13.7) Writing Functions
- Whilst Matlab offers a wealth of in-built functions, there may be times when you want to develop your own functions
- We can create our own Functions that work with inputs and generate outputs
- We do this in the Matlab Editor and create a M-function file which, like a script file, is a text file with a .m extension
- The first line of a function is key. It defines 1) that the file is a function, 2) the output variables of the function, 3) the function name, and finally 4) the input variables
- Lets create a simple function that takes two inputs and then adds them together
- Within the Matlab Editor Window we then enter the following text:
- After saving our new function (with the name MyFirstFunction.m) we can then run it at the Matlab Command line
[matlab]
>> open MyFirstFunction
[/matlab]
[matlab]
>> function [out] = MyFirstFunction(a,b)
>> out=a+b;
[/matlab]
[matlab]
>>x=4; y=7;
>> z=MyFirstFunction(x,y)
z=11
[/matlab]