Mercurial > hg > octave-nkf
annotate doc/interpreter/func.txi @ 8347:fa78cb8d8a5c
corrections for typos
Here is a patch with some corrections for typos and missing/extra
words in the manual.
changeset: 8347:34fd1d1c2294
user: Brian Gough <bjg@gnu.org>
date: Wed Nov 26 11:00:15 2008 -0500
summary: [docs] can not => cannot
| author | Brian Gough<bjg@network-theory.co.uk> |
|---|---|
| date | Thu, 27 Nov 2008 10:28:24 +0100 |
| parents | b93ac0586e4b |
| children | 674d00f5e072 |
| rev | line source |
|---|---|
| 6778 | 1 @c Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 2007 John W. Eaton |
| 7018 | 2 @c |
| 3 @c This file is part of Octave. | |
| 4 @c | |
| 5 @c Octave is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it | |
| 6 @c under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the | |
| 7 @c Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at | |
| 8 @c your option) any later version. | |
| 9 @c | |
| 10 @c Octave is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT | |
| 11 @c ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or | |
| 12 @c FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License | |
| 13 @c for more details. | |
| 14 @c | |
| 15 @c You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License | |
| 16 @c along with Octave; see the file COPYING. If not, see | |
| 17 @c <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. | |
| 3294 | 18 |
| 4167 | 19 @node Functions and Scripts |
| 3294 | 20 @chapter Functions and Script Files |
| 21 @cindex defining functions | |
| 22 @cindex user-defined functions | |
| 23 @cindex functions, user-defined | |
| 24 @cindex script files | |
| 25 | |
| 26 Complicated Octave programs can often be simplified by defining | |
| 27 functions. Functions can be defined directly on the command line during | |
| 28 interactive Octave sessions, or in external files, and can be called just | |
| 29 like built-in functions. | |
| 30 | |
| 31 @menu | |
| 32 * Defining Functions:: | |
| 33 * Multiple Return Values:: | |
| 34 * Variable-length Argument Lists:: | |
| 35 * Variable-length Return Lists:: | |
| 36 * Returning From a Function:: | |
| 6510 | 37 * Default Arguments:: |
| 3294 | 38 * Function Files:: |
| 39 * Script Files:: | |
| 6638 | 40 * Function Handles Inline Functions and Anonymous Functions:: |
| 6549 | 41 * Commands:: |
| 3294 | 42 * Organization of Functions:: |
| 43 @end menu | |
| 44 | |
| 4167 | 45 @node Defining Functions |
| 3294 | 46 @section Defining Functions |
| 47 @cindex @code{function} statement | |
| 48 @cindex @code{endfunction} statement | |
| 49 | |
| 50 In its simplest form, the definition of a function named @var{name} | |
| 51 looks like this: | |
| 52 | |
| 53 @example | |
| 54 @group | |
| 55 function @var{name} | |
| 56 @var{body} | |
| 57 endfunction | |
| 58 @end group | |
| 59 @end example | |
| 60 | |
| 61 @noindent | |
| 62 A valid function name is like a valid variable name: a sequence of | |
| 63 letters, digits and underscores, not starting with a digit. Functions | |
| 64 share the same pool of names as variables. | |
| 65 | |
| 66 The function @var{body} consists of Octave statements. It is the | |
| 67 most important part of the definition, because it says what the function | |
| 68 should actually @emph{do}. | |
| 69 | |
| 70 For example, here is a function that, when executed, will ring the bell | |
| 71 on your terminal (assuming that it is possible to do so): | |
| 72 | |
| 73 @example | |
| 74 @group | |
| 75 function wakeup | |
| 76 printf ("\a"); | |
| 77 endfunction | |
| 78 @end group | |
| 79 @end example | |
| 80 | |
| 81 The @code{printf} statement (@pxref{Input and Output}) simply tells | |
| 82 Octave to print the string @code{"\a"}. The special character @samp{\a} | |
| 83 stands for the alert character (ASCII 7). @xref{Strings}. | |
| 84 | |
| 85 Once this function is defined, you can ask Octave to evaluate it by | |
| 86 typing the name of the function. | |
| 87 | |
| 88 Normally, you will want to pass some information to the functions you | |
| 89 define. The syntax for passing parameters to a function in Octave is | |
| 90 | |
| 91 @example | |
| 92 @group | |
| 93 function @var{name} (@var{arg-list}) | |
| 94 @var{body} | |
| 95 endfunction | |
| 96 @end group | |
| 97 @end example | |
| 98 | |
| 99 @noindent | |
| 100 where @var{arg-list} is a comma-separated list of the function's | |
| 101 arguments. When the function is called, the argument names are used to | |
| 102 hold the argument values given in the call. The list of arguments may | |
| 103 be empty, in which case this form is equivalent to the one shown above. | |
| 104 | |
| 105 To print a message along with ringing the bell, you might modify the | |
| 6510 | 106 @code{wakeup} to look like this: |
| 3294 | 107 |
| 108 @example | |
| 109 @group | |
| 110 function wakeup (message) | |
| 111 printf ("\a%s\n", message); | |
| 112 endfunction | |
| 113 @end group | |
| 114 @end example | |
| 115 | |
| 116 Calling this function using a statement like this | |
| 117 | |
| 118 @example | |
| 119 wakeup ("Rise and shine!"); | |
| 120 @end example | |
| 121 | |
| 122 @noindent | |
| 123 will cause Octave to ring your terminal's bell and print the message | |
| 124 @samp{Rise and shine!}, followed by a newline character (the @samp{\n} | |
| 125 in the first argument to the @code{printf} statement). | |
| 126 | |
| 127 In most cases, you will also want to get some information back from the | |
| 128 functions you define. Here is the syntax for writing a function that | |
| 129 returns a single value: | |
| 130 | |
| 131 @example | |
| 132 @group | |
| 133 function @var{ret-var} = @var{name} (@var{arg-list}) | |
| 134 @var{body} | |
| 135 endfunction | |
| 136 @end group | |
| 137 @end example | |
| 138 | |
| 139 @noindent | |
| 140 The symbol @var{ret-var} is the name of the variable that will hold the | |
| 141 value to be returned by the function. This variable must be defined | |
| 142 before the end of the function body in order for the function to return | |
| 143 a value. | |
| 144 | |
| 145 Variables used in the body of a function are local to the | |
| 146 function. Variables named in @var{arg-list} and @var{ret-var} are also | |
| 147 local to the function. @xref{Global Variables}, for information about | |
| 148 how to access global variables inside a function. | |
| 149 | |
| 150 For example, here is a function that computes the average of the | |
| 151 elements of a vector: | |
| 152 | |
| 153 @example | |
| 154 @group | |
| 155 function retval = avg (v) | |
| 156 retval = sum (v) / length (v); | |
| 157 endfunction | |
| 158 @end group | |
| 159 @end example | |
| 160 | |
| 161 If we had written @code{avg} like this instead, | |
| 162 | |
| 163 @example | |
| 164 @group | |
| 165 function retval = avg (v) | |
| 4029 | 166 if (isvector (v)) |
