How can I rectify this: Error: Function definitions are not permitted in this context.

Hello,

Full disclosure, I am a completely newbie to Matlab and am currently enrolled in an introductory course. I have an assignment for which I must create a function that uses the bubble sorting algorithm to sort a 1xn matrix in ascending order. I have already created and tested my code but I am having difficulty saving and running it as an actual function. I am using the online Matlab software currently.

Here is my attempt:

function A = bubble_sort(A)
    %   SUMMARY: BUBBLE_SORT Sorts a matrix A in ascending order using the bubble sort algorithm.
    %   INPUT is a 1xn matrix A
    %   OUTPUT is the sorted (ascending) version of A
    while ~isSorted(A) 
        for i = 1:length(A)-1
            if A(i) > A(i+1)
                temp = A(i);
                A([i i+1]) = A([i+1 i]);
                temp = A(i+1);
            end
        end
    end
end

Everytime I attempt to run it, I get the following error:

" function A = bubble_sort(A)
 ↑
Error: Function definitions are not permitted in this context.
"

Any help or clarification would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

Best, Steven

Answer 1

[Jan]

It is a good idea to search in the forum before asking. You would find the solution fast: In older Matlab versions, functions can be define in "function files" only: M-files, which start with the keyword "function". If an M-file is a script (Matlab code without the leading keyword "function"), you cannot define a function in this file. In the command window, functions cannot be defined also.

So all you have to do is write the show code snippet to a file. Open the editor, paste the code, save it.

Note that "I attempt to run it" is not clear. If the code is saved to a function file, you run it by calling from another function, or script, or from the command window by:

ASorted = bubble_sort(A)