For numerical analysis,
>> help gradient
GRADIENT Approximate gradient.
[FX,FY] = GRADIENT(F) returns the numerical gradient of the
matrix F. FX corresponds to dF/dx, the differences in x (horizontal)
direction. FY corresponds to dF/dy, the differences in y (vertical)
direction. The spacing between points in each direction is assumed to
be one. When F is a vector, DF = GRADIENT(F)is the 1-D gradient.