| 3294 | 167 retval = sum (v) / length (v); |
| 168 endif | |
| 169 endfunction | |
| 170 @end group | |
| 171 @end example | |
| 172 | |
| 173 @noindent | |
| 174 and then called the function with a matrix instead of a vector as the | |
| 175 argument, Octave would have printed an error message like this: | |
| 176 | |
| 177 @example | |
| 178 @group | |
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179 error: value on right hand side of assignment is undefined |
| 3294 | 180 @end group |
| 181 @end example | |
| 182 | |
| 183 @noindent | |
| 184 because the body of the @code{if} statement was never executed, and | |
| 185 @code{retval} was never defined. To prevent obscure errors like this, | |
| 186 it is a good idea to always make sure that the return variables will | |
| 187 always have values, and to produce meaningful error messages when | |
| 188 problems are encountered. For example, @code{avg} could have been | |
| 189 written like this: | |
| 190 | |
| 191 @example | |
| 192 @group | |
| 193 function retval = avg (v) | |
| 194 retval = 0; | |
| 4029 | 195 if (isvector (v)) |
| 3294 | 196 retval = sum (v) / length (v); |
| 197 else | |
| 198 error ("avg: expecting vector argument"); | |
| 199 endif | |
| 200 endfunction | |
| 201 @end group | |
| 202 @end example | |
| 203 | |
| 204 There is still one additional problem with this function. What if it is | |
| 205 called without an argument? Without additional error checking, Octave | |
| 206 will probably print an error message that won't really help you track | |
| 207 down the source of the error. To allow you to catch errors like this, | |
| 208 Octave provides each function with an automatic variable called | |
| 209 @code{nargin}. Each time a function is called, @code{nargin} is | |
| 210 automatically initialized to the number of arguments that have actually | |
| 211 been passed to the function. For example, we might rewrite the | |
| 212 @code{avg} function like this: | |
| 213 | |
| 214 @example | |
| 215 @group | |
| 216 function retval = avg (v) | |
| 217 retval = 0; | |
| 218 if (nargin != 1) | |
| 219 usage ("avg (vector)"); | |
| 220 endif | |
| 4029 | 221 if (isvector (v)) |
| 3294 | 222 retval = sum (v) / length (v); |
| 223 else | |
| 224 error ("avg: expecting vector argument"); | |
| 225 endif | |
| 226 endfunction | |
| 227 @end group | |
| 228 @end example | |
| 229 | |
| 230 Although Octave does not automatically report an error if you call a | |
| 231 function with more arguments than expected, doing so probably indicates | |
| 232 that something is wrong. Octave also does not automatically report an | |
| 233 error if a function is called with too few arguments, but any attempt to | |
| 234 use a variable that has not been given a value will result in an error. | |
| 235 To avoid such problems and to provide useful messages, we check for both | |
| 236 possibilities and issue our own error message. | |
| 237 | |
| 4700 | 238 @DOCSTRING(nargin) |
| 3294 | 239 |
| 6558 | 240 @DOCSTRING(inputname) |
| 241 | |
| 3371 | 242 @DOCSTRING(silent_functions) |
| 3294 | 243 |
| 4167 | 244 @node Multiple Return Values |
| 3294 | 245 @section Multiple Return Values |
| 246 | |
| 247 Unlike many other computer languages, Octave allows you to define | |
| 248 functions that return more than one value. The syntax for defining | |
| 249 functions that return multiple values is | |
| 250 | |
| 251 @example | |
| 252 function [@var{ret-list}] = @var{name} (@var{arg-list}) | |
| 253 @var{body} | |
| 254 endfunction | |
| 255 @end example | |
| 256 | |
| 257 @noindent | |
| 258 where @var{name}, @var{arg-list}, and @var{body} have the same meaning | |
| 259 as before, and @var{ret-list} is a comma-separated list of variable | |
| 260 names that will hold the values returned from the function. The list of | |
| 261 return values must have at least one element. If @var{ret-list} has | |
| 262 only one element, this form of the @code{function} statement is | |
| 263 equivalent to the form described in the previous section. | |
| 264 | |
| 265 Here is an example of a function that returns two values, the maximum | |
| 266 element of a vector and the index of its first occurrence in the vector. | |
| 267 | |
| 268 @example | |
| 269 @group | |
| 270 function [max, idx] = vmax (v) | |
| 271 idx = 1; | |
| 272 max = v (idx); | |
| 273 for i = 2:length (v) | |
| 274 if (v (i) > max) | |
| 275 max = v (i); | |
| 276 idx = i; | |
| 277 endif | |
| 278 endfor | |
| 279 endfunction | |
| 280 @end group | |
| 281 @end example | |
| 282 | |
| 283 In this particular case, the two values could have been returned as | |
| 284 elements of a single array, but that is not always possible or | |
| 285 convenient. The values to be returned may not have compatible | |
| 286 dimensions, and it is often desirable to give the individual return | |
| 287 values distinct names. | |
| 288 | |
| 289 In addition to setting @code{nargin} each time a function is called, | |
| 290 Octave also automatically initializes @code{nargout} to the number of | |
| 291 values that are expected to be returned. This allows you to write | |
| 292 functions that behave differently depending on the number of values that | |
| 293 the user of the function has requested. The implicit assignment to the | |
| 294 built-in variable @code{ans} does not figure in the count of output | |
| 295 arguments, so the value of @code{nargout} may be zero. | |
| 296 | |
| 297 The @code{svd} and @code{lu} functions are examples of built-in | |
| 298 functions that behave differently depending on the value of | |
| 299 @code{nargout}. | |
| 300 | |
| 301 It is possible to write functions that only set some return values. For | |
| 302 example, calling the function | |
| 303 | |
| 304 @example | |
| 305 function [x, y, z] = f () | |
| 306 x = 1; | |
| 307 z = 2; | |
| 308 endfunction | |
| 309 @end example | |
| 310 | |
| 311 @noindent | |
| 312 as | |
| 313 | |
| 314 @example | |
| 315 [a, b, c] = f () | |
| 316 @end example | |
| 317 | |
| 318 @noindent | |
| 319 produces: | |
| 320 | |
| 321 @example | |
| 322 a = 1 | |
| 323 | |
| 324 b = [](0x0) | |
| 325 | |
| 326 c = 2 | |
| 327 @end example | |
| 328 | |
| 329 @noindent | |
| 6501 | 330 along with a warning. |
| 3294 | 331 |
| 4700 | 332 @DOCSTRING(nargout) |
| 3294 | 333 |
| 3371 | 334 @DOCSTRING(nargchk) |
| 3294 | 335 |
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336 @DOCSTRING(nargoutchk) |
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337 |
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338 @anchor{doc-varargin} @anchor{doc-varargout} |
| 4167 | 339 @node Variable-length Argument Lists |
| 3294 | 340 @section Variable-length Argument Lists |
| 4933 | 341 @cindex variable-length argument lists |
| 8074 | 342 @vrindex @code{varargin} |
| 8072 | 343 |
