Scalar Formatting Examples in MATLAB

In the following example, we will demonstrate how to format scalar values in MATLAB. First, we need to define a scalar variable, for instance x = 3.14159. Then, we can convert this numeric value to a string representation using the num2str function, which is MATLAB's primary function for converting numbers to character arrays. The basic syntax would be: str = num2str(x).

Next, we can use the sprintf function for more precise formatting control. This function allows customized formatting using format specifiers similar to the C programming language. For example, if we want to format x as a floating-point number with 2 decimal places, we can use the format specifier "%.2f" and pass it to sprintf as follows: formatted_str = sprintf('%.2f', x). The "%.2f" specifier indicates that we want a fixed-point notation with exactly 2 digits after the decimal point.

Finally, we can display the formatted string using the disp function: disp(formatted_str). This approach demonstrates the complete workflow for scalar formatting in MATLAB, showcasing how to convert numeric values to precisely formatted string representations suitable for display, logging, or output purposes.