Logical values in MATLAB

Introduction

Logical values help us decide if something is true or false, which is useful for making choices in programs.

Checking if a number is positive or negative.

Deciding whether to run a part of code based on a condition.

Filtering data to keep only certain values.

Testing if two values are equal or not.

Syntax

MATLAB

true  % represents logical true
false % represents logical false

% Logical expressions example:
a = 5;
b = 10;
result = (a < b); % result is logical true because 5 is less than 10

Logical values in MATLAB are either true (1) or false (0).

You can use logical values in if statements and loops to control program flow.

Examples

Assign logical true and false directly to variables.

MATLAB

x = true;
y = false;

Compare two numbers; isGreater will be true because 7 is greater than 3.

MATLAB

a = 7;
b = 3;
isGreater = (a > b);

Create a logical array where each element shows if the condition is true (greater than 3) or false.

MATLAB

vec = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
logicalVec = vec > 3;

Sample Program

We use logical values from the condition mod(number, 2) == 0 to decide which message to show.

MATLAB

% This program checks if a number is even or odd
number = 8;
if mod(number, 2) == 0
    disp('The number is even.')
else
    disp('The number is odd.')
end

Important Notes

Logical values are very useful for controlling which parts of your program run.

You can combine logical conditions using & (and), | (or), and ~ (not).

Logical arrays can help you select or change parts of data easily.

Summary

Logical values are either true or false and help make decisions in code.

You create logical values by comparing things or using true/false directly.

Use logical values in if statements and loops to control what your program does.