"IntelliSense" using MATLAB commands.

New to MATLAB, but a veteran using MS EXCEL's VBA. In the command window, I noticed that MATLAB's commands are not hierarchically constructed under a common structure, but rather they all have to be memorized and typed individually, loosely, at each line of execution. It reminds me of working with MS EXCEL’s formulas.

As a novice MATLAB user with a learning curve ahead to climb, I would like to give my early testimony that I would have found more productive to work if such editor could mimic the behaviour of those VBA-enable applications where a user types the name of an object qualifier (let’s say, worksheet), put a period after that, and the an auto-completed dropdown list with all commands associated with that object is displayed for user selection. (Qualifiers would be optional.)

Doing so, I am certain I would not have to worry about memorizing each command, which at early stages using the tool can be overwhelming. The idea of discovering new and use commands as I go rather than trying to memorize each one before using them pleases me more, and I see benefits in trying to more straightforwardly structure MATLAB’s objects in the command window.

Any elaboration or thoughts on that would be appreciated.

Answer 1

[per isakson]

MATLAB was conceived in the 1970s - at the time of Bill Gates first BASIC interpreter. New functions have been added ever since.

Yes, you will need to memorize the name of a myriad of commands (or rather functions) and it will be overwhelming.

However see

• Tab Completion and
• Function Syntax Hints

[Renato Costa]

Thanks! for the references. Then, I think it's time to more seriously discuss how to revamp MATLAB’s Object/Command Model to be more, let's say, inherently hierarchical, thus more friendly.