Name for this practice: c = x.^2

What is the practice of using the '.' in the expression "c = x.^2 " know as?

I am new to matlab and want to have a search term to use so I can further understand what exactly this is doing.

Answer 1

[A Jenkins]

"Element-wise power"

http://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/power.html

Also, "Element-wise multiplication"

http://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/times.html

[Edward Prentice]

Perfect, many thanks.

Answer 2

[FRANCISCO JAVIER]

If you put a vector as x, the operator "." made the operation for each value of the vector.