{"id":2722,"date":"2011-04-15T12:15:35","date_gmt":"2011-04-15T12:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/pick\/2011\/04\/15\/looking-backwards-2006-in-review\/"},"modified":"2016-06-09T10:39:26","modified_gmt":"2016-06-09T14:39:26","slug":"looking-backwards-2006-in-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/pick\/2011\/04\/15\/looking-backwards-2006-in-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking Backwards: 2006 in Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
\r\n <\/introduction>\r\n

This week, I continue looking backward, with a retrospective of all of the File Exchange Picks of the Week for the 2006.<\/p>\r\n

Also, this week we would like to officially<\/i> welcome the newest member of the MATLAB Central family, MATLAB Answers<\/a>. In this forum, you can ask or answer MATLAB-related questions, vote for best answers, and search for and comment on existing\r\n answers. It's off to a great start, and promises to be a useful repository of information. And it's fun: you can build a \"reputation\"\r\n by contributing to the forum! Give it a try and let us hear about your experiences with MATLAB Answers.\r\n <\/p>\r\n

You can read the original blog posts for each of these picks by clicking on the names of the files and following the links\r\n to the \"Pick of the Week\" tag. As always, your comments<\/a> are welcome.\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Title\/Author\/Summary\/Notes <\/th>\r\n Image <\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nDOOM 1.3<\/a>\r\n

Joerg Buchholz<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Fly through a 3D scene like in a first-person shooter in \"god mode\" <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nWHICHX<\/a>\r\n

Elmar Tarajan<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

File search within MATLAB search path using wildcards <\/p>\r\n\r\n

NOTE: This was a guest Pick by File Exchange superstar John D'Erico<\/a>. <\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nPLOT 2D\/3D REGION<\/a>\r\n

Per Bergstr\u00f6m<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

plots convex closed regions in 2D\/3D <\/p>\r\n\r\n

NOTE: This was a guest Pick by File Exchange superstar John D'Erico<\/a>. <\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n3D CLOCK WITH GEARTRAIN<\/a>\r\n

Michael Agostini<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

A clock built using a general 3d rendering engine which supports shafts, gears, and clock-hands <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n

IMAGE ROTATION GUI<\/p>\r\n

Birju Patel<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

User interface for the IMROTATE function <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n CONGRATS TO THE WINNER<\/a>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

Claudio Gelmi <\/a> takes the prize for successfully identifying Loren Shure <\/a> from the \"pout.tif\" image that ships with the Image Processing Toolbox <\/a> <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nFILEFUN: APPLY A FUNCTION TO FILES<\/a>\r\n

Jerker Wagberg<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Adds multi-file functionality to functions handling only single files <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nEDUCATIONAL LAB REPORT DATA ACQUISITION EXAMPLE<\/a>\r\n

Ethan Woodruff<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

An example on how one might use the notebook feature of Microsoft Word to create a lab to do data acquisition <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n MAGNIFY<\/a>\r\n

Rick Hindman<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Turns the mouse into a pop-up magnifying glass to look at details of 2D plots<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n MAGNIFYRECTTOFIG<\/a>\r\n

Andew Diamond<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Magnify contents of dragged rectangle in a new figure<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nDBLOOP<\/a>\r\n

Greg Aloe<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Allows you to enter debug mode at the press of a key<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nLOOK4<\/a>\r\n

Jiro Doke<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

LOOKFOR substitute that uses a database for quick searching of MATLAB\u00ae files <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n LINSPACEN and LOGSPACEN<\/a>\r\n

Duane Hanselman<\/p>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\r\n

NOTE: These files have been removed from the File Exchange. But there are several files to consider instead, including: LINSPACEM<\/a>, \r\n LINSPACENDIM<\/a>, \r\n NDLINSPACE (v1.1, feb 2008)<\/a>, \r\n LERP<\/a>, LINSPACE2, and\r\n LOGSPACEM<\/a>. <\/p>\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nTHRESH_TOOL<\/a>\r\n

