Getting Started

Development Environment

The Development Environment covers starting and quitting MATLAB, and the tools and functions that help you to work with MATLAB variables and files, including the MATLAB desktop. For more information about the topics covered here, see the corresponding topics in Development Environment", which is available in the online as well as in the printed manual, Using MATLAB.

Starting and Quitting MATLAB	Start and quit MATLAB and perform operations upon startup and shutdown.
MATLAB Desktop	The graphical user interface to MATLAB.
Desktop Tools	Use the Command Window for running functions and entering variables, Start button for launching tools, demos, and documentation, Help browser for accessing documentation, Current Directory browser for accessing files, Workspace browser for viewing variables, Editor/Debugger for modifying MATLAB program files (M-files), and Profiler for optimizing M-file performance.
Other Development Environment Features	Import and export data, improve M-file performance, interface with source control systems, and access MATLAB from Microsoft Word using the MATLAB Notebook feature.

Starting and Quitting MATLAB

Starting MATLAB

On Windows platforms, to start MATLAB, double-click the MATLAB shortcut icon on your Windows desktop.

On UNIX platforms, to start MATLAB, type matlab at the operating system prompt.

After starting MATLAB, the MATLAB desktop opens--see MATLAB Desktop.

You can change the directory in which MATLAB starts, define startup options including running a script upon startup, and reduce startup time in some situations. For more information, see the documentation for starting MATLAB.

Quitting MATLAB

To end your MATLAB session, select Exit MATLAB from the File menu in the desktop, or type quit in the Command Window. To execute specified functions each time MATLAB quits, such as saving the workspace, you can create and run a finish.m script.

MATLAB Online Help MATLAB Desktop