How do I set a function to a variable in MATLAB - function

Question

As a homework assignment, I'm writing a code that uses the bisection method to calculate the root of a function with one variable within a range. I created a user function that does the calculations, but one of the inputs of the function is supposed to be "fun" which is supposed to be set equal to the function.
Here is my code, before I go on:
function [ Ts ] = BisectionRoot( fun,a,b,TolMax )
%This function finds the value of Ts by finding the root of a given function within a given range to a given
%tolerance, using the Bisection Method.
Fa = fun(a);
Fb = fun(b);
if Fa * Fb > 0
disp('Error: The function has no roots in between the given bounds')
else
xNS = (a + b)/2;
toli = abs((b-a)/2);
FxNS = fun(xns);
if FxNS == 0
Ts = xNS;
break
end
if toli , TolMax
Ts = xNS;
break
end
if fun(a) * FxNS < 0
b = xNS;
else
a = xNS;
end
end
Ts
end
The input arguments are defined by our teacher, so I can't mess with them. We're supposed to set those variables in the command window before running the function. That way, we can use the program later on for other things. (Even though I think fzero() can be used to do this)
My problem is that I'm not sure how to set fun to something, and then use that in a way that I can do fun(a) or fun(b). In our book they do something they call defining f(x) as an anonymous function. They do this for an example problem:
F = # (x) 8-4.5*(x-sin(x))
But when I try doing that, I get the error, Error: Unexpected MATLAB operator.
If you guys want to try running the program to test your solutions before posting (hopefully my program works!) you can use these variables from an example in the book:
fun = 8 - 4.5*(x - sin(x))
a = 2
b = 3
TolMax = .001
The answer the get in the book for using those is 2.430664.
I'm sure the answer to this is incredibly easy and straightforward, but for some reason, I can't find a way to do it! Thank you for your help.

Answer 1

To get you going, it looks like your example is missing some syntax. Instead of either of these (from your question):
fun = 8 - 4.5*(x - sin(x)) % Missing function handle declaration symbol "#"
F = # (x) 8-4.5*(x-sin9(x)) %Unless you have defined it, there is no function "sin9"
Use
fun = #(x) 8 - 4.5*(x - sin(x))
Then you would call your function like this:
fun = #(x) 8 - 4.5*(x - sin(x));
a = 2;
b = 3;
TolMax = .001;
root = BisectionRoot( fun,a,b,TolMax );
To debug (which you will need to do), use the debugger.
The command dbstop if error stops execution and opens the file at the point of the problem, letting you examine the variable values and function stack.
Clicking on the "-" marks in the editor creates a break point, forcing the function to pause execution at that point, again so that you can examine the contents. Note that you can step through the code line by line using the debug buttons at the top of the editor.
dbquit quits debug mode
dbclear all clears all break points