MATLAB®

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is MATLAB Online and how can I access it?

  MATLAB Online is a web based version of MATLAB that lets you run MATLAB in a browser without having to install it on your local machine. It has most of the same features as the desktop version so you can create scripts, run code and use built in functions.

• What are the differences betwen MATLAB Online vs MATLAB Online (Basics)
  MATLAB Online Limitations:

  • Runs on a remote cloud system, limiting hardware interaction.
  • Cannot interact with most hardware (e.g., instrument control) except for USB webcams and audio playback devices (via Google Chrome).
  • Serialport() and MEX command (for building C/C++ or Fortran files) are not supported.
  • Packaging tools for add-ons and MATLAB Compiler are not supported.
  • The profiler’s graphical interface is not fully supported.
  • Secrets can only be stored on the desktop version.

  Simulink Online Limitations:

  • Most Simulink features (editing and simulation) are supported, but hardware communication, such as Raspberry Pi and Parrot Minidrone, is limited.
  • Features such as Variant Manager and Simulink Debugger are not supported.
  • Potential performance issues outside the US.

  For more details, refer to the full information here
• How can I download MATLAB for my desktop computer?
  To download MATLAB for your desktop computer, follow these steps:

  1. Create an account or log in to the official MathWorks website.
  2. Navigate to the ‘Products’ menu and select ‘MATLAB’, or click on ‘Get MATLAB’ or related links prominently displayed on the homepage.
  3. Depending on your status (student, faculty, or professional), choose the appropriate license type. Some institutions provide student licenses.
  4. Once you have selected the license, you’ll typically see an option to download the MATLAB installer. Click on this link.
  5. Once the file is downloaded, run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to install MATLAB on your computer.
  6. After installation, you may need to activate MATLAB using the license key provided when you purchased or registered for it.
• How can I plot data in MATLAB?

  After importing data into MATLAB, plotting it helps to explore its features, find discontinuities, detect outliers, and highlight regions of interest. The MATLAB figure window is used to display these plots and has interactive tools to edit and customize graphics. For more info, refer to the section on Types of MATLAB Plots, which covers the figure window and its features. See MATLAB Plot Gallery 

• How do I customize plots in MATLAB?
  Customizing plots in MATLAB involves modifying their appearance to better visualize data or match specific requirements. Below are the key ways to customize plots in MATLAB:

  Change Line Styles, Markers, and Colors:

  plot(x, y, ‘–r’, ‘LineWidth’, 2, ‘Marker’, ‘o’);

  Add Titles, Labels, and Legends:

  title(‘Title’); xlabel(‘X-axis’); ylabel(‘Y-axis’); legend(‘Label’);

  Adjust Axes:

  axis([xmin xmax ymin ymax]); grid on; set(gca, ‘FontSize’, 14);

  Overlay or Subplots:

  hold on; plot(x, y1); plot(x, y2); hold off; % Overlay

  subplot(2,1,1); plot(x, y1); subplot(2,1,2); plot(x, y2); % Subplots

  Annotations:

  text(x, y, ‘Label’); annotation(‘arrow’, [x1 x2], [y1 y2]);

  Save Plots:

  saveas(gcf, ‘plot.png’); exportgraphics(gcf, ‘plot.pdf’, ‘ContentType’, ‘vector’);

  Default Styles:

  set(groot, ‘DefaultLineLineWidth’, 2, ‘DefaultAxesFontSize’, 14);

  Customize further using tools like the Property Inspector or set/get for fine-tuning.
• What is the subplot function in MATLAB?
  In MATLAB, the subplot function arranges multiple plots in an 𝑁×𝑀 grid within a figure, where 𝑁 is the number of rows, and 𝑀 is the number of columns. The third argument specifies the plot’s position, starting at 1 in the upper-left corner and counting across rows from left to right, then proceeding downwards.

  For example, to create a 3×4 grid of plots, use subplot(3, 4, plotNumber);, where plotNumber follows this order:

  1 2 3 4

  5 6 7 8

  9 10 11 12

  To plot in the 5th position (middle row, leftmost column):

  subplot(3, 4, 5);

  plot(rand(15, 1));

  To span the entire top row (positions 1 through 4):

  subplot(3, 4, 1:4);

  For individual plots below, use:

  subplot(3, 4, 5);

  subplot(3, 4, 6);

  This approach allows flexible placement and resizing of plots in a single figure.
• How does MATLAB integrate with Simulink?

  You can use MATLAB code in Simulink using the MATLAB Function block for simple functions or the MATLAB System block for code that involves state dynamics, large data streams, or Simulink engine interactions.

• What loop control statements are available in MATLAB?
  MATLAB has two types of loop control statements: for and while.

  • for loops iterate a specific number of times, using an index variable.

  Example: Preallocating a vector and calculating values:

  x = ones(1, 10);

  for n = 2:6

  x(n) = 2 * x(n – 1);

  end

  • while loops run as long as a condition is true.

  Example: Finding the smallest integer n where factorial(n) has 100 digits:

  n = 1;

  nFactorial = 1;

  while nFactorial < 1e100

  n = n + 1;

  nFactorial = nFactorial * n;

  end
• What is the latest version of MATLAB?

  MathWorks releases twice a year, in March and September, with new features, bug fixes and sometimes new products. Latest version is R2024b.