PROGRAMMING WITH MATLAB
WEEK 5
CONTROL STRUCTURES
CONTROL STRUCTURES
Algorithms are sequences of explicitly defined instructions to solve a particular problem.
The instructions are ordered and can be numbered. An algorithm, however, should be able to change
the order of instructions by using a control structure.
Sequential operations: Instructions executed in order.
Conditional operations: Control structures select the appropriate ones from the instructions based on
whether a certain condition is met.
Iterative operations: Control structures execute a group of instructions for a certain number of times or
as long as certain conditions are met
RELATIONAL OPERATORS
operator description
== Equal to
~= Not equal to
> Greater than
>= Greater than or equal to
< Less than
<= Less than or equal to
RELATIONAL OPERATORS
>> x = -3;
>> y = 5.2;
>> z = x<y
z=
logical
1
>> x = [-3, 3, 5];
>> y = [5.2, 2.5, 3];
>> z = x<y
z=
1×3 logical array
1 0 0
>> z = x(x>y) % (finds all the elements in x that are greater than the corresponding elements in y)
z=
3 5
LOGICAL OPERATORS
operator description
& AND (x&y)
| OR
~ NOT
all All true
any Any one true
&& AND (short-circuit AND), scalar
|| OR (short-cirduit OR), scalar
xor XOR
LOGICAL OPERATORS
operator description
isempty(X) Returns a 1 if X is an empty matrix and 0 otherwise
isinf(X) Returns an array of the same dimension as X, with
ones where X has ‘inf’ and zeros elsewhere
isnan(X) Returns an array of the same dimension as X with
ones where X has ‘NaN’ and zeros elsewhere
ischarX() Returns a 1 if X is a character array and 0 otherwise
isnumeric(X) Returns a 1 if X is a numeric array and 0
otherwise
isreal(X) Returns a 1 if X has no elements with imaginary
parts and 0 otherwise
ORDER OF PRECEDENCE FOR OPERATORS
First: Parentheses (starting with the innermost pair)
Second: Arithmetic operator and logical NOT (left to right)
Third: Relational operators (left to right)
Fourth: Logical AND
Fifth: Logical OR
IF/ELSE/ELSEIF
IF : Basic flow control in all programming languages
Syntax:
if logical expression/condition
statements
end
ELSE
Syntax:
if logical expression
statement group 1
else
statement group 2
end
ELSEIF
Syntax:
if logical expression 1
statement group 1
elseif logical expression 2
statement group 2
else
statement group 3
End
Parentheses are not needed, and command blocks are between reserved words (such as if, end)
IF/ELSE/ELSEIF
You can nest any number of if statements. Each if statement requires an end keyword.
Avoid adding a space after else within the elseif keyword (else if). The space creates a nested if statement that
requires its own end keyword.
x = 5;
min = 1;
max = 10;
if (x >= min) && (x <= max)
disp('Value within specified range.')
elseif (x > max)
disp('Value exceeds maximum value.')
else
disp('Value is below minimum value.')
end
LOOPS
while loops: Similar to a more general for loop. No need to know the number of iterations
Syntax:
while conditional expression
statements
end
>> x = 1;
while x < 13
x = x + 3;
end
The command block is executed as long as the conditional expression is correct
LOOPS
The infinite loop must be avoided!
If you inadvertently create an infinite loop (that is, a loop that never ends on its own), stop execution of the
loop by pressing Ctrl+C.
To programmatically exit the loop, use a break statement. To skip the rest of the instructions in the loop and
begin the next iteration, use a continue statement.
When nesting a number of while statements, each while statement requires an end keyword
LOOPS
The switch structure: The switch structure provides an alternative to using the if, elseif, and else
commands
Syntax:
switch switch_expression
case case_expression
statements
case case_expression
statements
...
otherwise
statements
end
LOOPS
x = input('Enter a number: ');
switch x
case -1
disp('negative one')
case 0
disp('zero')
case 1
disp('positive one')
otherwise
disp('other value')
end