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Re: Multiple values from a function? [message #20571 is a reply to message #20570]

Tue, 04 July 2000 00:00

Martin Schultz
Messages: 515
Registered: August 1997

Senior Member

Simon de Vet wrote:
>
> I have a function that does a whole lot (it started out as an
> independent program). It works very well when returning one of it's
> calculated arrays.
>
> It also produces a number of other arrays which I'd like to have access
> to. Unfortunately, I have discovered that a function can only return
> one value.
>
> How can I get the other arrays out of it? The code is intertwined, so it
> would be hard to break into 2 or 3 independent functions.
>
> Concatenation of arrays is not an option, since they are all of
> different sizes. I can get around the problem by doing the calculation
> in the main level program instead of in a function, but that's a little
> ackward. Looking at the help, structures look like a possibility, but I
> don't understand how they work.
>
> Help!
>
> Simon

Second alternative: store all your results in a structure. Example:

function mything, in1, in2

sum=in1+in2
diff=in1-in2

result = { sum:sum, diff:diff }
return,result
end

You can then access the results as in:
thunder = mything(5.,20.)
print,'Sum is : ',thunder.sum,' Difference is : ',thunder.diff

One addition to Craig's answer: the parameter could also be a keyword,
e.g.
function mything, in, out=out

This is particularily recommended if you judge the output as optional.
In this case
you can use the arg_present function to determine whether output shall
be computed or not:

...
if arg_present(out) then begin
;; long-winded computation worth at least 3 trips to coffee maker
...
endif

Cheers,
Martin
--
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[[ Bundesstr. 55, 20146 Hamburg [[
[[ phone: +49 40 41173-308 [[
[[ fax: +49 40 41173-298 [[
[[ martin.schultz@dkrz.de [[
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[Message index]

		Re: Multiple values from a function? By: John-David T. Smith on Wed, 05 July 2000 00:00
		Re: Multiple values from a function? By: Simon de Vet on Wed, 05 July 2000 00:00
		Re: Multiple values from a function? By: Craig Markwardt on Wed, 05 July 2000 00:00
		Re: Multiple values from a function? By: John-David T. Smith on Wed, 05 July 2000 00:00
		Re: Multiple values from a function? By: Martin Schultz on Wed, 05 July 2000 00:00
		Re: Multiple values from a function? By: Simon de Vet on Wed, 05 July 2000 00:00
		Re: Multiple values from a function? By: meron on Tue, 04 July 2000 00:00
		Re: Multiple values from a function? By: Martin Schultz on Tue, 04 July 2000 00:00
		Re: Multiple values from a function? By: Craig Markwardt on Tue, 04 July 2000 00:00

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