B. Release notes for Release 14 with Service Pack 2

MATLAB 7 Release 14 with Service Pack 2 (R14SP2) includes several new features. The major focus of R14SP2 is on improving the quality of the product. This document doesn’t attempt to provide a complete specification of every single feature, but instead provides a brief introduction to each of them. For full details, you should refer to the MATLAB documentation (Release Notes).

This excerpt introduces the context of MATLAB 7 Release 14 with Service Pack 2 (R14SP2). It emphasizes that the focus of this release is on enhancing product quality and that the document provides a brief overview of features rather than comprehensive details. Users are encouraged to consult the MATLAB documentation for more in-depth information about the features discussed.

Think of this release like a software update for your smartphone. The update improves the performance of existing features and might add a few new ones. Just like how you can read the full update notes on your phone’s software page, here you should refer to the MATLAB documentation for complete details.

The following key points may be relevant:

1. Spaces before numbers - For example: A* .5, you will typically get a mystifying message saying that A was previously used as a variable. There are two workarounds:

   • (a) Remove all the spaces: A*.5
   • (b) Or, put a zero in front of the dot: A * 0.5

2. RHS Empty Matrix - The right-hand side must literally be the empty matrix [ ]. It cannot be a variable that has the value [ ], as shown here: rhs = []; A(:,2) = rhs ??? Subscripted assignment dimension mismatch.

3. New Format Option - We can display MATLAB output using two new formats: short eng and long eng.

   • short eng – Displays output in engineering format that has at least 5 digits and a power that is a multiple of three.

     >> format short eng
     >> pi
     ans =
     3.1416e+000

   • long eng – Displays output in engineering format that has 16 significant digits and a power that is a multiple of three.

     >> format long eng
     >> pi
     ans =
     3.14159265358979e+000

4. Help - To get help for a subfunction, use

   >> help function_name>subfunction_name

   In previous versions, the syntax was

   >> help function_name/subfunction_name

   This change was introduced in R14 (MATLAB 7.0) but was not documented. Use the MathWorks Web site search features to look for the latest information.

5. Publishing - Publishing to LATEX now respects the image file type you specify in preferences rather than always using EPSC2-files.

This section outlines several significant updates and changes in R14SP2. It introduces important programming practices such as handling spaces before numerical values, correctly using empty matrices, and new display options for output in engineering formats. It also highlights changes in getting help for functions and improvements in publishing, making the process more user-friendly. Each point addresses improvements that aim to streamline the coding and debugging experience, ultimately enhancing user productivity.

Imagine you have a new recipe to make a cake, and you’ve found some tips that make the cake fluffier, like the right temperature for baking and how to handle flour. This section is similar; it shares important tips that help users code more effectively in MATLAB, enhancing their programming 'recipe' for creating better results.

The Publish image options in Editor/Debugger preferences for Publishing Images have changed slightly. The changes prevent you from choosing invalid formats. The files created when publishing using cells now have more natural extensions. For example, JPEG-files now have a .jpg instead of a .jpeg extension, and EPSC2-files now have an .eps instead of an .epsc2 extension. Notebook will no longer support Microsoft Word 97 starting in the next release of MATLAB.

This chunk addresses the updates related to the publishing feature in MATLAB. It specifies that there are updates to how images are formatted when publishing documents. The major change is that MATLAB now uses more intuitive file extensions, making it easier for users to identify file types. Additionally, it announces that older versions of Microsoft Word will no longer be supported, prompting users to adapt to newer formats.

Think of this like organizing your photo albums. If you were to switch from old photo paper to a new, modern type, you’d want it to be easily identifiable and compatible with current technology. This update in MATLAB helps users ensure their published images are correctly formatted and up-to-date, making sharing and collaborating easier.

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