CE-111

Introduction to
Computing for Civil
Engineers

Lecture 7
 Recap
• Examples related to control structures
• Function programming in python

Lecture 08 2
 Road Map for Today
• MATLAB
– BASIC ARITHMETIC IN MATLAB
– ARRAYS

Lecture 08 3
3. MATLAB

Lecture 08 4
 3.1 What is MATLAB?
• MATLAB stands for Matrix Laboratory.
• MATLAB is a high-performance language for technical computing.
• It integrates
– computation,
– visualization, and
– Programming
• All of the above in an easy-to-use environment where problems
and solutions are expressed in familiar mathematical notation.
 3.2 Typical Uses of MATLAB
• Math and computation
• Algorithm development
• Modelling, simulation, and prototyping
• Data analysis, exploration, and visualization
• Scientific and engineering graphics
• Application development, including Graphical User Interface
building
3.3 Main MATLAB Window
 Getting Help
• There are several ways of getting help:

– Basic help on named commands/functions is echoed to the command

window by:

>> help command-name

– A complete help system containing full text of manuals is started by:

>> helpdesk
Getting Help
Getting Help
3.2 Arithmetic Operators
• MATLAB uses conventional decimal notation with option
decimal point, for numbers.
• The e or E notation is used for very large or very small
numbers. So
1.2345e-89 means 1.2345×10-89
• Either the 𝑖𝑖 or 𝑗𝑗 notation can be used to represent the
imaginary unit in a complex number.
Legitimately expressed numbers

3 -99 0.0001
9.63978 1.6021E-20 6.0223e23
2*i -3.141*i 3e5*i
Predefined Constant Values
• Example of a simple interactive session:
– suppose you want to calculate the expression, 1 + 2 × 3.
– The expression is typed at the command prompt (>>) as follows:
 Using MATLAB as a calculator (cont…)
• MATLAB uses default variable ans, short for answer, to store
the results of the current calculation.
• Note: variable ans is created (or overwritten if it already
exists!)
• To avoid we assign a value to a variable or output argument.
 Using MATLAB as a calculator (cont…)
• The variable name can always be used to refer to the results of
the previous computations.
Basic list of arithmetic operators:

+ Addition
- Subtraction
* Multiplication
/ Division
^ power
3.2.1 Controlling the hierarchy of Operations or
Precedence
• If we consider the two expressions, the two parentheses
give different results:

• The order in which MATLAB performs arithmetic operations

is exactly that taught in high school algebra courses.
• Exponentiations are done first, followed by multiplications
• and divisions, and finally by additions and subtractions.
• However, the standard order of precedence of arithmetic
operations can be changed by inserting parentheses
• Parentheses can always be used to overrule priority, and
their use is recommended in some complex expressions to
avoid ambiguity.
 Precedence Rules

• Example
>> 2+2/4*5
ans =
5.75

Performing the computation 2+3/4×5=2+0.75×5=2+3.75=5.75

Example
 3.2.2 Variables
• MATLAB displays the result of any assignment on the screen, and assigns it to the
specific variable, or to ans if no variable is given.
• Examples

>> 3-2^4 >> x=3-2^4

ans = The result of the first x= You can assign the
-13 calculation is assigned to -13 result of a calculation
>> ans*5 the default variable ans, >> y=x*5
ans = when may then be used y= to variable names of
-65 in the next calculation. -65 your own choice.

• You can assign the result of calculation to a variable retrospectively

by using the command x=ans, which assigns the result of
unassigned calculation (as ans) to the variable x.
• These values can be used in subsequent calculations.
 Legitimate Variable Names
• Can consist of any combination of letters and digits provided
the combination starts with a letter (but does not include
special characters such as ! $ % &, etc).
• Legal variables
NetCost, Left2Pay, theta1, x1, z25c4
• Combination that are NOT acceptable
Net-Cost, 2Pay, 1x, %theta
 3.2.3 Controlling the Output
• if you do not wish to see the intermediate results, you can suppress the
numerical output by putting a semicolon (;) at the end of the line.
• It is possible to enter multiple statements per line.
• Use commas (,) or semicolons (;) to enter more than one statement at
once.
• Commas (,) allow multiple statements per line without suppressing output.
 Controlling the Output (cont…)
• MATLAB by default displays only 4 decimals in the result of
the calculations, for example -163.6667.
• All computations in MATLAB are done in double precision,
referring to accuracy of about 15 significant figures.
>> 2/7
ans =
0.2857

• While only 4 significant figures have been displayed, MATLAB

has actually done the calculation to a much higher accuracy.
• Issuing the format long command gives
>> format long
>> 2/7
ans =
0.28571428571429
 format command
• Controls the format of the output.
MATLAB Command Example of output
format short 1.3333 (5 digits)
format shore e 1.3333e+000 (floating point with 5 digits)
format long 1.33333333333333 (15 digits)
format long e 1.33333333333333e+000 (15 digits)
format compact Suppresses extra lines feeds
format loose Puts the extra line feeds back in (default)

