how do i use for loop to fine determinant of Vandermonde matrix?

how do i use for loop to fine determinant of Vandermonde matrix?

Answer 1

[Roger Stafford]

Let V be an n-by-n Vandermonde matrix.

   d = 1;
   for k = 1:n-1
     d = d*prod(V(k+1:n,2)-V(k,2));
   end % <-- At exit d equals det(V)

This might give you greater accuracy for this special kind of matrix than using 'det'. See

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandermonde_matrix

[Xiaoyan]

Many thanks!

Answer 2

[Zoltán Csáti]

If you want to calculate the determinant of an arbitrary matrix in a loop, you can also do it by using the Levi-Civita symbol.