MATLAB - Environment Setup

Try it Option Online

You really do not need to set up your own environment to start learning MATLAB Octave. Reason is very simple, we already have set up MATLAB Octave environment online, so that you can execute all the available examples online at the same time when you are doing your theory work.
This gives you confidence in what you are reading and to check the result with different options. Feel free to modify any example and execute it online.
Try the following example using Try it option available at the top right corner of the below sample code box −

x = [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10];
y1 = [.16 .08 .04 .02 .013 .007 .004 .002 .001 .0008 ];
y2 = [.16 .07 .03 .01 .008 .003 .0008 .0003 .00007 .00002 ];

semilogy(x,y1,'-bo;y1;',x,y2,'-kx;y2;');
title('Plot title');
xlabel('X Axis');
ylabel('Y Axis');
print -deps graph.eps

For most of the examples given in this tutorial, you will find Try it option, so just make use of it and enjoy your learning.

Local Environment Setup

Setting up MATLAB environment is a matter of few clicks. The installer can be downloaded from here.
MathWorks provides the licensed product, a trial version and a student version as well. You need to log into the site and wait a little for their approval.
After downloading the installer the software can be installed through few clicks.

Understanding the MATLAB Environment

MATLAB development IDE can be launched from the icon created on the desktop. The main working window in MATLAB is called the desktop. When MATLAB is started, the desktop appears in its default layout −
The desktop has the following panels −

• Current Folder − This panel allows you to access the project folders and files.
  
• Command Window − This is the main area where commands can be entered at the command line. It is indicated by the command prompt (>>).
  
• Workspace − The workspace shows all the variables created and/or imported from files.
  
• Command History − This panel shows or rerun commands that are entered at the command line.
  

Set up GNU Octave

If you are willing to use Octave on your machine ( Linux, BSD, OS X or Windows ), then kindly download latest version from Download GNU Octave. You can check the given installation instructions for your machine.