Anonymous functions in MATLAB

Introduction

Anonymous functions let you create quick, simple functions without giving them a name. They are useful for small tasks where writing a full function file is too much work.

When you need a small function for a short calculation inside your script.

When you want to pass a simple function as an input to another function.

When you want to avoid creating many separate function files for tiny tasks.

When you want to quickly test a function without saving it permanently.

Syntax

MATLAB

f = @(arg1, arg2, ...) expression;

The '@' symbol starts the anonymous function.

Arguments go inside parentheses after '@'.

The expression is what the function calculates and returns.

Examples

Creates a function 'square' that returns the square of input x.

MATLAB

square = @(x) x.^2;

Creates a function 'add' that adds two inputs a and b.

MATLAB

add = @(a,b) a + b;

Creates a function 'greet' that returns a greeting message with the input name.

MATLAB

greet = @(name) ['Hello, ' name '!'];

Sample Program

This program defines an anonymous function to square a number, then uses it to find the square of 5 and displays the result.

MATLAB

square = @(x) x.^2;
result = square(5);
disp(['Square of 5 is: ' num2str(result)]);

Important Notes

Anonymous functions can only contain one expression, no multiple statements.

Use dot operators (like .^) for element-wise operations on arrays.

They are handy for quick calculations but for complex logic, use regular functions.

Summary

Anonymous functions are quick, unnamed functions created with '@'.

They are great for small tasks and passing functions as arguments.

Syntax: f = @(args) expression; where expression is what the function returns.