Process named Arguments

Easily add optional, named arguments to your functions, like this: f('var_name', value).
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Updated 7 Jan 2014

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Assigns named arguments passed to your function to local variables (as in plot(), etc.). The name of the argument is the name of the local variable in your function.

Example: inputfun('prompt', '>', 'defval', 5.1, 'timeout', 5);

This is the same idea as Matlab's inputParser, but with a focus on being really simple and easy to use. Other implementations of this idea on File Exchange require a lot of lines of code to set this up, where as my code just requires one extra function call near the top of your function.

Usage:
(1) in your function, define local variables with their default values;
(2) call procArgs(varargin)

Minimal error checking: requires that all passed variable names match already defined variables in your function. It would be pretty easy to add type checking if you wanted it (I don't, particularly).

Example:


function test(varargin)
name = 'John';
age = 32;
procArgs(varargin)
fprintf('name=%s, age=%i\n', name, age);

%% example calls
test('name', 'Amber'); % prints Amber, 32
test('age', 99); % prints John, 99
test('Ages', 0); % error, will report that Ages is not defined.

Cite As

Alan Robinson (2024). Process named Arguments (https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/25881-process-named-arguments), MATLAB Central File Exchange. Retrieved .

MATLAB Release Compatibility
Created with R2007a
Compatible with any release
Platform Compatibility
Windows macOS Linux
Categories
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Version Published Release Notes
1.5.0.0

Improved help text; code is identical.

1.3.0.0

better handling of different variable types.

1.2.0.0

Exist only checks against variable names, which is safer and faster.

1.1.0.0

Improved title/description.

1.0.0.0