Linear Algebra with Applications, 10th Edition

Basic Data Elements

The basic elements that MATLAB uses are matrices. Once the matrices have been entered or generated, the user can quickly perform sophisticated computations with a minimal amount of programming.

Entering matrices in MATLAB is easy. To enter the matrix

$$\left[\begin{array}{cccc}1& 2& 3& 4\\ 5& 6& 7& 8\\ 9& 10& 11& 12\\ 13& 14& 15& 16\end{array}\right]$$

type

$$A=\left[\begin{array}{cccccccccccccccc}1& 2& 3& 4;& 5& 6& 7& 8;& 9& 10& 11& 12;& 13& 14& 15& 16\end{array}\right]$$

or the matrix could be entered one row at a time:

$$\begin{array}{ccccc}\hfill A=& \hfill [1& \hfill 2& \hfill 3& \hfill 4\\ \hfill 5& \hfill 6& \hfill 7& \hfill 8\\ \hfill 9& \hfill 10& \hfill 11& \hfill 12\\ \hfill 13& \hfill 14& \hfill 15& \hfill 16]\end{array}$$

Once a matrix has been entered, you can edit it in two ways. From the command window, you can redefine any entry with a MATLAB command. For example, the command $A(1,3)=5$ will change the third entry in the first row of A to 5. You can also edit the entries of a matrix from the Workspace Browser. To change the $(1,3)$ entry of A with the ...