How to calculate a derivative in Matlab / Octave
To calculate the derivative of a function f (x) in Matlab and Octave use the function diff()
diff(f,x,n)
The parameters of the function are
- f is the function
- x is the derivation variable
- n is the degree of derivation
Note. The order of derivation is equal to 1 by default (first derivative). The function variables must be defined as symbols. In Octave the diff function requires the installation and loading of the Symbolic library.
Examples
Example 1 (first derivative)
Define a variable as symbols
syms x
Define the function x2
f=x**2
Derive the function with the diff () function and specify the variable for differentiation.
diff(f,x)
The result is the first derivative.
ans = (sym) 2*x
Example 2 (second derivative)
To calculate the second derivative of the previous function, specify the order of the derivative equal to 2.
diff(f,x,2)
The output is the second derivative.
ans = (sym) 2
Example 2 (third derivative)
To calculate the third derivative of a function, specify the order of the derivative equal to 3.
diff(f,x,3)
The output result is the third derivative.
ans = (sym) 0