| 6510 | 344 Sometimes the number of input arguments is not known when the function |
| 345 is defined. As an example think of a function that returns the smallest | |
| 346 of all its input arguments. For example, | |
| 347 | |
| 348 @example | |
| 349 a = smallest (1, 2, 3); | |
| 350 b = smallest (1, 2, 3, 4); | |
| 351 @end example | |
| 352 | |
| 353 @noindent | |
| 354 In this example both @code{a} and @code{b} would be 1. One way to write | |
| 355 the @code{smallest} function is | |
| 356 | |
| 357 @example | |
| 358 function val = smallest (arg1, arg2, arg3, arg4, arg5) | |
| 359 @var{body} | |
| 360 endfunction | |
| 361 @end example | |
| 362 | |
| 363 @noindent | |
| 364 and then use the value of @code{nargin} to determine which of the input | |
| 365 arguments should be considered. The problem with this approach is | |
| 366 that it can only handle a limited number of input arguments. | |
| 367 | |
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368 If the special parameter name @code{varargin} appears at the end of a |
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369 function parameter list it indicates that the function takes a variable |
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370 number of input arguments. Using @code{varargin} the function |
| 6510 | 371 looks like this |
| 372 | |
| 373 @example | |
| 374 function val = smallest (varargin) | |
| 375 @var{body} | |
| 376 endfunction | |
| 377 @end example | |
| 378 | |
| 379 @noindent | |
| 380 In the function body the input arguments can be accessed through the | |
| 381 variable @code{varargin}. This variable is a cell array containing | |
| 382 all the input arguments. @xref{Cell Arrays}, for details on working | |
| 383 with cell arrays. The @code{smallest} function can now be defined | |
| 384 like this | |
| 385 | |
| 386 @example | |
| 387 function val = smallest (varargin) | |
| 388 val = min ([varargin@{:@}]); | |
| 389 endfunction | |
| 390 @end example | |
| 391 | |
| 392 @noindent | |
| 393 This implementation handles any number of input arguments, but it's also | |
| 394 a very simple solution to the problem. | |
| 395 | |
| 396 A slightly more complex example of @code{varargin} is a function | |
| 397 @code{print_arguments} that prints all input arguments. Such a function | |
| 398 can be defined like this | |
| 399 | |
| 400 @example | |
| 401 function print_arguments (varargin) | |
| 402 for i = 1:length (varargin) | |
| 403 printf ("Input argument %d: ", i); | |
| 404 disp (varargin@{i@}); | |
| 405 endfor | |
| 406 endfunction | |
| 407 @end example | |
| 408 | |
| 409 @noindent | |
| 410 This function produces output like this | |
| 411 | |
| 412 @example | |
| 413 @group | |
| 414 print_arguments (1, "two", 3); | |
| 415 @print{} Input argument 1: 1 | |
| 416 @print{} Input argument 2: two | |
| 417 @print{} Input argument 3: 3 | |
| 418 @end group | |
| 419 @end example | |
| 3294 | 420 |
| 6558 | 421 @DOCSTRING(parseparams) |
| 422 | |
| 4167 | 423 @node Variable-length Return Lists |
| 3294 | 424 @section Variable-length Return Lists |
| 4933 | 425 @cindex variable-length return lists |
| 8074 | 426 @vrindex @code{varargout} |
| 8072 | 427 |
| 6510 | 428 It is possible to return a variable number of output arguments from a |
| 429 function using a syntax that's similar to the one used with the | |
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430 special @code{varargin} parameter name. To let a function return a |
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431 variable number of output arguments the special output parameter name |
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432 @code{varargout} is used. As with @code{varargin}, @code{varargout} is |
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433 a cell array that will contain the requested output arguments. |
| 6510 | 434 |
| 435 As an example the following function sets the first output argument to | |
| 436 1, the second to 2, and so on. | |
| 437 | |
| 438 @example | |
| 439 function varargout = one_to_n () | |
| 440 for i = 1:nargout | |
| 441 varargout@{i@} = i; | |
| 442 endfor | |
| 443 endfunction | |
| 444 @end example | |
| 445 | |
| 446 @noindent | |
| 447 When called this function returns values like this | |
| 448 | |
| 449 @example | |
| 450 @group | |
| 451 [a, b, c] = one_to_n () | |
| 452 @result{} a = 1 | |
| 453 @result{} b = 2 | |
| 454 @result{} c = 3 | |
| 455 @end group | |
| 456 @end example | |
| 3294 | 457 |
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458 If @code{varargin} (@code{varargout}) does not appear as the last |
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459 element of the input (output) parameter list, then it is not special, |
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460 and is handled the same as any other parameter name. |
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461 |
| 6558 | 462 @DOCSTRING(deal) |
| 463 | |
| 4167 | 464 @node Returning From a Function |
| 3294 | 465 @section Returning From a Function |
| 466 | |
| 467 The body of a user-defined function can contain a @code{return} statement. | |
| 468 This statement returns control to the rest of the Octave program. It | |
| 469 looks like this: | |
| 470 | |
| 471 @example | |
| 472 return | |
| 473 @end example | |
| 474 | |
| 475 Unlike the @code{return} statement in C, Octave's @code{return} | |
| 476 statement cannot be used to return a value from a function. Instead, | |
| 477 you must assign values to the list of return variables that are part of | |
| 478 the @code{function} statement. The @code{return} statement simply makes | |
| 479 it easier to exit a function from a deeply nested loop or conditional | |
| 480 statement. | |
| 481 | |
| 482 Here is an example of a function that checks to see if any elements of a | |
| 483 vector are nonzero. | |
| 484 | |
| 485 @example | |
| 486 @group | |
| 487 function retval = any_nonzero (v) | |
| 488 retval = 0; | |
| 489 for i = 1:length (v) | |
| 490 if (v (i) != 0) | |
| 491 retval = 1; | |
| 492 return; | |
| 493 endif | |
| 494 endfor | |
| 495 printf ("no nonzero elements found\n"); | |
| 496 endfunction | |
| 497 @end group | |
| 498 @end example | |
| 499 | |
| 500 Note that this function could not have been written using the | |
| 501 @code{break} statement to exit the loop once a nonzero value is found | |
| 502 without adding extra logic to avoid printing the message if the vector | |
| 503 does contain a nonzero element. | |
| 504 | |
| 5763 | 505 @deffn {Keyword} return |
| 3294 | 506 When Octave encounters the keyword @code{return} inside a function or |
| 5016 | 507 script, it returns control to the caller immediately. At the top level, |
| 3294 | 508 the return statement is ignored. A @code{return} statement is assumed |
| 509 at the end of every function definition. | |
