Calling Functions

MATLAB® provides a large number of functions that perform computational tasks. Functions are equivalent to subroutines or methods in other programming languages.

To call a function, such as max, enclose its input arguments in parentheses:

A = [1 3 5];
max(A)

ans = 
5

If there are multiple input arguments, separate them with commas:

B = [3 6 9];
union(A,B)

ans = 1×5

     1     3     5     6     9

Return output from a function by assigning it to a variable:

maxA = max(A)

maxA = 
5

When there are multiple output arguments, enclose them in square brackets:

[minA,maxA] = bounds(A)

minA = 
1

maxA = 
5

Enclose any text inputs in quotes:

disp("hello world")

hello world

To call a function that does not require any inputs and does not return any outputs, type only the function name:

clc

The clc function clears the Command Window.