problems writing a function

Hi all, I'm trying to write a function, but I have some problems, this is the script:

    exp((abs((x+2)*(x-3))/((x+3)*(x-2))))

But Matlab shows me an error:

Error using  * 
Inner matrix dimensions must agree.

So I changed all with .*( what is the difference? ) The plot shows me a straight line at 2,42 (as if I only copy the function on matlab command window), but If I copy the function on wolfram site, the result is as I expect. Why? Thanks in advance, Alessandro

[Stephen23]

The difference is simple:

• without the period follow the rules of linear algebra, as used in mathematics using matrices, for example * performs matrix multiplication.
• with the period performs element-wise operations on the corresponding elements of the arrays, for example .* gives the Hadamard product.

This is clearly explained in the documentation:

http://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_prog/array-vs-matrix-operations.html

Answer 1

[Azzi Abdelmalek]

   exp((abs((x+2).*(x-3))./((x+3).*(x-2))))

[linofex]

oh, ./ thank you! problem solved. Can you explain me the difference between * and .*?

[Azzi Abdelmalek]

 [1 2].*[3 4]

The result is a multiplication element by element

[1*3 2*4]

The multiplication

[1 2]*[3 4]

is not allowed, because the number of columns in the first matrix should be the same as the number of rows in the second

[linofex]

so,when I work with parenthesis I must write .*? thank you!

[Stephen23]

"when I work with parenthesis I must write .*"

No, because the difference between * and .* has nothing to do with the parentheses at all. Read the documentation to know why: both of these operations can be performed on matrices, so the fact that you create matrices with parentheses is completely irrelevant to which operation you use. The difference is in what they calculate.

[linofex]

thank you for the documentation,solved the difference between * , or .* but why in my function, without matrices, there was the error?