MATLAB Programming

Working with M-Files
Once you have created this file, here are some things you can:
• List the names of the files in your current directory:
what
• List the contents of M-file fact.m:
type fact
• Call the fact function:
fact(5)
ans =
120
A Word of Caution on Saving M-Files
Save any M-files you create and any MathWorks supplied M-files that you
edit in directories outside of the directory tree in which the MATLAB software
is installed. If you keep your files in any of the installed directories, your files
may be overwritten when you install a new version of MATLAB.
MATLAB installs its software into directories under matlabroot/toolbox. To
see what matlabroot is on your system, type matlabroot at the MATLAB
command prompt.
Also note that locations of files in the matlabroot/toolbox directory tree are
loaded and cached in memory at the beginning of each MATLAB session to
improve performance. If you save files to matlabroot/toolbox directories
using an external editor, or if you add or remove files from these directories
using file system operations, enter the commands clear functionname and
rehash toolbox before you use the files in the current session.
For more information, see the rehash function reference page or the section
Toolbox Path Caching in the Desktop Tools and Development Environment
documentation.
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