Overview

So far, everything we have learned how to do in MATLAB required typing in commands one by one on the command line. This is fine for testing things out, but, really, the whole point of computers is to make repetitive calculations quickly and accurately. As soon as you realize you want to run the same set of commands over again, it is time to write a script or a function so you can do it 100 times. In this lesson, we'll begin learning how to write functions and scripts. You want to be hard-working with the thinking, but lazy with the typing.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• write a script to display a table of data.
• write a function with user inputs.
• write a script to make a plot.
• use MATLAB as a graphing calculator, also to display data.

Questions?

If you have questions, please feel free to post them to the Questions? discussion forum in Canvas. While you are there, feel free to post your own responses if you, too, are able to help a classmate.