| 5763 | 510 @end deffn |
| 3294 | 511 |
| 6510 | 512 @node Default Arguments |
| 513 @section Default Arguments | |
| 514 @cindex default arguments | |
| 515 | |
| 516 Since Octave supports variable number of input arguments, it is very useful | |
| 517 to assign default values to some input arguments. When an input argument | |
| 518 is declared in the argument list it is possible to assign a default | |
| 519 value to the argument like this | |
| 520 | |
| 521 @example | |
| 522 function @var{name} (@var{arg1} = @var{val1}, @dots{}) | |
| 523 @var{body} | |
| 524 endfunction | |
| 525 @end example | |
| 526 | |
| 527 @noindent | |
| 528 If no value is assigned to @var{arg1} by the user, it will have the | |
| 529 value @var{val1}. | |
| 530 | |
| 531 As an example, the following function implements a variant of the classic | |
| 532 ``Hello, World'' program. | |
| 533 @example | |
| 534 function hello (who = "World") | |
| 535 printf ("Hello, %s!\n", who); | |
| 536 endfunction | |
| 537 @end example | |
| 538 | |
| 539 @noindent | |
| 540 When called without an input argument the function prints the following | |
| 541 @example | |
| 542 @group | |
| 543 hello (); | |
| 544 @print{} Hello, World! | |
| 545 @end group | |
| 546 @end example | |
| 547 | |
| 548 @noindent | |
| 549 and when it's called with an input argument it prints the following | |
| 550 @example | |
| 551 @group | |
| 552 hello ("Beautiful World of Free Software"); | |
| 553 @print{} Hello, Beautiful World of Free Software! | |
| 554 @end group | |
| 555 @end example | |
| 556 | |
| 557 Sometimes it is useful to explicitly tell Octave to use the default value | |
| 558 of an input argument. This can be done writing a @samp{:} as the value | |
| 559 of the input argument when calling the function. | |
| 560 @example | |
| 561 @group | |
| 562 hello (:); | |
| 563 @print{} Hello, World! | |
| 564 @end group | |
| 565 @end example | |
| 566 | |
| 4167 | 567 @node Function Files |
| 3294 | 568 @section Function Files |
| 569 @cindex function file | |
| 570 | |
| 571 Except for simple one-shot programs, it is not practical to have to | |
| 572 define all the functions you need each time you need them. Instead, you | |
| 573 will normally want to save them in a file so that you can easily edit | |
| 574 them, and save them for use at a later time. | |
| 575 | |
| 576 Octave does not require you to load function definitions from files | |
| 577 before using them. You simply need to put the function definitions in a | |
| 578 place where Octave can find them. | |
| 579 | |
| 580 When Octave encounters an identifier that is undefined, it first looks | |
| 581 for variables or functions that are already compiled and currently | |
| 582 listed in its symbol table. If it fails to find a definition there, it | |
| 6556 | 583 searches a list of directories (the @dfn{path}) for files ending in |
| 6554 | 584 @file{.m} that have the same base name as the undefined |
| 585 identifier.@footnote{The @samp{.m} suffix was chosen for compatibility | |
| 586 with @sc{Matlab}.} Once Octave finds a file with a name that matches, | |
| 587 the contents of the file are read. If it defines a @emph{single} | |
| 588 function, it is compiled and executed. @xref{Script Files}, for more | |
| 589 information about how you can define more than one function in a single | |
| 590 file. | |
| 3294 | 591 |
| 592 When Octave defines a function from a function file, it saves the full | |
| 6554 | 593 name of the file it read and the time stamp on the file. If the time |
| 594 stamp on the file changes, Octave may reload the file. When Octave is | |
| 595 running interactively, time stamp checking normally happens at most once | |
| 596 each time Octave prints the prompt. Searching for new function | |
| 597 definitions also occurs if the current working directory changes. | |
| 3294 | 598 |
| 599 Checking the time stamp allows you to edit the definition of a function | |
| 600 while Octave is running, and automatically use the new function | |
| 6554 | 601 definition without having to restart your Octave session. |
| 3294 | 602 |
| 603 To avoid degrading performance unnecessarily by checking the time stamps | |
| 604 on functions that are not likely to change, Octave assumes that function | |
| 605 files in the directory tree | |
| 606 @file{@var{octave-home}/share/octave/@var{version}/m} | |
| 607 will not change, so it doesn't have to check their time stamps every time the | |
| 608 functions defined in those files are used. This is normally a very good | |
| 609 assumption and provides a significant improvement in performance for the | |
| 610 function files that are distributed with Octave. | |
| 611 | |
| 612 If you know that your own function files will not change while you are | |
| 6554 | 613 running Octave, you can improve performance by calling |
| 614 @code{ignore_function_time_stamp ("all")}, so that Octave will | |
| 615 ignore the time stamps for all function files. Passing | |
| 616 @code{"system"} to this function resets the default behavior. | |
| 3294 | 617 |
| 5775 | 618 @c FIXME -- note about time stamps on files in NFS environments? |
| 3294 | 619 |
| 6549 | 620 @DOCSTRING(mfilename) |
| 621 | |
| 6638 | 622 @DOCSTRING(ignore_function_time_stamp) |
| 623 | |
| 624 @menu | |
| 625 * Manipulating the load path:: | |
| 626 * Subfunctions:: | |
|
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627 * Private Functions:: |
| 6638 | 628 * Overloading and Autoloading:: |
| 629 * Function Locking:: | |
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630 * Function Precedence:: |
| 6638 | 631 @end menu |
| 632 | |
| 633 @node Manipulating the load path | |
| 634 @subsection Manipulating the load path | |
| 635 | |
| 636 When a function is called Octave searches a list of directories for | |
| 637 a file that contains the function declaration. This list of directories | |
| 638 is known as the load path. By default the load path contains | |
| 639 a list of directories distributed with Octave plus the current | |
| 640 working directory. To see your current load path call the @code{path} | |
| 641 function without any input or output arguments. | |
| 642 | |
| 643 It is possible to add or remove directories to or from the load path | |
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644 using @code{addpath} and @code{rmpath}. As an example, the following |
| 6638 | 645 code adds @samp{~/Octave} to the load path. |
| 646 | |
| 647 @example | |
| 648 addpath("~/Octave") | |
| 649 @end example | |
| 650 | |
| 651 @noindent | |
| 652 After this the directory @samp{~/Octave} will be searched for functions. | |
| 653 | |
| 6502 | 654 @DOCSTRING(addpath) |
| 655 | |
| 656 @DOCSTRING(genpath) | |
| 657 | |
| 658 @DOCSTRING(rmpath) | |
| 659 | |
| 660 @DOCSTRING(savepath) | |
| 661 | |
