MATLAB: I have this command “min(A(:,b),[ ],2)”, where A is a matrix and b is one of its columns. How does it works

Question

Hi everyone! I have this piece in a code I am trying to understand but I don't know what does it means when "[]" and "2" are added inside the min function. Thank you for your help. 🙂

Answer 1

Hello Vio,

 A = [1.7 1.2 1.5; 1.3 1.6 1.99]
M = min(A,[],2) %This gives minimum along rows

and

 A = [1.7 1.2 1.5; 1.3 1.6 1.99]
M = min(A,[],1) %This gives minimum along columns

If you don't use [ ] in your code, it shows a modified matrix with all the elements of A. If any value is greater than n, then it is replaced by n otherwise it is unchanged

 n=6;
A = [1.7 1.2 6.5; 1.3 1.6 6.99]
M = min(A,n);

and

 n=7;
A = [1.7 1.2 6.5; 1.3 1.6 6.99]
M = min(A,n);

This is something I observed while coding. Just wanted to share. I hope it will be helpful.