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ezcontour

(Not recommended) Easy-to-use contour plotter

    ezcontour is not recommended. Use fcontour instead. For more information, see Compatibility Considerations.

    Description

    example

    ezcontour(f) plots the contour lines of the function z = f(x,y) using the contour function. The function plots f over the default interval [-2π 2π] for x and y.

    ezcontour automatically adds a title and axis labels to the plot.

    example

    ezcontour(f,xyinterval) plots over the specified interval. To use the same interval for both x and y, specify xyinterval as a two-element vector of the form [min max]. To use different intervals, specify a four-element vector of the form [xmin xmax ymin ymax].

    example

    ezcontour(___,n) plots using an n-by-n grid. Use this option after any of the input argument combinations in the previous syntaxes.

    ezcontour(ax,___) plots into the axes specified by ax instead of the current axes. Specify the axes before any of the input argument combinations in any of the previous syntaxes.

    c = ezcontour(___) returns the contour object. Use c to modify the contour after it is created. For a list of properties, see Contour Properties.

    Examples

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    This mathematical expression defines a function of two variables, x and y.

    f(x,y)=3(1-x)2e-x2-(y+1)2-10(x5-x3-y5)e-x2-y2-13e-(x+1)2-y2

    The ezcontour function requires a function handle argument. Write this mathematical expression in MATLAB® syntax as an anonymous function with handle f. You can define an anonymous function in the command window without creating a separate file. For convenience, write the function on three lines.

    f = @(x,y) 3*(1-x).^2.*exp(-(x.^2) - (y+1).^2) ...
       - 10*(x/5 - x.^3 - y.^5).*exp(-x.^2-y.^2) ...
       - 1/3*exp(-(x+1).^2 - y.^2);

    Pass the function handle, f, to ezcontour. Specify a domain from -3 to 3 in both the x-direction and y-direction and use a 49-by-49 computational grid.

    ezcontour(f,[-3,3],49)

    Figure contains an axes object. The axes object with title 3 blank ( 1 - x ) Squared baseline blank exp (-( x Squared baseline )-( y + 1 ) Squared baseline )-...- 1 / 3 blank exp (-( x + 1 ) Squared baseline - y Squared baseline ), xlabel x, ylabel y contains an object of type contour.

    In this particular case, the title is too long to fit at the top of the graph, so MATLAB abbreviates it.

    Input Arguments

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    Function to plot, specified as a character vector, string scalar, or function handle to a named or anonymous function.

    Specify a function of the form z = f(x,y). The function must accept two matrix input arguments and return a matrix output argument of the same size.

    When specifying the function as a character vector or string scalar, array multiplication, division, and exponentiation are always implied. For example, x^2 is interpreted as x.^2.

    Example: 'sqrt(x^2 + y^2)'

    When specifying the function as a function handle, use array operators instead of matrix operators for the best performance. For example, use .* (times) instead of * (mtimes).

    Example: @(x,y) sin(x).*cos(y)

    Plotting interval for x and y, specified in one of these forms:

    • Vector of form [min max] — Use the interval [min max] for both x and y.

    • Vector of form [xmin xmax ymin ymax] — Use the interval [xmin xmax] for x and [ymin ymax] for y.

    Size of the grid, specified as a positive integer. The grid has dimensions n-by-n.

    Axes object. If you do not specify an axes object, then the ezcontour uses the current axes.

    Extended Capabilities

    Version History

    Introduced before R2006a

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    R2016a: ezcontour is not recommended

    ezcontour is not recommended. Use fcontour instead. There are no plans to remove ezcontour.

    fcontour requires that the input function to plot is a function handle. ezcontour accepts either a function handle, a character vector, or a string. This table shows some typical usages of ezcontour and how to update your code to use fcontour instead.

    Not RecommendedRecommended
    ezcontour(@(x,y) sqrt(x.^2+y.^2))fcontour(@(x,y) sqrt(x.^2+y.^2))
    ezcontour('sin(x)+cos(y)')fcontour(@(x,y) sin(x)+cos(y))