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Run MATLAB Functions with Distributed Arrays

Hundreds of functions in MATLAB® and other toolboxes are enhanced so that they operate on distributed arrays.

D = distributed(gallery("lehmer",n));
e = eig(D);

If any of the input arguments to these distributed-enabled functions is a distributed array, their output arrays are distributed, unless returning MATLAB data is more appropriate (for example, numel).

Distributed arrays are well suited for large mathematical computations, such as large problems of linear algebra. You can also use distributed arrays for big data processing. For more information on distributing arrays, see Distributing Arrays to Parallel Workers.

Check Distributed Array Support in Functions

If a MATLAB function has distributed array support, you can consult additional distributed array usage information on its function page. See Distributed Arrays in the Extended Capabilities section at the end of the function page.

Tip

For a filtered list of all MATLAB functions that support distributed arrays, see Function List (Distributed Arrays).

You can browse functions that support distributed arrays from all MathWorks® products at the following link: All Functions List (Distributed Arrays). Alternatively, you can filter by product. On the Help bar, click Functions. In the function list, browse the left pane to select a product, for example, MATLAB. At the bottom of the left pane, select Distributed Arrays. If you select a product that does not have distributed-enabled functions, then the Distributed Arrays filter is not available.

For information about updates to individual distributed-enabled functions, see the release notes.

To check support for sparse distributed arrays, consult the following section.

Support for Sparse Distributed Arrays

The following list shows functions that can help you work with sparse distributed arrays. In addition to this list, most element-wise functions in MATLAB also work for distributed arrays.