How can I get more information on MATLAB?
- If you know the name of the function you want help on you can use the matlab help command.
>> help % lists the names of all Directories in the % MATLABPATH search path >> help dir_name % lists contents of directory dir_name, if % dir_name is a directory in the MATLABPATH % and contains a Contents.m file >> help fname % Shows the help message for a particular function
The command "more on" sets matlab to pause between screenfuls of text, rather than scrolling it beyond view. (Use spacebar to advance a page, RETURN to advance a line, "q" to exit from the item being displayed.) For example, typing "help fft" gives:
>> help fft FFT Discrete Fourier transform. FFT(X) is the discrete Fourier transform of vector X. If the length of X is a power of two, a fast radix-2 fast-Fourier transform algorithm is used. If the length of X is not a power of two, a slower non-power-of-two algorithm is employed. FFT(X,N) is the N-point FFT, padded with zeros if X has less than N points and truncated if it has more. If X is a matrix, the FFT operation is applied to each column. See also IFFT, FFT2, IFFT2, FFTSHIFT.
- If you are unsure of the function name, you can try to find the name using the Matlab "lookfor" command. This command does a keyword search on the first comment line of each .m file in the MATLABPATH, and may take some time to finish. (The switch "-all" can be used to search through the entire first comment block, but this will lengthen the search.) For example
>> lookfor cartesian CART2POL Transform Cartesian to polar coordinates. CART2SPH Transform Cartesian to spherical coordinates. POL2CART Transform polar to Cartesian coordinates. SPH2CART Transform spherical to Cartesian coordinates.
- The MathWorks' web-based "Help Desk" includes a full documentation set in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format, a searchable command index, and links to other information. It can be started from matlab:
>> helpdesk
or from Athena
athena% add matlab; matlabdoc
and it will open up in your web browser.
- There is a "Matlab on Athena" document (AC-71) available on the web at http://web.mit.edu/olh/Matlab/Matlab.html. SIPB also puts out an "Inessential Matlab" document.