Getting Started

Function Handles

You can create a handle to any MATLAB function and then use that handle as a means of referencing the function. A function handle is typically passed in an argument list to other functions, which can then execute, or evaluate, the function using the handle.

Construct a function handle in MATLAB using the at sign, @, before the function name. The following example creates a function handle for the sin function and assigns it to the variable fhandle.

• fhandle = @sin;
  

You can call a function by means of its handle in the same way that you would call the function using its name. The syntax is

• fhandle(arg1, arg2, ...);
  

The function plot_fhandle, shown below, receives a function handle and data, generates y-axis data using the function handle, and plots it:

• function x = plot_fhandle(fhandle, data)
  plot(data, fhandle(data))
  

When you call plot_fhandle with a handle to the sin function and the argument shown below, the resulting evaluation produces a sine wave plot.

• plot_fhandle(@sin, -pi:0.01:pi)
  

The eval Function

Function Functions

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