Conversion Between Symbolic and Numeric

Convert symbolic data to numerics, convert numerics to symbolic objects

Symbolic Math Toolbox™ lets you convert data between symbolic and MATLAB^® numeric data types. You can also perform numeric computations with high precision using variable-precision arithmetic.

Functions

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Convert to Symbolic Types

`sym`	Create symbolic variables, expressions, functions, matrices
`vpa`	Variable-precision arithmetic (arbitrary-precision arithmetic)
`symfun`	Create symbolic functions
`subs`	Symbolic substitution
`str2sym`	Evaluate string representing symbolic expression
`cell2sym`	Convert cell array to symbolic array
`sym2cell`	Convert symbolic array to cell array
`poly2sym`	Create symbolic polynomial from vector of coefficients

Convert to MATLAB Numeric Types

`double`	Convert symbolic values to MATLAB double precision
`matlabFunction`	Convert symbolic expression to function handle or file
`sym2poly`	Extract vector of all numeric coefficients, including zeros, from symbolic polynomial

Topics

Numeric to Symbolic Conversion
Convert floating-point numbers to exact symbolic numbers.
Choose Numeric or Symbolic Arithmetic
Compare and contrast double-precision, variable-precision, and symbolic arithmetic.
Increase Precision of Numeric Calculations
Increase precision arbitrarily with variable-precision arithmetic.
Compute Binomial Coefficients Exactly
This example shows how to get precise values for binomial coefficients and find probabilities in coin-tossing experiments using the Symbolic Math Toolbox™.
Find Almost Integers with High-Precision Arithmetic
Find almost integers, or numbers that are very close to integers, using variable-precision arithmetic in Symbolic Math Toolbox.
Decimal Digits of PI
This example shows how to use variable-precision arithmetic to investigate the decimal digits of pi using Symbolic Math Toolbox™.
Generate MATLAB Functions from Symbolic Expressions
Convert symbolic expressions to MATLAB functions that accepts numeric values.
Change Output Format of Symbolic and Variable-Precision Arithmetic
Change output format of symbolic and variable-precision arithmetic.