| 6477 | 662 @DOCSTRING(path) |
| 3294 | 663 |
| 6502 | 664 @DOCSTRING(pathdef) |
| 665 | |
| 666 @DOCSTRING(pathsep) | |
| 667 | |
| 3428 | 668 @DOCSTRING(rehash) |
| 669 | |
| 670 @DOCSTRING(file_in_loadpath) | |
| 671 | |
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672 @DOCSTRING(restoredefaultpath) |
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673 |
| 6556 | 674 @node Subfunctions |
| 675 @subsection Subfunctions | |
| 676 | |
| 677 A function file may contain secondary functions called | |
| 678 @dfn{subfunctions}. These secondary functions are only visible to the | |
| 679 other functions in the same function file. For example, a file | |
| 680 @file{f.m} containing | |
| 681 | |
| 682 @example | |
| 683 @group | |
| 684 function f () | |
| 685 printf ("in f, calling g\n"); | |
| 686 g () | |
| 687 endfunction | |
| 688 function g () | |
| 689 printf ("in g, calling h\n"); | |
| 6638 | 690 h () |
| 6556 | 691 endfunction |
| 692 function h () | |
| 693 printf ("in h\n") | |
| 694 endfunction | |
| 695 @end group | |
| 696 @end example | |
| 697 | |
| 698 @noindent | |
| 699 defines a main function @code{f} and two subfunctions. The | |
| 700 subfunctions @code{g} and @code{h} may only be called from the main | |
| 701 function @code{f} or from the other subfunctions, but not from outside | |
| 702 the file @file{f.m}. | |
| 703 | |
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704 @node Private Functions |
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705 @subsection Private Functions |
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706 |
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707 In many cases one function needs to access one or more helper |
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708 functions. If the helper function is limited to the scope of a single |
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709 function, then subfunctions as discussed above might be used. However, |
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710 if a single helper function is used by more than one function, then |
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711 this is no longer possible. In this case the helper functions might |
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712 be placed in a subdirectory, called "private", of the directory in which |
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713 the functions needing access to this helper function are found. |
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714 |
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715 As a simple example, consider a function @code{func1}, that calls a helper |
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716 function @code{func2} to do much of the work. For example |
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717 |
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718 @example |
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719 @group |
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720 function y = func1 (x) |
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721 y = func2 (x); |
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722 endfunction |
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723 @end group |
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724 @end example |
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725 |
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726 @noindent |
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727 Then if the path to @code{func1} is @code{<directory>/func1.m}, and if |
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728 @code{func2} is found in the directory @code{<directory>/private/func2.m}, |
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729 then @code{func2} is only available for use of the functions, like |
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730 @code{func1}, that are found in @code{<directory>}. |
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731 |
| 6635 | 732 @node Overloading and Autoloading |
| 733 @subsection Overloading and Autoloading | |
| 734 | |
| 735 The @code{dispatch} function can be used to alias one function name to | |
| 736 another. It can be used to alias all calls to a particular function name | |
| 737 to another function, or the alias can be limited to only a particular | |
| 738 variable type. Consider the example | |
| 739 | |
| 740 @example | |
| 741 @group | |
| 742 function y = spsin (x) | |
| 743 printf ("Calling spsin\n"); | |
| 744 fflush(stdout); | |
| 745 y = spfun ("sin", x); | |
| 746 endfunction | |
| 747 | |
| 748 dispatch ("sin", "spsin", "sparse matrix"); | |
| 749 y0 = sin(eye(3)); | |
| 750 y1 = sin(speye(3)); | |
| 751 @end group | |
| 752 @end example | |
| 753 | |
| 754 @noindent | |
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755 which aliases the user-defined function @code{spsin} to @code{sin}, but only for real sparse |
| 6635 | 756 matrices. Note that the builtin @code{sin} already correctly treats |
| 757 sparse matrices and so this example is only illustrative. | |
| 758 | |
| 759 @DOCSTRING(dispatch) | |
| 760 | |
| 761 @DOCSTRING(builtin) | |
| 762 | |
| 763 A single dynamically linked file might define several | |
| 764 functions. However, as Octave searches for functions based on the | |
| 765 functions filename, Octave needs a manner in which to find each of the | |
| 766 functions in the dynamically linked file. On operating systems that | |
| 767 support symbolic links, it is possible to create a symbolic link to the | |
| 768 original file for each of the functions which it contains. | |
| 769 | |
| 770 However, there is at least one well known operating system that doesn't | |
| 771 support symbolic links. Making copies of the original file for each of | |
| 772 the functions is also possible, but is undesirable as it multiples the | |
| 773 amount of disk space used by Octave. Instead Octave supplies the | |
| 774 @code{autoload} function, that permits the user to define in which | |
| 775 file a certain function will be found. | |
| 776 | |
| 777 @DOCSTRING(autoload) | |
| 778 | |
| 779 @node Function Locking | |
| 780 @subsection Function Locking | |
| 781 | |
| 782 It is sometime desirable to lock a function into memory with the | |
| 783 @code{mlock} function. This is typically used for dynamically linked | |
| 6899 | 784 functions in Oct-files or mex-files that contain some initialization, |
| 785 and it is desirable that calling @code{clear} does not remove this | |
| 6635 | 786 initialization. |
| 787 | |
| 6899 | 788 As an example, |
| 789 | |
| 790 @example | |
| 791 mlock ("my_function"); | |
| 792 @end example | |
| 793 | |
| 794 @noindent | |
| 795 prevents @code{my_function} from being removed from memory, even if | |
