<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> <html> <!-- Created by GNU Texinfo 6.5, http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/ --> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title>A Sample Function Description (GNU Octave (version 5.1.0))</title> <meta name="description" content="A Sample Function Description (GNU Octave (version 5.1.0))"> <meta name="keywords" content="A Sample Function Description (GNU Octave (version 5.1.0))"> <meta name="resource-type" content="document"> <meta name="distribution" content="global"> <meta name="Generator" content="makeinfo"> <link href="index.html#Top" rel="start" title="Top"> <link href="Concept-Index.html#Concept-Index" rel="index" title="Concept Index"> <link href="index.html#SEC_Contents" rel="contents" title="Table of Contents"> <link href="Format-of-Descriptions.html#Format-of-Descriptions" rel="up" title="Format of Descriptions"> <link href="A-Sample-Command-Description.html#A-Sample-Command-Description" rel="next" title="A Sample Command Description"> <link href="Format-of-Descriptions.html#Format-of-Descriptions" rel="prev" title="Format of Descriptions"> <style type="text/css"> <!-- a.summary-letter {text-decoration: none} blockquote.indentedblock {margin-right: 0em} blockquote.smallindentedblock {margin-right: 0em; font-size: smaller} blockquote.smallquotation {font-size: smaller} div.display {margin-left: 3.2em} div.example {margin-left: 3.2em} div.lisp {margin-left: 3.2em} div.smalldisplay {margin-left: 3.2em} div.smallexample {margin-left: 3.2em} div.smalllisp {margin-left: 3.2em} kbd {font-style: oblique} pre.display {font-family: inherit} pre.format {font-family: inherit} pre.menu-comment {font-family: serif} pre.menu-preformatted {font-family: serif} pre.smalldisplay {font-family: inherit; font-size: smaller} pre.smallexample {font-size: smaller} pre.smallformat {font-family: inherit; font-size: smaller} pre.smalllisp {font-size: smaller} span.nolinebreak {white-space: nowrap} span.roman {font-family: initial; font-weight: normal} span.sansserif {font-family: sans-serif; font-weight: normal} ul.no-bullet {list-style: none} --> </style> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="octave.css"> </head> <body lang="en"> <a name="A-Sample-Function-Description"></a> <div class="header"> <p> Next: <a href="A-Sample-Command-Description.html#A-Sample-Command-Description" accesskey="n" rel="next">A Sample Command Description</a>, Up: <a href="Format-of-Descriptions.html#Format-of-Descriptions" accesskey="u" rel="up">Format of Descriptions</a> [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Concept-Index.html#Concept-Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p> </div> <hr> <a name="A-Sample-Function-Description-1"></a> <h4 class="subsubsection">1.3.5.1 A Sample Function Description</h4> <a name="index-function-descriptions"></a> <p>In a function description, the name of the function being described appears first. It is followed on the same line by a list of parameters. The names used for the parameters are also used in the body of the description. </p> <p>After all of the calling forms have been enumerated, the next line is a concise one-sentence summary of the function. </p> <p>After the summary there may be documentation on the inputs and outputs, examples of function usage, notes about the algorithm used, and references to related functions. </p> <p>Here is a description of an imaginary function <code>foo</code>: </p> <dl> <dt><a name="index-foo"></a><em></em> <strong>foo</strong> <em>(<var>x</var>)</em></dt> <dt><a name="index-foo-1"></a><em></em> <strong>foo</strong> <em>(<var>x</var>, <var>y</var>)</em></dt> <dt><a name="index-foo-2"></a><em></em> <strong>foo</strong> <em>(<var>x</var>, <var>y</var>, …)</em></dt> <dd><p>Subtract <var>x</var> from <var>y</var>, then add any remaining arguments to the result. </p> <p>The input <var>x</var> must be a numeric scalar, vector, or array. </p> <p>The optional input <var>y</var> defaults to 19 if it is not supplied. </p> <p>Example: </p> <div class="example"> <pre class="example">foo (1, [3, 5], 3, 9) ⇒ [ 14, 16 ] foo (5) ⇒ 14 </pre></div> <p>More generally, </p> <div class="example"> <pre class="example">foo (<var>w</var>, <var>x</var>, <var>y</var>, …) ≡ <var>x</var> - <var>w</var> + <var>y</var> + … </pre></div> <p><b>See also:</b> bar </p></dd></dl> <p>Any parameter whose name contains the name of a type (e.g., <var>integer</var> or <var>matrix</var>) is expected to be of that type. Parameters named <var>object</var> may be of any type. Parameters with other sorts of names (e.g., <var>new_file</var>) are discussed specifically in the description of the function. In some sections, features common to parameters of several functions are described at the beginning. </p> <hr> <div class="header"> <p> Next: <a href="A-Sample-Command-Description.html#A-Sample-Command-Description" accesskey="n" rel="next">A Sample Command Description</a>, Up: <a href="Format-of-Descriptions.html#Format-of-Descriptions" accesskey="u" rel="up">Format of Descriptions</a> [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Concept-Index.html#Concept-Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p> </div> </body> </html>