element-wise multiplication different in newer versions?

element-wise multiplication of two vectors of different length, should be possible according to: https://uk.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/times.html?searchHighlight=times&s_tid=doc_srchtitle

Is this a "new" feature? As my 2012a version of MatLab isn't able to replicate this example.

Answer 1

[Jan]

Yes, this is the new feature called "arithmetic expansion" introduced in R2016b. See https://blogs.mathworks.com/loren/2016/10/24/matlab-arithmetic-expands-in-r2016b/

[Guillaume]

Actually, it's called implicit expansion as it does not just apply to arithmetic operations but also to comparison, logical, bitwise and several other functions.