MATLAB Data Types

MATLAB offers a variety of data types to represent different kinds of information. Understanding these types is crucial for effective programming in MATLAB.

Numeric Data Types

MATLAB primarily uses double-precision floating-point numbers by default. However, it supports other numeric types as well:

• double: Double-precision floating-point (default)
• single: Single-precision floating-point
• int8, int16, int32, int64: Signed integers
• uint8, uint16, uint32, uint64: Unsigned integers

Example: Numeric Data Types

x = 5.6;  % double by default
y = single(3.14);
z = int16(100);

Character and String Data

MATLAB supports both character arrays and strings:

• char: Character arrays (older style)
• string: String arrays (introduced in R2016b)

Example: Character and String Data

char_array = 'Hello';
str = "World";

Logical Data

Logical data in MATLAB is represented by true (1) or false (0).

Example: Logical Data

is_valid = true;
result = (5 > 3);  % results in true (1)

Cell Arrays

Cell arrays can store different types of data in each cell. They are versatile containers for mixed data types.

Example: Cell Arrays

data = {1, 'text', [1 2 3], true};

Structures

Structures allow you to group related data using fields. Each field can contain a different data type.

Example: Structures

student.name = 'John';
student.age = 20;
student.grades = [85, 90, 78];

Important Considerations

• Use the class() function to determine the data type of a variable.
• Convert between data types using functions like double(), int32(), or char().
• Be aware of potential precision loss when converting between numeric types.
• String arrays offer more functionality compared to character arrays for text manipulation.

Understanding MATLAB data types is essential for efficient MATLAB variable management and array operations. It forms the foundation for more advanced concepts like matrices and multidimensional arrays.