Mathlab Symbolic Determinat , display issues

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around issues related to obtaining and displaying the symbolic determinant of a 3x3 matrix using Matlab 7.10.0 in the context of a robotics problem. Participants explore the limitations of Matlab's symbolic toolbox and consider alternative software options.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes difficulties accessing the determinant variable D after computation, suggesting it may be due to the complexity of the expression.
  • Another participant requests the specific error message received from Matlab, indicating a potential issue with the MuPAD command.
  • A suggestion is made to manually compute the determinant using its formula instead of relying on Matlab's symbolic capabilities.
  • One participant argues that using Maple would be more efficient than Matlab for this task, while also mentioning Wolfram Alpha as a faster alternative.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing opinions on the effectiveness of Matlab's symbolic toolbox compared to other software like Maple and Wolfram Alpha. No consensus is reached regarding the best approach to solve the problem.

Contextual Notes

Participants note limitations related to the performance of Matlab's symbolic toolbox, particularly with large expressions, and the potential for crashing when attempting to access or display results.

Maxong091
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Hi all,

I am working on a robotics problem and I have to get the determinant of a 3X3 matrix in symbolic form. The expressions are quite complex, Matlab 7.10.0 solves the expression in about 30 seconds but cannot display the answer. I would need to copy and paste this answer into another function. There does not seem to be any way to access this variable either in the command window or by saving it, without crashing the computer.



Basically

D=det(Matrix);

Now the D variable is a 1X1 sym in the workspace but I cannot access it.

Is this because the expression is too large, would Mathelatica do a better job of it?

Thanks
 
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Maxong091 said:
Hi all,

I am working on a robotics problem and I have to get the determinant of a 3X3 matrix in symbolic form. The expressions are quite complex, Matlab 7.10.0 solves the expression in about 30 seconds but cannot display the answer. I would need to copy and paste this answer into another function. There does not seem to be any way to access this variable either in the command window or by saving it, without crashing the computer.



Basically

D=det(Matrix);

Now the D variable is a 1X1 sym in the workspace but I cannot access it.

Is this because the expression is too large, would Mathelatica do a better job of it?

Thanks

may you write the message you get from matlab?
 
Hi,

This is the error message

? Error using ==> mupadmex
Error in MuPAD command:


here in red text a segment of the expression is shown then



Error in ==> sym.disp at 19
allstrs = mupadmex(X.s,0);

Error in ==> sym.display at 17
disp(X)
 
What if you had the program solve the manual determinant equation instead:

[tex]a_{1}b_{2}c_{3}+a_{2}b_{3}c_{1}+a_{3}b_{1}c_{2}-a_{3}b_{2}c_{1}-a_{2}b_{1}c_{3}-a_{1}b_{3}c_{2}[/tex]
 
If you had maple it would be a lot easier and faster. Matlab's symbolic toolbox is very slow and cumbersome. Or you could try Wolfram Alpha. Works almost as fast as maple (if not faster).

http://www.wolframalpha.com/
 

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