To create a column vector in MATLAB, you separate the elements with semicolons (;).
Here's a breakdown with examples:
Creating a Column Vector
The fundamental way to define a column vector is by using semicolons to separate the elements. This tells MATLAB to stack the elements vertically, resulting in a single column.
Example:
column_vector = [1; 2; 3; 4; 5];In this example, column_vector will be a 5x1 matrix (5 rows, 1 column) containing the numbers 1 through 5.
Explanation:
[]: Square brackets are used to define a matrix (or vector).;: The semicolon acts as a row separator. Each time you encounter a semicolon, MATLAB moves to the next row.
Verification
You can verify that column_vector is indeed a column vector using the size function:
size(column_vector)This will output 5 1, indicating 5 rows and 1 column.
Alternative Methods (Less Common but Useful)
While using semicolons is the standard approach, you can also create column vectors through other methods, though these might be more applicable in specific scenarios.
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Transposing a Row Vector: You can create a row vector first and then transpose it to a column vector using the transpose operator (
').row_vector = [1 2 3 4 5]; % Row vector column_vector = row_vector'; % Transpose to column vector -
Using
reshape: Thereshapefunction can transform a matrix or vector into a different shape.data = 1:5; % Create a row vector of numbers 1 to 5 column_vector = reshape(data, 5, 1); % Reshape into 5 rows, 1 column
In Summary
The easiest and most direct way to create a column vector in MATLAB is to enclose the elements within square brackets, separating each element with a semicolon. This ensures that MATLAB interprets the data as a single column of values.
