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jstavitsky1-Visitor
1-Visitor
Mar 11, 2015 11:03 PM UTC
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Calling a function with fewer parameters than specified in the definition

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?

    RichardJAnswer
    19-Tanzanite
    Mar 11, 2015 11:53 PM UTC

    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.

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    RichardJ19-TanzaniteAnswer
    19-Tanzanite
    Mar 11, 2015 11:53 PM UTC

    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.

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      jstavitsky1-VisitorAuthor
      1-Visitor
      Mar 12, 2015 7:54 PM UTC

      Thanks

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      StuartBruff23-Emerald V
      23-Emerald V
      Mar 12, 2015 7:18 PM UTC

      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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