
Zero matrix in Octave
In this lesson I'll explain how to create a zero matrix (null matrix) in Octave using zeros() function.
What is a zero matrix? It is a matrix with all elements equal to zero. It is also called the null matrix. Here is an example of a zero matrix $$ M = \begin{pmatrix} 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 \end{pmatrix} $$
I'll give you a practical example
Type zeros(3) to create a null square matrix with 3 rows and 3 columns
>> zeros(3)
ans =
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
Type zeros(2,3) to create a null rectangular matrix with 2 rows and 3 columns
The first parameter is the number of rows while the second is the number of columns.
>> zeros(2,3)
ans =
0 0 0
0 0 0
Type zeros(3,2) to create a null rectangular matrix with 3 rows and 2 columns
>> zeros(3,2)
ans =
0 0
0 0
0 0
This way you can quickly create any zero matrix.
Note. Alternatively, you can also manually define a null matrix by entering all zeros. However, the process is much longer. Especially if the matrix is very large.