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colon, :

Vector creation, array subscripting, and for-loop iteration

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Syntax

x = j:k
x = j:i:k
A(:,n)
A(m,:)
A(:)
A(j:k)

Description

The colon is one of the most useful operators in MATLAB®. It can create vectors, subscript arrays, and specify for iterations.

example

x = j:k creates a unit-spaced vector x with elements [j,j+1,j+2,...,j+m] where m = fix(k-j). If j and k are both integers, then this is simply [j,j+1,...,k].

example

x = j:i:k creates a regularly-spaced vector x using i as the increment between elements. The vector elements are roughly equal to [j,j+i,j+2*i,...,j+m*i] where m = fix((k-j)/i). However, if i is not an integer, then floating point arithmetic plays a role in determining whether colon includes the endpoint k in the vector, since k might not be exactly equal to j+m*i. If you specify nonscalar arrays, then MATLAB interprets j:i:k as j(1):i(1):k(1).

x = colon(j,k) and x = colon(j,i,k) are alternate ways to execute the commands j:k and j:i:k, but are rarely used. These syntaxes enable operator overloading for classes.

example

A(:,n), A(m,:), A(:), and A(j:k) are common indexing expressions for a matrix A that contain a colon. When you use a colon as a subscript in an indexing expression, such as A(:,n), it acts as shorthand to include all subscripts in a particular array dimension. It is also common to create a vector with a colon for the purposes of indexing, such as A(j:k). Some indexing expressions combine both uses of the colon, as in A(:,j:k).

Common indexing expressions that contain a colon are:

  • A(:,n) is the nth column of matrix A.

  • A(m,:) is the mth row of matrix A.

  • A(:,:,p) is the pth page of three-dimensional array A.

  • A(:) reshapes all elements of A into a single column vector. This has no effect if A is already a column vector.

  • A(:,:) reshapes all elements of A into a two-dimensional matrix. This has no effect if A is already a matrix or vector.

  • A(j:k) uses the vector j:k to index into A and is therefore equivalent to the vector [A(j), A(j+1), ..., A(k)].

  • A(:,j:k) includes all subscripts in the first dimension but uses the vector j:k to index in the second dimension. This returns a matrix with columns [A(:,j), A(:,j+1), ..., A(:,k)].

Examples

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Create a unit-spaced vector of numbers between 1 and 10. The colon operator uses a default increment of +1.

x = 1:10
x = 1×10

     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9    10
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Create vectors that increment or decrement by a specified value.

Create a vector whose elements increment by 0.1.

x = 0:0.1:1
x = 1×11

         0    0.1000    0.2000    0.3000    0.4000    0.5000    0.6000    0.7000    0.8000    0.9000    1.0000

Create a vector whose elements decrement by -2.

y = 10:-2:0
y = 1×6

    10     8     6     4     2     0
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Examine several ways to index a matrix using a colon :.

Create a 3-by-3 matrix. Index the first row.

A = magic(3)
A = 3×3

     8     1     6
     3     5     7
     4     9     2


A(1,:)
ans = 1×3

     8     1     6

Index the second and third column.

A(:,2:3)
ans = 3×2

     1     6
     5     7
     9     2

Reshape the matrix into a column vector.

A(:)
ans = 9×1

     8
     3
     4
     1
     5
     9
     6
     7
     2
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In the context of a for-loop, the colon specifies the loop iterations.

Write a for-loop that squares a number for values of n between 1 and 4.

for n = 1:4
    n^2
end
ans = 1

ans = 4

ans = 9

ans = 16

Input Arguments

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Starting vector value, specified as a real numeric scalar. If j < k so that the output vector is not empty, then j is the first element in the vector.

Example: x = 0:5

Example: x = 0:0.5:5

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64 | char | datetime | duration

Ending vector value, specified as a real numeric scalar. k is the last value in the vector only when the increment lines up to exactly land on k. For example, the vector 0:5 includes 5 as the last value, but 0:0.3:1 does not include the value 1 as the last value since the increment does not line up with the endpoint.

Example: x = 0:5

Example: x = 0:0.5:5

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64 | char | datetime | duration

Increment between vector elements, specified as a real numeric scalar.

Example: x = 0:0.5:5

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64 | char | datetime | duration

Output Arguments

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Regularly-spaced vector, returned as a row vector. If j > k, then x = j:k is an empty matrix. More generally, the syntax x = j:i:k returns an empty matrix when:

  • i, j, or k is an empty input

  • i == 0

  • i > 0 and j > k

  • i < 0 and j < k

Tips

  • The for reference page has a description of how to use : in the context of loop statements.

  • linspace is similar to the colon operator :, but it gives direct control over the number of points and always includes the endpoints. The sibling function logspace generates logarithmically spaced values.

  • When you create a vector to index into a cell array or structure array (such as cellName{:} or structName(:).fieldName), MATLAB returns multiple outputs in a comma-separated list. For more information, see How to Use the Comma-Separated Lists.

Extended Capabilities

Version History

Introduced before R2006a

See Also

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