MATLAB Programming

12 Programming Tips
For more information: SeeDataTypesintheMATLABProgramming
documentation.
General Coding Practices
A few suggested programming practices:
• Use descriptive function and variable names to make your code easier to
understand.
• OrdersubfunctionsalphabeticallyinanM-filetomakethemeasiertofind.
• Precede each subfunction with a block of help text describing what that
subfunction does. This not only explains the subfunctions, but also helps
to visually separate them.
• Don’t extend lines of code beyond the 80th column. Otherwise, it will be
hard to read when you print it out.
• Use full Handle Graphics ® property and value names. Abbreviated names
are often allowed, but can make your code unreadable. They also could be
incompatible in future releases of MATLAB.
Naming a Function Uniquely
To avoid choosing a name for a new function that might conflict with a name
already in use, check for any occurrences of the name using this command:
which -all functionname
For more information: See the which function reference page.
TheImportanceofComments
Be sure to document your programs well to make it easier for you or someone
else to maintain them. Add comments generously, explaining each major
section and any smaller segments of code that are not obvious. You can add
a block of comments as shown here.
%---------------------------------------------
% This function computes the ...
%---------------------------------------------
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