| 796 @code{clear} is called. It is possible to determine if a function is | |
| 797 locked into memory with the @code{mislocked}, and to unlock a function | |
| 798 with @code{munlock}, which the following illustrates. | |
| 799 | |
| 800 @example | |
| 801 @group | |
| 802 mlock ("my_function"); | |
| 803 mislocked ("my_function") | |
| 804 @result{} ans = 1 | |
| 805 munlock ("my_function"); | |
| 806 mislocked ("my_function") | |
| 807 @result{} ans = 0 | |
| 808 @end group | |
| 809 @end example | |
| 810 | |
| 811 A common use of @code{mlock} is to prevent persistent variables from | |
| 812 being removed from memory, as the following example shows. | |
| 813 | |
| 814 @example | |
| 815 @group | |
| 816 function count_calls() | |
| 817 persistent calls = 0; | |
| 7031 | 818 printf ("'count_calls' has been called %d times\n", |
| 819 ++calls); | |
| 6899 | 820 endfunction |
| 821 mlock ("count_calls"); | |
| 822 | |
| 823 count_calls (); | |
| 824 @print{} 'count_calls' has been called 1 times | |
| 825 | |
| 826 clear count_calls | |
| 827 count_calls (); | |
| 828 @print{} 'count_calls' has been called 2 times | |
| 829 @end group | |
| 830 @end example | |
| 831 | |
| 832 @noindent | |
| 833 It is, however, often inconvenient to lock a function from the prompt, | |
| 834 so it is also possible to lock a function from within its body. This | |
| 835 is simply done by calling @code{mlock} from within the function. | |
| 836 | |
| 837 @example | |
| 838 @group | |
| 839 function count_calls () | |
| 840 mlock (); | |
| 841 persistent calls = 0; | |
| 7031 | 842 printf ("'count_calls' has been called %d times\n", |
| 843 ++calls); | |
| 6899 | 844 endfunction |
| 845 @end group | |
| 846 @end example | |
| 847 | |
| 848 @code{mlock} might equally be used to prevent changes to a function from having | |
| 6635 | 849 effect in Octave, though a similar effect can be had with the |
| 850 @code{ignore_function_time_stamp} function. | |
| 851 | |
| 852 @DOCSTRING(mlock) | |
| 853 | |
| 854 @DOCSTRING(munlock) | |
| 855 | |
| 856 @DOCSTRING(mislocked) | |
| 857 | |
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858 @node Function Precedence |
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859 @subsection Function Precedence |
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860 |
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861 Given the numereous different ways that Octave can define a function, it |
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862 is possible and even likely that multiple versions of a function, might be |
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863 defined within a particular scope. The precedence of which function will be |
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864 used within a particular scope is given by |
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865 |
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866 @enumerate 1 |
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867 @item Subfunction |
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868 A subfunction with the required function name in the given scope. |
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869 |
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870 @item Private function |
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871 A function defined within a private directory of the directory |
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872 which contains the current function. |
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873 |
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874 @item Class constructor |
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875 A function that constuctors a user class as defined in chapter |
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876 @ref{Object Oriented Programming}. |
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877 |
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878 @item Class method |
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879 An overloaded function of a class as in chapter |
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880 @ref{Object Oriented Programming}. |
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881 |
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882 @item Legacy Dispatch |
| 8235 | 883 An overloaded function as defined by @xref{doc-dispatch}. |
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884 |
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885 @item Command-line Function |
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886 A function that has been defined on the command-line. |
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887 |
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888 @item Autoload function |
| 8235 | 889 A function that is marked as autoloaded with @xref{doc-autoload}. |
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890 |
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891 @item A Function on the Path |
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892 A function that can be found on the users load-path. There can also be |
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893 Oct-file, mex-file or m-file versions of this function and the precedence |
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894 between these versions are in that order. |
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895 |
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896 @item Built-in function |
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897 A function that is builtin to Octave itself such as @code{numel}, |
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898 @code{size}, etc. |
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899 @end enumerate |
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900 |
| 4167 | 901 @node Script Files |
| 3294 | 902 @section Script Files |
| 903 | |
| 904 A script file is a file containing (almost) any sequence of Octave | |
| 905 commands. It is read and evaluated just as if you had typed each | |
| 906 command at the Octave prompt, and provides a convenient way to perform a | |
| 907 sequence of commands that do not logically belong inside a function. | |
| 908 | |
| 909 Unlike a function file, a script file must @emph{not} begin with the | |
| 910 keyword @code{function}. If it does, Octave will assume that it is a | |
| 911 function file, and that it defines a single function that should be | |
| 912 evaluated as soon as it is defined. | |
| 913 | |
| 914 A script file also differs from a function file in that the variables | |
| 915 named in a script file are not local variables, but are in the same | |
| 916 scope as the other variables that are visible on the command line. | |
| 917 | |
| 918 Even though a script file may not begin with the @code{function} | |
