How can I index a MATLAB array returned by a function without first assigning it to a local variable?

Question

For example, if I want to read the middle value from magic(5), I can do so like this:

M = magic(5);
value = M(3,3);

to get

Answer 1

Your initial notation is the most concise way to do this:

M = magic(5);  %create
value = M(3,3);  % extract useful data
clear M;  %free memory

If you are doing this in a loop you can just reassign M every time and ignore the clear statement as well.