How to check if an array is a square matrix in Matlab and Octave

To check if an array is a square matrix in Matlab and Octave, use the function issquare(M)

issquare(M)

The M parameter is an array

The function returns in output

• 1 if the array M is a square matrix
• 0 if the array M is not a square matrix

What is a square matrix? A matrix is called square matrix if it has the same number of rows and columns.

Examples

Example 1

Define an array

>> M=[1 2;3 4]
M =
1 2
3 4

Use the issquare() function to determine if the array is a square matrix

>> issquare(M)
ans = 1

The output result is 1.

The array is a square matrix.

Example 2

Define an array

>> M=[1 2 3;4 5 6]
M =
1 2 3
4 5 6

Calculate if the matrix is square using the issquare() function

>> issquare(M)
ans = 0

The output result is 0.

The array is not a square matrix.