MATLAB Function Reference

rref

Reduced row echelon form

Syntax

• R = rref(A)
  [R,jb] = rref(A)
  [R,jb] = rref(A,tol)
  

Description

R = rref(A) produces the reduced row echelon form of A using Gauss Jordan elimination with partial pivoting. A default tolerance of (max(size(A))*eps *norm(A,inf)) tests for negligible column elements.

[R,jb] = rref(A) also returns a vector jb such that:

• r = length(jb) is this algorithm's idea of the rank of A.
• x(jb) are the pivot variables in a linear system Ax = b.
• A(:,jb) is a basis for the range of A.
• R(1:r,jb) is the r-by-r identity matrix.

[R,jb] = rref(A,tol) uses the given tolerance in the rank tests.

Roundoff errors may cause this algorithm to compute a different value for the rank than rank, orth and null.

Note    The demo rrefmovie(A) enables you to sequence through the iterations of the algorithm.

Examples

Use rref on a rank-deficient magic square:

• A = magic(4), R = rref(A)
  
  A =
     16    2    3   13
      5   11   10    8
      9    7    6   12
      4   14   15    1
  
  R =
      1    0    0    1
      0    1    0    3
      0    0    1   -3
      0    0    0    0
  

See Also

inv, lu, rank

round

rsf2csf