Robert Bemis<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Interactively select intensity level for image thresholding <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nRANDFIXEDTHUMB<\/a>\r\n

Roger Stafford<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Randomly and uniformly generates vectors with a specified sum and values in a specified interval <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nDCTOOL<\/a>\r\n

Tim Farajian<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Graphical interface useful for displaying the status of a distributed computing network <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nLAYERPLOT<\/a>\r\n

Zhipeng Gao<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

A feature-rich alternative to PLOTYY<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nREMOVE WILDPOINTS GRAPHICALLY\r\n

Jean-Luc <\/p>\r\n

Interactive point selection and removal <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

NOTE: This file has been removed from the File Exchange.Try MATLAB's Data Brushing Tools<\/a> instead.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nPLAYTUNE<\/a>\r\n

Alan Tan<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Plays musical tunes; includes several scores, including Canon in D (Pachelbel) and Prelude No 1 (Bach)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nISMONOTONIC<\/a>\r\n

Richie Cotton<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Determines whether or not a vector or matrix is monotonically increasing or decreasing <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nPLAYMOVIE<\/a>\r\n

alex sanchez<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Plays a matlab movie, with the option of using a slider<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nSPRINGLAB<\/a>\r\n

Ofek Shilon<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Interactive runtime simulation of elastic bodies <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nPOLAR3D<\/a>\r\n

J De Freitas<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Plots 3D polar data with axes <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nWebinar on Distributed Computing<\/a>\r\n

Doug Hull<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

A recording of a webinar on parallel and distributed computing in MATLAB.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

NOTE: Doug's webinar was nice, but it's quite dated now. Consider searching here<\/a> for a more recent webinar on parallel and distributed computing. <\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n SORT_NAT<\/a>\r\n

Douglas Schwarz<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Sort strings in natural order <\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nEXTERNAL I\/O AND STATE INFORMATION BLOCK<\/a>\r\n

Roger Aarenstrup<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Generates file during code generation from Simulink, containing external inputs, outputs and states<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nSEASHELL<\/a>\r\n

Tim Davis<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Creates and displays a pretty seashell<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nMAT2CLIP<\/a>\r\n

Jiro Doke<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Copies the contents of a matrix to the CLIPBOARD<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n MULTIPLE CONCURRENT WORKSPACES<\/a>\r\n

Jeff Dunne<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

A function that simulates multiple workspaces without saving info to disk <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nVideo on Profiling Code<\/a>\r\n

Doug Hull<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Demonstrates how to find bottlenecks in your code <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nSTEPSPECS\r\n

Duane Hanselman <\/p>\r\n

Calculate the response of a linear state-space model <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

NOTE: This file has been removed from the File Exchange. Try this file<\/a> instead. Or use the STEP<\/a> function from the Control System Toolbox.<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nVideos on Handle Graphics and Shortcuts<\/a>\r\n

Doug Hull<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Demonstrates how to use handle graphics and how to create shortcuts <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nVideo on Changing Properties within GUIDE<\/a>\r\n

Doug Hull<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Demonstrates how to use handle graphics and how to create shortcuts <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nVideo on Distributed Computing<\/a>\r\n

Doug Hull<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

A video on parallel and distributed computing in MATLAB.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

NOTE: This video is quite dated now. Consider searching ! here<\/a> for a recent webinar on parallel and distributed computing. <\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nVideo on Linking and Constraining Zoom in MATLAB<\/a>\r\n

Doug Hull<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Demonstrates how to link and constrain zooming functionality <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nVideo on Report Generation in MATLAB<\/a>\r\n

Doug Hull<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Demonstrates how to create reports in MATLAB<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nVideo on Writing Cleaner MATLAB Code<\/a>\r\n

Doug Hull<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Demonstrates how to write cleaner code in MATLAB<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nEMBEDDED CODER ROBOT NXT DEMO<\/a>\r\n

Takashi Chikamasa<\/a> <\/p>\r\n

Demonstrates Model-Based Design using Simulink models with Lego robots <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

 <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n__________________________________________________________________________\r\n<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/table>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\r\n <\/p>