Info Catalog octave: Ignoring Arguments octave: Functions and Scripts octave: Returning from a Function

octave: Variable-length Return Lists

 
 11.6 Variable-length Return Lists
 =================================
 
 It is possible to return a variable number of output arguments from a
 function using a syntax that’s similar to the one used with the special
 ‘varargin’ parameter name.  To let a function return a variable number
 of output arguments the special output parameter name ‘varargout’ is
 used.  As with ‘varargin’, ‘varargout’ is a cell array that will contain
 the requested output arguments.
 
    As an example the following function sets the first output argument
 to 1, the second to 2, and so on.
 
      function varargout = one_to_n ()
        for i = 1:nargout
          varargout{i} = i;
        endfor
      endfunction
 
 When called this function returns values like this
 
      [a, b, c] = one_to_n ()
           ⇒ a =  1
           ⇒ b =  2
           ⇒ c =  3
 
    If ‘varargin’ (‘varargout’) does not appear as the last element of
 the input (output) parameter list, then it is not special, and is
 handled the same as any other parameter name.
 
  -- : [R1, R2, ..., RN] = deal (A)
  -- : [R1, R2, ..., RN] = deal (A1, A2, ..., AN)
 
      Copy the input parameters into the corresponding output parameters.
 
      If only a single input parameter is supplied, its value is copied
      to each of the outputs.
 
      For example,
 
           [a, b, c] = deal (x, y, z);
 
      is equivalent to
 
           a = x;
           b = y;
           c = z;
 
      and
 
           [a, b, c] = deal (x);
 
      is equivalent to
 
           a = b = c = x;
 
      Programming Note: ‘deal’ is often used with comma separated lists
      derived from cell arrays or structures.  This is unnecessary as the
      interpreter can perform the same action without the overhead of a
      function call.  For example:
 
           c = {[1 2], "Three", 4};
           [x, y, z] = c{:}
           ⇒
              x =
 
                 1   2
 
              y = Three
              z =  4
 
DONTPRINTYET       See also: cell2struct XREFcell2struct, *notestruct2cell:
DONTPRINTYET       See also: cell2struct XREFcell2struct, struct2cell

      XREFstruct2cell, repmat XREFrepmat.
 

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