• The default format is short, and then MATLAB displays all numeric
output to 5 digits.
 3.2.4 Entering Complex Values
• MATLAB allows complex numbers in all its operations and
functions.
• You may use either symbols 𝑖𝑖 or 𝑗𝑗 to represent −1. Examples
>> z=3+4*i
z=
3.0000+4.0000i
>> w=z^2
z=
-7.0000+24.0000i
>> conj(w)
z=
-7.0000-24.0000i
>> abs(z)
ans =
5

• conj and abs have the meanings of complex conjugate and

absolute value respectively.
Elementary Functions
 3.2.5 Error messages
• If an expression is incorrectly entered, MATLAB will return an
error message.
• For example, leaving out the multiplication sign * in the
following example:
 3.2.6 Making Corrections
• To make corrections, we can, of course retype the expressions.
• But if the expression is lengthy, we make more mistakes by
typing a second time.
• A previously typed command can be recalled with the up-
arrow key ↑.
• When the command is displayed at the command prompt, it
can be modified if needed and executed.
 3.2.7 Managing Workspace
• The contents of the workspace persist between the executions of separate commands.
• Therefore, it is possible for the results of one problem to have an effect on the next one.
• To avoid this possibility, it is a good idea to issue a clear command at the start of each new
independent calculation.
>> clear
• The command clear or clear all removes all variables from the workspace.
• Thisfrees up system memory.
• In order to display a list of the variables currently in the memory, type
>> who
• while, whos will give more details which include size, space allocation, and class of the
variables.
 3.2.8 Keeping track of your work session
• It is possible to keep track of everything done during a MATLAB
session with the diary command.
>> diary
• Or give a name to a created file,
>> diary FileName
where FileName could be any arbitrary name you choose.
 Keeping track of you work session
• The function diary is useful if you want to save a complete MATLAB session.
• They save all input and output as they appear in the MATLAB window.
• When you want to stop the recording, enter diary off. If you want to start
recording again, enter diary on.
• The file that is created is a simple text file.
• It can be opened by an editor or a word processing program and edited to
remove extraneous material, or to add your comments
• You can use the function type to view the diary file or you can edit in a text
editor or print.
• This command is useful, for example in the process of preparing a homework or
lab submission.
 3.2.9 Quitting MATLAB
• To end your MATLAB session, type quit in the Command
Window, or select File → Exit MATLAB in the desktop main
menu.
 3.3 Arrays and Matrices
• Discuss Arrays, some syntax and built in functions all together
– syntax and built in functions come up while learning arrays
 3.3.1 Arrays
• MATLAB is adept at handling arrays
– Optimized for vector/matrix operations
– This allows for a reduction of code in some cases
• Array types: Numeric, character, logical, cell, structure,
function handle
– Numeric types: single, double, int8, int16, int32, uint8, uint16, uint32
 3.3.1.1 Numeric Arrays
• One dimensional arrays, called vectors
– Can create row or column vectors
– Row vector
• A few ways to create a row vector

• Or use “:”
 Numeric Arrays
• Column vectors
– A few ways to generate column vectors too
– Semicolon between elements starts new row
– Transpose a row vector, or use return between elements
 Numeric Arrays
• You can also append vectors into one big row or column vector
• Use built in function to generate vectors
– linspace
• Create a row vector of linearly spaced elements
– logspace
• Create a row vector of logarithmically spaced elements
 Numeric Arrays
• Two-dimensional arrays, called a matrix in MATLAB often
• Size = rows by columns
– [r c] = size(array_name) if array_name is a matrix
– size will work for n-dimension arrays and output size of each
dimension into a row vector
• Basic matrix creation:
 Numeric Arrays
• Array addressing
– Vector: foo
• foo(:) gives all row or column elements
• foo(1:5) gives the first five row or column elements
• foo(2) gives the second element
– Matrix: bar
• bar(1,3) gives the first row, third column element
• Bar(:,2) gives all elements in the second column
• Bar(1,:) gives all elements in the first row
• Bar(3:4,1:3) gives all elements in the third and fourth rows that are in the first
through third columns
 Numeric Arrays
• Array operations
– MATLAB has array or element by element and matrix operations
when dealing with arrays
• Element-by-element operations
– Multiplying a vector or array by a scalar is an easy example
 Numeric Arrays
• How do you multiply two arrays element-by-element?
– Do it in a for loop
• Very slow, avoid whenever possible
– Use element-by-element operations
– Addition and subtraction are the same: +, -
– Multiplication, right and left division and exponentiation use “.”
before the symbol
• i.e. foo.*bar or foo./bar or foo.^3
 Numeric Arrays
• Examples of element-by-element operation results
 Numeric Arrays
• Matrix operations
– Matrix operations are the same symbols as
standard scalar operations
– Apply when multiplying or dividing matrices
 Numeric Arrays
• Useful built-in functions for working with
arrays
– Size, linspace and logspace were already
mentioned
– Num_of_elements = length(array)
• Returns the length of the longest dimension
– Max_val = max(array)
• Returns the largest element in the array if it is a vector
• Returns a row vector of the largest element if the array
is a matrix
– min_val = min(array)
• Same as max, but returns the minimum values
 Numeric Arrays
• sum(array)
– Returns the sum of a vector or a row vector of the sum of each
column
• find(array)
– Returns an array with the locations of the nonzero elements of the
array
– Will talk about find more in week 4
 Numeric Arrays
• When dealing with numeric arrays, the clear function can
come in handy
– If you have foo declared as a 2x2 array
– Then create two 5x1 arrays, x and y
– Try to do: foo(:,1) = x
– Produces an error because MATLAB thinks foo should be a 2x2 array
and x won’t fit into the first column of foo
– Use clear to reset foo
 Numeric Arrays
• MATLAB can create several special matrices
– Identity, zeros and ones
– Useful for initializing matrices to ones, zeros or when you may need
to use the identity matrix
• MATLAB also has functions to check for NaN, inf, or if an array
is empty
– isnan, isempty, isinf
 3.3.1.2 Determinant of a Matrix
• The determinant of a square matrix in MATLAB is determined
by the simple command det(A). Thus, if a is to represent the
determinant, we would type and enter
>> a = det(A)
• Note that a is a scalar (1 x 1 "matrix").

