in any specific format (use fopen,
fwrite and other MATLAB I/O functions)
• Use specialized MATLAB write functions such as:
- dlmwrite (user-defined delimeter ascii file)
- wk1write (spreadsheet format)
- imwrite and so on

Importing Capabilities (I)
Suppose that we have a data file (called ohare_schedule)

containing a typical schedule of daily aircraft operations
at Chicago O’Hare Intl Airport. The information provided
includes:
1) column 1 = local time (hours)
2) column 2 = number of arrivals per hour
3) column 3 = number of departures per hour
4) column 4 = total operations
This file can be treated as a (24x4) matrix

Sample Data File (ohare_schedule)
The following represents a subset of the ohare_schedule

data file
0 4 7 11
1325
2224
3426
4 2 8 10
.......

Reading the Sample Data File
Method 1 - Use the MATLAB load command

>> load ohare_schedule
• Loads the data file into the MATLAB Workspace and
produces a new array variable called ohare_schedule
• This new array variable has dimensions 24 x 2
• All comment lines (if any) are neglected in the loading
process. Only numerical data is read.

MATLAB Import Screen (version 6.0)
Method 2 - To import data go to the Editor Window

• Select Import from the File pull-down menu
Import
Command

MATLAB Import Wizard
• Useful tool to import data with various types of variables

• Similar to Excel’s import window

Reading the Sample Data File
Method 3 - Use MATLAB fopen and fscan functions

The following script will read the text file
‘ohare_schedule’ using ‘fopen’ and ‘fread’ functions.
% Format for data input is a 4-column data file
format long
fid = fopen ('ohare_schedule',’rt’) % ‘rt’ = read text file
y = fscanf(fid, '%g', [4,inf]); % reads in 4 columns
y = y';
[nrow,ncol] = size(y); % extracts array size

Manipulating Array Data with MATLAB
• Suppose we would like to maintain the results from the

data file ‘ohare_schedule’ in four one-dimensional arrays
called ‘hour’,’arrivals’,’departures’, and ‘total_ops’.
• Here we use an explicit for-loop to insert values of array
‘y’ into column vectors’hour’,’arrivals’,’departures’, and
‘total_ops’
% read data in vector form for each variable
for i=1:1:nrow;
hour(i) = y(i,1);
arrivals(i) = y(i,2);
departures(i) = y(i,3);
total_ops(i) = y(i,4);
end

Manipulating Array Data with MATLAB (II)
• An easier procedure to assign and create four 1-D arrays

is to use an implicit declaration in MATLAB
• Here we use a vector operation (takes less time)
% implicit assignment form
hour = y(: , 1);

arrivals = y(: , 2);
departures = y(: , 3);
total_ops = y(: , 4);

Reading Data Files
• Method 4 - Using the Textscan Command
• Here is a sample script to read a text file

containing data on bridges of the world
fid = fopen(‘bridges_of_the_world’)
readHeader = textscan(fid, ‘%s’, 4, ‘delimiter’, ‘|’);
readData = textscan(fid, '%s %s %f %f');
fclose(fid);
Virginia Tech (copyright A.A. Trani) 56a

Data File (bridges_of_the_world)
Name | Country | Completed | Length (m) Header
Mackinac United-States 1957 8038
Xiasha China 1991 8230
Virginia-Dare-Memorial United-States 2002 8369
General-Rafael-Urdaneta Venezuela 1962 8678
Sunshine-Skyway United-States 1987 8851
Twin-Span United-States 1960 8851
Wuhu-Yangtze-River China 2000 10020
Third-Mainland Nigeria 1991 10500
Seven-Mile United-States 1982 10887
San-Mateo-Hayward United-States 1967 11265
Leziria-Bridge Portugal 2007 11670
Confederation Canada 1997 12900
Rio-Niterol Brazil 1974 13290
Data
Kam-Sheung Hong Kong 2003 13400
Penang Malaysia 1985 13500
Vasco-da-Gama Portugal 1998 17185
Bonnet-Carre-Spillway United-States 1960 17702
Chesapeake-Bay-Bridge-Tunnel United-States 1964 24140
Tianjin-Binhai China 2003 25800
Atchafalaya-Swamp-Freeway United-States 1973 29290
Donghai China 2005 32500
Manchac-Swamp United-States 1970 36710
Lake-Pontchartrain-Causeway United-States 1956 38422
Virginia Tech (copyright A.A. Trani) 56b

Explanations of the Matlab Script
fid = fopen(‘bridges_of_the_world’)
• fid - file ID assigned by Matlab
• fopen - “opens” (or reads) the text file called

‘bridges_of_the_world’
readHeader = textscan(fid, ‘%s’, 4, ‘delimiter’, ‘|’);
• variable readHeader will store the contents of the first

row in the file (‘bridges_of_the_world’)
• textscan reads the first row of the file using ‘%s’,4

(four string variables) with ‘delimiter’ = ‘|’
Name | Country | Completed | Length (m)

Virginia Tech (copyright A.A. Trani) 56c

Explanations of the Matlab Script
readData = textscan(fid, '%s %s %f %f');
• variable readData will store the contents of the

information starting in the second row (until the end) in
the file (‘bridges_of_the_world’)
• textscan reads the row data using ‘%s %s’ two string
variables and two ‘%f %f’ numerical variables (f stands
for floating point)
fclose(fid);
• fclose(fid) closes the file (fid) opened at the beginning

of the script
Name | Country | Completed | Length (m)

