We present here the most commonly used MATLAB objects in six categories: operators, built-in constants, built-in functions, commands, graphics commands, and MATLAB programming constructs. Though MATLAB does not distinguish between commands and functions, it is convenient to think of a MATLAB function as we normally think of mathematical functions. A MATLAB function is something that can be evaluated or plotted; a command is something that manipulates data or expressions or that initiates a process.

We list each operator, function, and command together with a short description of its effect, followed by one or more examples. Many MATLAB commands can appear in a number of different forms, because you can apply them to different kinds of objects. In our examples, we have illustrated the most commonly used forms of the commands. Many commands also have numerous optional arguments; in this glossary, we have only included some very common options. You can find a full description of all forms of a command, and get a more complete accounting of all the optional arguments available for it, by reading the help text which you can access either by typing help or by invoking the Help Browser, shown in Figure G-1.

Figure G-1: The Help Browser, Opened to "Graphics".

This glossary does not contain a comprehensive list of MATLAB commands. We have selected the commands that we feel are most important. You can find a comprehensive list in the Help Browser. The Help Browser is accessible from the Command Window by typing helpdesk