49
 3.3.1.3 Inverse Matrix

• The inverse of a square matrix in MATLAB is

determined by the simple command inv(A).
Thus, if B is to represent the inverse of A ,
the command would be

>> B = inv(A)

50
 3.3.1.4 Simultaneous Equation
Solution
Ax = b
-1
x=A b
• MATLAB Format:
>> x = inv(A)*b

• Alternate MATLAB Format:

>> x = A\b
51
Example 1: Enter the matrices below in MATLAB.

2 1 
 2 -3 5  
A=  B = 7 -4 
-1 4 6  3 1 
>> A = [2 -3 5; -1 4 6];

>> B = [2 1; 7 -4; 3 1];

52
Example 2: Determine the transpose of B and
denote it as C.

>> C = B'
C=
2 7 3
1 -4 1

• The 3 x 2 matrix has been converted to a 2

x 3 matrix.

53
Example 3: Determine the sum of A and C and denote it as D.

>> D = A + C
D=
4 4 8
0 0 7

54
Example 4: Determine the product of A and B with A first.

>> A*B
ans =
-2 19
44 -11

55
Example 5: Determine the product of B and A with B first.

>> B*A
ans =
3 -2 16
18 -37 11
5 -5 21

56
Example 6. Determine the array product of A and C and
denote it as E.

>> E = A.*C
E=
4 -21 15
-1 -16 6

57
Example 7: Enter the matrix A. It will be used in several
examples.

 1 2 -1

A = -1 1 3 
 3 2 1 
>> A = [1 2 -1; -1 1 3; 3 2 1]
A=
1 2 -1
-1 1 3
3 2 1
58
Example 7: (cont…) Determine the determinant of A and
denote it as a.

>> a = det(A)
a=
20

59
Example 8. Determine the inverse matrix of A and denote
it as Ainv.

>> Ainv = inv(A)

Ainv =
-0.2500 -0.2000 0.3500
0.5000 0.2000 -0.1000
-0.2500 0.2000 0.1500

60
Example 9: Use MATLAB to solve the
simultaneous equations below.

x1 + 2 x2 − x3 =−8
− x1 + x2 + 3 x3 =7
3 x1 + 2 x2 + x3 =
4
61
Example 9: (Cont…)

• Assume that A is still in memory.

>> b = [-8; 7; 4]
b=
-8
7
4

62
Example 9: (Cont…)

>> x = inv(A)*b

x=
2.0000
-3.0000
4.0000

63
 Example 9: (Cont…)
• Alternately,

>> x = A\b
x=
2.0000
-3.0000
4.0000

64
 Exercise 1
1. Evaluate the following MATLAB expressions by hand and use
MATLAB to check the answers.
a) 2/2*3
b) 6-2/5+7^2-1
c) 10 / 2 \ 5 - 3 + 2 * 4
d) 3^2/4
e) 3^2^2
f) 2 + round(6 / 9 + 3 * 2) / 2 - 3
g) 2 + floor(6 / 9 + 3 * 2) / 2 - 3
h) 2 + ceil(6 / 9 + 3 * 2) / 2 - 3
 Exercise 1
2. Evaluate the following mathematical expressions in MATLAB.
Display your evaluations by omitting semicolons at the end of
your lines.
a) 28
22
b) − 𝜋𝜋
7
4 192
c) 92 + − 𝜋𝜋
22
d) 𝜋𝜋 − 𝑒𝑒 𝜋𝜋
e) log 10 2
f) tanh 𝑒𝑒
 Exercise 1 (cont…)
3. Evaluate the following expressions, omitting semicolons at the
ends of your lines. You should have the format short (the default)
in effect for all but the last two items.

a) 1⁄0
b) 0⁄0
c) 1 − 10−8
d) 1 − 10−20
e) 1 − 10−8 with format long in effect
f) 1 − 10−20 with format long in effect