Do not have your function call
result = compute(x, y)
instead have it call
clear compute
result = test_function(@compute, substitute_value, x, y);
where
function output = test_function(fh, substitute_value, varargin)
try
output = feval(fh, varargin{:});
catch
output = substitute_value;
end
Now, as long as the function does not exit MATLAB or crash MATLAB, any error will be caught.
As long as only the function compute changes, and not the function test_function, then you should be fine.
Note: the above code does assume that compute() is not a function handle.