| 919 keyword, it is possible to define more than one function in a single | |
| 920 script file and load (but not execute) all of them at once. To do | |
| 921 this, the first token in the file (ignoring comments and other white | |
| 922 space) must be something other than @code{function}. If you have no | |
| 923 other statements to evaluate, you can use a statement that has no | |
| 924 effect, like this: | |
| 925 | |
| 926 @example | |
| 927 @group | |
| 928 # Prevent Octave from thinking that this | |
| 929 # is a function file: | |
| 930 | |
| 931 1; | |
| 932 | |
| 933 # Define function one: | |
| 934 | |
| 935 function one () | |
| 936 ... | |
| 937 @end group | |
| 938 @end example | |
| 939 | |
| 940 To have Octave read and compile these functions into an internal form, | |
| 6638 | 941 you need to make sure that the file is in Octave's load path |
| 6477 | 942 (accessible through the @code{path} function), then simply type the |
| 943 base name of the file that contains the commands. (Octave uses the | |
| 944 same rules to search for script files as it does to search for | |
| 945 function files.) | |
| 3294 | 946 |
| 947 If the first token in a file (ignoring comments) is @code{function}, | |
| 948 Octave will compile the function and try to execute it, printing a | |
| 949 message warning about any non-whitespace characters that appear after | |
| 950 the function definition. | |
| 951 | |
| 952 Note that Octave does not try to look up the definition of any identifier | |
| 953 until it needs to evaluate it. This means that Octave will compile the | |
| 954 following statements if they appear in a script file, or are typed at | |
| 955 the command line, | |
| 956 | |
| 957 @example | |
| 958 @group | |
| 959 # not a function file: | |
| 960 1; | |
| 961 function foo () | |
| 962 do_something (); | |
| 963 endfunction | |
| 964 function do_something () | |
| 965 do_something_else (); | |
| 966 endfunction | |
| 967 @end group | |
| 968 @end example | |
| 969 | |
| 970 @noindent | |
| 971 even though the function @code{do_something} is not defined before it is | |
| 972 referenced in the function @code{foo}. This is not an error because | |
| 973 Octave does not need to resolve all symbols that are referenced by a | |
| 974 function until the function is actually evaluated. | |
| 975 | |
| 976 Since Octave doesn't look for definitions until they are needed, the | |
| 977 following code will always print @samp{bar = 3} whether it is typed | |
| 978 directly on the command line, read from a script file, or is part of a | |
| 979 function body, even if there is a function or script file called | |
| 6477 | 980 @file{bar.m} in Octave's path. |
| 3294 | 981 |
| 982 @example | |
| 983 @group | |
| 984 eval ("bar = 3"); | |
| 985 bar | |
| 986 @end group | |
| 987 @end example | |
| 988 | |
| 989 Code like this appearing within a function body could fool Octave if | |
| 990 definitions were resolved as the function was being compiled. It would | |
| 991 be virtually impossible to make Octave clever enough to evaluate this | |
| 992 code in a consistent fashion. The parser would have to be able to | |
| 993 perform the call to @code{eval} at compile time, and that would be | |
| 994 impossible unless all the references in the string to be evaluated could | |
| 995 also be resolved, and requiring that would be too restrictive (the | |
| 996 string might come from user input, or depend on things that are not | |
| 997 known until the function is evaluated). | |
| 998 | |
| 999 Although Octave normally executes commands from script files that have | |
| 1000 the name @file{@var{file}.m}, you can use the function @code{source} to | |
| 1001 execute commands from any file. | |
| 1002 | |
| 3371 | 1003 @DOCSTRING(source) |
| 3294 | 1004 |
| 6638 | 1005 @node Function Handles Inline Functions and Anonymous Functions |
| 1006 @section Function Handles, Inline Functions, and Anonymous Functions | |
| 4933 | 1007 @cindex handle, function handles |
| 1008 @cindex inline, inline functions | |
| 6638 | 1009 @cindex anonymous functions |
| 4933 | 1010 |
| 6638 | 1011 It can be very convenient store a function in a variable so that it |
| 1012 can be passed to a different function. For example, a function that | |
| 1013 performs numerical minimisation needs access to the function that | |
| 1014 should be minimised. | |
| 4933 | 1015 |
| 1016 @menu | |
| 1017 * Function Handles:: | |
| 6554 | 1018 * Anonymous Functions:: |
| 4933 | 1019 * Inline Functions:: |
| 1020 @end menu | |
| 1021 | |
| 1022 @node Function Handles | |
| 1023 @subsection Function Handles | |
| 1024 | |
| 6554 | 1025 A function handle is a pointer to another function and is defined with |
| 1026 the syntax | |
| 1027 | |
| 1028 @example | |
| 1029 @@@var{function-name} | |
| 1030 @end example | |
| 1031 | |
| 1032 @noindent | |
| 1033 For example | |
| 1034 | |
| 1035 @example | |
| 6556 | 1036 f = @@sin; |
| 6554 | 1037 @end example |
| 1038 | |
| 1039 @noindent | |
| 6570 | 1040 Creates a function handle called @code{f} that refers to the |
| 6554 | 1041 function @code{sin}. |
| 1042 | |
| 1043 Function handles are used to call other functions indirectly, or to pass | |
| 1044 a function as an argument to another function like @code{quad} or | |
| 1045 @code{fsolve}. For example | |
| 1046 | |
| 1047 @example | |
| 6556 | 1048 f = @@sin; |
| 6554 | 1049 quad (f, 0, pi) |
| 6929 | 1050 @result{} 2 |
| 6554 | 1051 @end example |
| 1052 | |
| 1053 You may use @code{feval} to call a function using function handle, or | |
| 6570 | 1054 simply write the name of the function handle followed by an argument |
| 6554 | 1055 list. If there are no arguments, you must use an empty argument list |
| 1056 @samp{()}. For example | |
| 1057 | |
| 1058 @example | |
| 6556 | 1059 f = @@sin; |
| 6554 | 1060 feval (f, pi/4) |
| 6570 | 1061 @result{} 0.70711 |
| 6554 | 1062 f (pi/4) |
| 6570 | 1063 @result{} 0.70711 |
| 6554 | 1064 @end example |
| 1065 | |
| 4933 | 1066 @DOCSTRING(functions) |
| 1067 | |
| 1068 @DOCSTRING(func2str) | |
| 1069 | |
| 1070 @DOCSTRING(str2func) | |
| 1071 | |
| 6570 | 1072 @node Anonymous Functions |
| 6554 | 1073 @subsection Anonymous Functions |
| 1074 | |
| 1075 Anonymous functions are defined using the syntax | |
| 1076 | |
| 1077 @example | |
| 1078 @@(@var{argument-list}) @var{expression} | |
| 1079 @end example | |
| 1080 | |
| 1081 @noindent | |
| 1082 Any variables that are not found in the argument list are inherited from | |
| 1083 the enclosing scope. Anonymous functions are useful for creating simple | |
| 1084 unnamed functions from expressions or for wrapping calls to other | |
| 1085 functions to adapt them for use by functions like @code{quad}. For | |
| 1086 example, | |
| 1087 | |
| 1088 @example | |
| 1089 f = @@(x) x.^2; | |
| 1090 quad (f, 0, 10) | |
