Visualization Skills in Scientific Computing
📌 The ability to plot graphs or 3D surfaces from equations provides a powerful level of clarity and understanding in subjects like Physics, Mathematics, and Engineering.
💻 Scilab, a free numerical computational software, can be used to plot 2D graphs, 3D graphs, polar plots, and animations.
🛠️ Previous basic Scilab operations covered include mathematical operations, array/matrix handling, conditional statements (if/else), loops (for/while), and functions.

2D Plotting in Scilab
📌 Basic 2D plotting is achieved using the command `plot(x, y)`, where `x` and `y` are arrays of equal size defining the coordinates.
➕ Element-wise operations on arrays (e.g., $X.^2$) must use the dot operator (`.`) to avoid matrix operations.
🎨 Plot properties can be customized by appending a string (e.g., `'k'` for black, `'r--'` for red dashed line, `'o'` for circle markers) to specify color, line style, and marker symbol.

Array Generation and Plot Control
🔢 Arrays for continuous data ranges can be generated using two methods: specifying a step size or using the `linspace` command to specify the number of elements between a start and end point.
🧹 To start fresh, use `clear` (variables), `clc` (console), and `cls` (graphics window).
🏷️ Multiple plots on one graph benefit from using different colors/symbols and defining them using the `legend(['string1', 'string2'], position)` command.

3D Surface Plotting
🧊 3D plotting requires X and Y arrays to define the plane, and a Z matrix (must be a square matrix, e.g., $N \times N$ if X and Y have $N$ elements) containing the altitude data for each (X, Y) coordinate pair.
🌐 The `surf(CapitalX, CapitalY, CapitalZ)` command, used after creating coordinate matrices with `meshgrid`, is preferred for defining surfaces based on functions $Z = f(X, Y)$.
🎨 Surface properties like face color (`facecolor`) and edge color (`edgecolor`) can be customized for better visualization of complex functions like the Mexican hat function.

Advanced Plotting Features
📐 The `subplot(rows, cols, position)` command divides the graphics window into a grid, allowing multiple independent plots to be displayed side-by-side or in a matrix layout.
📝 Titles and axis labels for individual subplots can be set by placing the `xtitle('title', 'xaxis', 'yaxis')` command directly after the respective plot command before the next `subplot`.
🌠 Animation plots can be created using the `comet(x, y)` command, which shows a live trace of the function being drawn across the data points.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ Visualizing mathematical results via plotting in software like Scilab significantly enhances comprehension for STEM students.
➡️ When performing operations on arrays in Scilab (e.g., squaring), remember to use the element-wise operator (`.`) before the symbol (e.g., $X.^2$).
➡️ Use the `legend` command when plotting multiple functions on the same graph to clearly identify what each line or symbol represents.
➡️ For 3D surfaces, `meshgrid` is essential for generating the required coordinate matrices needed by the `surf` command.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Jan 17, 2026, 02:58 UTC