Virginia Tech (copyright A.A. Trani) 56d
What is Produced by the Matlab Script?
• Four variables (2 are temporary - "ans" and "fid")
• Two variables with the information in the file

(readHeader and readData)
• Both variables are cell arrays (more on this)
Virginia Tech (copyright A.A. Trani) 56e

What is a Cell Array?
• A special structure in Matlab to store dissimilar
data types (i.e., strings and numeric data)
>> readData
readData = {14x1 cell} {14x1 cell} [13x1 double] [13x1 double]
Bridge Name
Country
Year
Completed
Length (m)
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Addressing the Contents of a Cell Array
• Cell arrays are referenced

using curly brackets (first)
then using standard
brackets - to address
individual elements of the
cell array
• readData{1} references the

first column of the array
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then using standard
cell array
• readData{1}(3,1)
references the third row
element of the cell array
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then using standard
cell array
• readData{1}(3:5,1)
references the third, fourth
and fifth row elements of
the cell array
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then using standard
cell array
• readData{3} references all

the elements of the third
column of the cell array
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then using standard
cell array
references the first five row
elements of the third
column of the cell array
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Reading Excel Data Files with Matlab
• Method 5 - Using the xlsread Command
• Here is a sample script to read a data file containing data

on bridges of the world
[num,txt,raw] = xlsread
('bridges_of_the_world_short.xls','Bridge data');
• Reads the Excel worksheet named ‘Bridge data’
contained in file called 'bridges_of_the_world_short.xls'
• Assigns all numeric data to variable ‘num’
• Assigns all text data to variable called ‘txt’
• All other unassigned data is stored in variable ‘raw’
Virginia Tech (copyright A.A. Trani) 56l

Excel File to be Read
Bridges_of_the_world_short.xls
Virginia Tech (copyright A.A. Trani) 56m
What Happens after Executing the One
Line Script?
• Three arrays are created using the previous script
• Array ‘num” is a standard matrix with size (23 x 2)
• Arrays ‘raw’ and ‘txt’ are cell arrays (24 x 4) each
Virginia Tech (copyright A.A. Trani) 56n

Observations
• ‘num’ is a standard
numeric array as
shown
• Elements of ‘num”
can be referenced
in the usual
(row,column)
format
• num(2,2)=8230
Virginia Tech (copyright A.A. Trani) 56o

Observations (2)
• ‘txt’ is a cell array

containing string
data as shown
• Elements of ‘txt”
can be referenced
using the cell array
nomenclature
cell{i}(row,column)
• txt{1,2}=Country
Virginia Tech (copyright A.A. Trani) 56p

Note Differences in How Cell Arrays
Store Information
• In previous case, a cell array storing numerical
data can be referenced
• In this last case, the cell array contains string

information
• txt{1}(1,2)=N
Virginia Tech (copyright A.A. Trani) 56q

Matlab xlsread can Read a Range in an
Excel
• The Matlab statement:
• [num,txt,raw] = xlsread
('bridges_of_the_world_short.xls','Bridge data
(A2:D24)');
• Reads the Excel file but only across the range

specified (A2:D24)
• This is useful if you know the data structure of

the file you are reading
Virginia Tech (copyright A.A. Trani) 56r

Exporting Capabilities (I)
• The following code exports data from all four one-

dimensional arrays to a text file called ‘output.txt’
• The format ‘a’ implies appending information to this file
fid = fopen ('output.txt','a');

fprintf(fid, '%4.0f %4.0f %4.0f %4.0f\n',y');
status = fclose(fid);
Note that a specific format with four digits has been used
in this example.

Displaying Output on the Command Window
• Use function ‘disp’ to display output to the screen.

• Typically used in conjunction with ‘num2str’ to convert
numerical to string variables
Example:
x = 35
displ([‘This is a test to display ’, num2str(x), ‘ here’])
Results:
This is a test to display 35 here

Matlab Introduction: Dr. Antonio A. Trani Professor Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

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Matlab Introduction

Dr. Antonio A. Trani

Virginia Tech (copyright A.A. Trani)

• To illustrate simple uses of the MATLABTM Technical

TM trademark of the Mathworks (Natick, MA)

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 2 of 58

• A high-performance language for technical computing

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• Because it simplifies the analysis of mathematical

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Complimentary tool to spreadsheets and prog. languages

Tool My Remarks (subjective)

Numeric/Symbolic Tools (MATLAB, • Moderate learning curve

Compiled Languages (C/C++) • Require a fairly steep learning curve

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• MATLAB was created to be a numerical computation

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• Basics of MATLAB (various modes of operation)

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• MATLAB is a technical language to ease scientific

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• MATLAB works with matrices

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MATLAB has the following basic window components:

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• A Java-based GUI environment allows you to easily

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• The command window allows you to interact with

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• The launch window allows you to quickly select among

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• Provides quick access to all files available in your Path

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• Provides the same functionality found in most

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MATLAB has an interactive debugger to help you step

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• Allows standard programming techniques such:

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• Displays the graphic contents of MATLAB code (either

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Figure properties can be changed interactively using the

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• Propedit : Allows you to change properties of a plot

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As you develop and execute models in MATLAB the

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• The workspace window allows you to inspect (and

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• Provides acces to various help files (both internal and on-

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MATLAB Memory Allocation

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MATLAB Memory Allocation

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• Displays all previous commands issued in a MATLAB

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There are several options to interact with MATLAB

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• Use the MATLAB Command Window to interact with

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