| 6570 | 1091 @result{} 333.33 |
| 6554 | 1092 @end example |
| 1093 | |
| 1094 @noindent | |
| 1095 creates a simple unnamed function from the expression @code{x.^2} and | |
| 1096 passes it to @code{quad}, | |
| 1097 | |
| 1098 @example | |
| 1099 quad (@@(x) sin (x), 0, pi) | |
| 6933 | 1100 @result{} 2 |
| 6554 | 1101 @end example |
| 1102 | |
| 1103 @noindent | |
| 1104 wraps another function, and | |
| 1105 | |
| 1106 @example | |
| 1107 a = 1; | |
| 1108 b = 2; | |
| 1109 quad (@@(x) betainc (x, a, b), 0, 0.4) | |
| 6929 | 1110 @result{} 0.13867 |
| 6554 | 1111 @end example |
| 1112 | |
| 1113 @noindent | |
| 1114 adapts a function with several parameters to the form required by | |
| 1115 @code{quad}. In this example, the values of @var{a} and @var{b} that | |
| 1116 are passed to @code{betainc} are inherited from the current | |
| 1117 environment. | |
| 1118 | |
| 4933 | 1119 @node Inline Functions |
| 1120 @subsection Inline Functions | |
| 1121 | |
| 6638 | 1122 An inline function is created from a string containing the function |
| 1123 body using the @code{inline} function. The following code defines the | |
| 1124 function @math{f(x) = x^2 + 2}. | |
| 1125 | |
| 1126 @example | |
| 1127 f = inline("x^2 + 2"); | |
| 1128 @end example | |
| 1129 | |
| 1130 @noindent | |
| 1131 After this it is possible to evaluate @math{f} at any @math{x} by | |
| 1132 writing @code{f(x)}. | |
| 1133 | |
| 4933 | 1134 @DOCSTRING(inline) |
| 1135 | |
| 1136 @DOCSTRING(argnames) | |
| 1137 | |
| 1138 @DOCSTRING(formula) | |
| 1139 | |
| 1140 @DOCSTRING(vectorize) | |
| 1141 | |
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1142 @DOCSTRING(symvar) |
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1143 |
| 6549 | 1144 @node Commands |
| 1145 @section Commands | |
| 1146 | |
| 6638 | 1147 Commands are a special class of functions that only accept string |
| 1148 input arguments. A command can be called as an ordinary function, but | |
| 1149 it can also be called without the parentheses like the following example | |
| 1150 shows | |
| 1151 | |
| 1152 @example | |
| 1153 my_command hello world | |
| 1154 @end example | |
| 1155 | |
| 1156 @noindent | |
| 1157 which is the same as | |
| 1158 | |
| 1159 @example | |
| 1160 my_command("hello", "world") | |
| 1161 @end example | |
| 1162 | |
| 1163 The general form of a command call is | |
| 1164 | |
| 1165 @example | |
| 1166 @var{name} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{} | |
| 1167 @end example | |
| 1168 | |
| 1169 @noindent | |
| 1170 which translates directly to | |
| 1171 | |
| 1172 @example | |
| 1173 @var{name} ("@var{arg1}", "@var{arg2}", @dots{}) | |
| 1174 @end example | |
| 1175 | |
| 7001 | 1176 A function can be used as a command if it accepts string input arguments. |
| 6638 | 1177 To do this, the function must be marked as a command, which can be done |
| 1178 with the @code{mark_as_command} command like this | |
| 1179 | |
| 1180 @example | |
| 1181 mark_as_command name | |
| 1182 @end example | |
| 1183 | |
| 1184 @noindent | |
| 1185 where @code{name} is the function to be marked as a command. | |
| 1186 | |
| 1187 One difficulty of commands occurs when one of the string input arguments | |
| 1188 are stored in a variable. Since Octave can't tell the difference between | |
| 1189 a variable name, and an ordinary string, it is not possible to pass a | |
| 1190 variable as input to a command. In such a situation a command must be | |
| 1191 called as a function. | |
| 1192 | |
| 6549 | 1193 @DOCSTRING(mark_as_command) |
| 1194 | |
| 1195 @DOCSTRING(unmark_command) | |
| 1196 | |
| 1197 @DOCSTRING(iscommand) | |
| 1198 | |
| 1199 @DOCSTRING(mark_as_rawcommand) | |
| 1200 | |
| 1201 @DOCSTRING(unmark_rawcommand) | |
| 1202 | |
| 1203 @DOCSTRING(israwcommand) | |
| 1204 | |
| 4167 | 1205 @node Organization of Functions |
| 3294 | 1206 @section Organization of Functions Distributed with Octave |
| 1207 | |
| 1208 Many of Octave's standard functions are distributed as function files. | |
| 1209 They are loosely organized by topic, in subdirectories of | |
| 1210 @file{@var{octave-home}/lib/octave/@var{version}/m}, to make it easier | |
| 1211 to find them. | |
| 1212 | |
| 1213 The following is a list of all the function file subdirectories, and the | |
| 1214 types of functions you will find there. | |
| 1215 | |
| 1216 @table @file | |
| 1217 @item audio | |
| 1218 Functions for playing and recording sounds. | |
| 1219 | |
| 1220 @item control | |
| 1221 Functions for design and simulation of automatic control systems. | |
| 1222 | |
| 1223 @item elfun | |
| 1224 Elementary functions. | |
| 1225 | |
| 6554 | 1226 @item finance |
| 1227 Functions for computing interest payments, investment values, and rates | |
| 1228 of return. | |
| 1229 | |
| 3294 | 1230 @item general |
| 1231 Miscellaneous matrix manipulations, like @code{flipud}, @code{rot90}, | |
| 1232 and @code{triu}, as well as other basic functions, like | |
| 4029 | 1233 @code{ismatrix}, @code{nargchk}, etc. |
| 3294 | 1234 |
| 1235 @item image | |
| 1236 Image processing tools. These functions require the X Window System. | |
| 1237 | |
| 1238 @item io | |
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1239 Input-output functions. |
| 3294 | 1240 |
| 1241 @item linear-algebra | |
| 1242 Functions for linear algebra. | |
| 1243 | |
| 1244 @item miscellaneous | |
| 1245 Functions that don't really belong anywhere else. | |
| 1246 | |
| 6554 | 1247 @item optimization |
| 1248 Minimization of functions. | |
| 1249 | |
| 1250 @item path | |
| 1251 Functions to manage the directory path Octave uses to find functions. | |
| 1252 | |
| 1253 @item pkg | |
| 1254 Install external packages of functions in Octave. | |
| 1255 | |
| 3294 | 1256 @item plot |
| 6556 | 1257 Functions for displaying and printing two- and three-dimensional graphs. |
| 3294 | 1258 |
| 1259 @item polynomial | |
| 1260 Functions for manipulating polynomials. | |
| 1261 | |
| 1262 @item set | |
| 1263 Functions for creating and manipulating sets of unique values. | |
| 1264 | |
| 1265 @item signal | |
| 1266 Functions for signal processing applications. | |
| 1267 | |
| 6554 | 1268 @item sparse |
| 1269 Functions for handling sparse matrices. | |
| 1270 | |
| 3294 | 1271 @item specfun |
| 1272 Special functions. | |
| 1273 | |
| 1274 @item special-matrix | |
| 1275 Functions that create special matrix forms. | |
| 1276 | |
| 1277 @item startup | |
| 1278 Octave's system-wide startup file. | |
| 1279 | |
| 1280 @item statistics | |
| 1281 Statistical functions. | |
| 1282 | |
| 1283 @item strings | |
| 1284 Miscellaneous string-handling functions. | |
| 1285 | |
| 6554 | 1286 @item testfun |
| 1287 Perform unit tests on other functions. | |
| 1288 | |
| 3294 | 1289 @item time |
| 1290 Functions related to time keeping. | |
| 1291 @end table |