Writing Your Own Functions

A function lives in its own block (or, for a real project, its own .m file) and lets you package up a calculation you'll reuse.

function result = square(x)
  result = x^2;
end

disp(square(5))

Multiple inputs and outputs

function [total, average] = stats(v)
  total = sum(v);
  average = mean(v);
end

[t, a] = stats([1, 2, 3, 4]);
disp(t)
disp(a)

Why This Matters for Your Exams

A function is how you avoid retyping the same five lines for every new set of numbers a question gives you -- write it once, call it on whatever input the question provides.

Try it yourself