UCSD IDEA: Intro to Matlab

Files for the Intro to Matlab workshops, presented by the IDEA Student Center of UC San Diego.

Requirements

• Matlab

Installation

Beginning this year (2016), MathWorks provides free student Matlab licenses to all UC San Diego students. To install Matlab:

1. go to the Matlab license site: https://matlab.ucsd.edu/student.html
2. follow the "Get Access" instructions:
   1. create a MathWorks account with your @ucsd.edu email address
   2. download and install Matlab on your laptop

NOTE: the installer file is large (~5 GB) and the final Matlab program (with all toolboxes) is even larger (~15 GB). You can skip the toolboxes (to save space), but the installation will still take ~15–30 minutes.

Matlab Online

If you are unable to install Matlab on your computer, MathWorks now offers Matlab Online, a service for running Matlab through your web-browser. By signing up for a MathWorks account (using your @ucsd.edu email address), you are granted access to Matlab Online:

1. go to the Matlab Online login page: https://matlab.mathworks.com/
2. log in with your MathWorks account

Topics covered

• basic math operations
• variables
• math functions
• loops
• plotting

---

Online demos

Although Matlab is very useful, let's also look at a few other demos for things you can accomplish using programming:

• Cat detector
• How old do I look?
• Park or bird? (inspired by XKCD #1425)
• Image classification
• Math visualization
• Interactive visuals
• Fluid Dynamics simulation