1.8. Script Files

So far all the commands were typed in the Command Window and were executed when the Enter key was pressed. Although every MATLAB command can be executed in this way, using the Command Window to execute a series of commands— especially if they are related to each other (a program)—is not convenient and may be difficult or even impossible. The commands in the Command Window cannot be saved and executed again. In addition, the Command Window is not interactive. This means that every time the Enter key is pressed only the last command is executed, and everything executed before is unchanged. If a change or a correction is needed in a command that was previously executed and the results of this command are used in commands that follow, all the commands have to be entered and executed again.

A different (better) way of executing commands with MATLAB is first to create a file with a list of commands (program), save it, and then run (execute) the file. When the file runs, the commands it contains are executed in the order that they are listed. If needed, the commands in the file can be corrected or changed and the file can be saved and run again. Files that are used for this purpose are called script files.