Matlab Function Programming
Engineering Programming
• function [𝑦1 , … , 𝑦𝑁 ] = myfun(𝑥1 , … , 𝑥𝑀 )
• function [𝑦1 , … , 𝑦𝑁 ] = myfun(𝑥1 , … , 𝑥𝑀 ) declares a function named
myfun that accepts inputs 𝑥1 , … , 𝑥𝑀 and returns outputs 𝑦1 , … , 𝑦𝑁 .
• This declaration statement must be the first executable line of the
function.
• Valid function names begin with an alphabetic character, and can
contain letters, numbers, or underscores.
• Files can include multiple local functions or nested functions. For
readability, use the end keyword to indicate the end of each function in
a file. The end keyword is required when:
▫ Any function in the file contains a nested function.
▫ The function is a local function within a function file, and any local function
in the file uses the end keyword.
▫ The function is a local function within a script file.
Local Function
• MATLAB® program files can contain code for more than one function. In
a function file, the first function in the file is called the main function.
This function is visible to functions in other files, or you can call it from
the command line.
• Additional functions within the file are called local functions, and they
can occur in any order after the main function.
• Local functions are only visible to other functions in the same file.
• They are equivalent to subroutines in other programming languages,
and are sometimes called subfunctions.
Example of a local function
Examples of functions with one output
Enter the following commands to
command line.
Z = 1:99;
average(Z)
Examples with multiple outputs
Multiple functions in one function file
Decision Making
• Decision making structures require that the programmer should specify
one or more conditions to be evaluated or tested by the program, along
with a statement or statements to be executed if the condition is
determined to be true, and optionally, other statements to be executed
if the condition is determined to be false.
Decision Making statements
• Some of the decision making statements in Matlab are
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
If …. end statement
If…else… end statement
If... elseif...elseif...else...end statements
Nested if statements
Switch statements
Nested switch statements
If end
• An if ... end statement consists of an if statement and a boolean
expression followed by one or more statements. It is delimited by
the end statement.
• Syntax:
Diagram
Example
If-else-end statement
• An if statement can be followed by an optional else statement, which
executes when the expression is false.
• Syntax:
Diagram
Example
If – elseif –elseif -end
• An if statement can be followed by one (or more) optional elseif... and
an else statement, which is very useful to test various conditions.
• When using if... elseif...else statements, there are few points to keep in
mind:
▫ An if can have zero or one else's and it must come after any elseif's.
▫ An if can have zero to many elseif's and they must come before the else.
▫ Once an else if succeeds, none of the remaining elseif's or else's will be
tested.
• Syntax:
Example
Nested if statements
• Syntax:
Example
Switch Statement
• A switch block conditionally executes one set of statements from several choices.
Each choice is covered by a case statement.
• An evaluated switch_expression is a scalar or string.
• An evaluated case_expression is a scalar, a string or a cell array of scalars or strings.
• The switch block tests each case until one of the cases is true. A case is true when −
▫
▫
▫
▫
For numbers, eq(case_expression,switch_expression).
For strings, strcmp(case_expression,switch_expression).
For objects that support the eq(case_expression,switch_expression).
For a cell array case_expression, at least one of the elements of the cell array matches
switch_expression, as defined above for numbers, strings and objects.
• When a case is true, MATLAB executes the corresponding statements and then exits
the switch block.
• The otherwise block is optional and executes only when no case is true.
Syntax
Example
Nested switch statements
• It is possible to have a switch as part of the statement sequence of an
outer switch. Even if the case constants of the inner and outer switch
contain common values, no conflicts will arise.
Syntax
Example