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jstavitsky1-Visitor
1-Visitor
March 11, 2015
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Calling a function with fewer parameters than specified in the definition

  • March 11, 2015
  • 3 replies
  • 1869 views

Suppose I define a custom function foo with parameters (A,B,C,D) but I want to give the user the option of calling it with only A and B and handling the absence of C and D gracefully in some way. Is it possible to write a test that checks to see if C and D are specified, or will the call return an error in any case where all parameters are not given?

    Best answer by RichardJ

    User defined functions with a variable number of parameters are not possible. The only way to come close is to define foo(V), where V is a vector of parameters that could have a variable number of elements.

    3 replies

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    RichardJ19-TanzaniteAnswer
    19-Tanzanite
    March 11, 2015

    User defined functions with a variable number of parameters are not possible. The only way to come close is to define foo(V), where V is a vector of parameters that could have a variable number of elements.

      J
      jstavitsky1-VisitorAuthor
      1-Visitor
      March 12, 2015

      Thanks

      S
      StuartBruff23-Emerald V
      23-Emerald V
      March 12, 2015

      Joseph Stavitsky wrote:

      Suppose I define a custom function foo with parameters (A,B,C,D) but I want to give the user the option of calling it with only A and B and handling the absence of C and D gracefully in some way. Is it possible to write a test that checks to see if C and D are specified, or will the call return an error in any case where all parameters are not given?

      As Richard says, it's not possible to have optional arguments to a function. This capability has been repeatedly asked for since at least Mathcad version 2000.

      Stuart

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