1.13: Common Mistakes and Best Practices
- Page ID
- 136824
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Mistake |
Why it causes trouble |
How to fix it |
|
Using = when you mean == |
= assigns a value; == compares values. |
Use == in logical comparisons. |
|
Forgetting that MATLAB is case sensitive |
Radius and radius are different variables. |
Use consistent capitalization. |
|
Using spaces in variable names |
MATLAB variable names cannot contain spaces. |
Use camel case or underscores. |
|
Overwriting built-in names |
Using pi or i as variables can make later calculations confusing. |
Choose descriptive names such as radius or current. |
|
Relying on |
ans changes whenever an unnamed expression is evaluated. |
Store important results in named variables. |
|
Forgetting parentheses in expressions |
MATLAB follows precedence rules that may not match what you intended. |
Use parentheses to make the order clear. |