Programming and Scripting Flashcards

Which MATLAB function returns the size of an array along a specific dimension?

Answer: size(A, dim)

size(A, dim) returns the length of array A along the specified dimension.

What does the tilde '~' symbol mean when used as a function output argument in MATLAB?

Answer: The output is ignored/discarded

Using '~' as a placeholder output argument tells MATLAB to discard that output without storing it.

In MATLAB, which type of file has the '.m' extension and contains only commands (no function definition)?

Answer: Script file

A script file (.m) contains a sequence of MATLAB commands that execute in the calling workspace, unlike function files which define functions.

What does 'cellfun(@numel, C)' return for a cell array C?

Answer: A numeric array where each element is the number of elements in the corresponding cell

cellfun applies a function to each cell and by default returns a numeric array of the scalar results.

How do you add a new field 'age' with value 30 to an existing structure variable 'person'?

Answer: person.age = 30

MATLAB adds a new field to a struct using dot notation assignment: person.age = 30.

Which keyword ends a function, for loop, while loop, if block, and switch block in MATLAB?

Answer: end

The 'end' keyword terminates all control flow constructs and function definitions in MATLAB.

What is the result of logical short-circuit evaluation using '&&' vs '&' in MATLAB?

Answer: '&&' short-circuits scalar operands and skips evaluating the right side if the left is false; '&' always evaluates both sides element-wise

'&&' performs short-circuit AND on scalars, skipping the right operand when the left is false; '&' always evaluates both operands element-wise.