MANTONE

Functions are Awesome

Functions are your best friend, they are also known as methods They basically are a set of instructions that you encapsulate for later use. Once you define a function, you can call upon it to execute a set of instructions.

Besides sides executing instructions, functions can be made to return a result in a variable/datatype of your liking. Sort of like a calculator.

In processing when you don’t need to return a variable or datatype, you simply insert the term ‘void’ before your choosen function name. When you need to return a certain datatype, specity it. Say you needed an int value return, so instead using ‘void’, you would use ‘int’ before you define the function’s name.

The Nuances Of Declaring Functions

// This function does not do anything
// Notice the void and buildArchitecture()
void buildArchitecture() {
	// 'void'
	/*
	 When you choose to 'void' a function, it just
	 means that you don't return anything, rather
	 only instructions are executed
	*/

	// buildArchitecture()
	/*
	 Wouldn't it be cool if there was function that
	 could buildArchitecture for you?  Well,
	 if it doesn't exist it probably would consist of
	 thousands of other functions.
	*/
}

// Functions can have parameters.
// If you need information before you
// excuting a set of instructions, then use parameters.
// --- Make sure you specify the datatype
// --- Before you provide a parameter name
void buildArchitecture( int investmentmoney ) {
	/*
	Since investmentmoney is the paramter
	you can use it any way you want.
	*/

	if(investmentmoney > 100) {
		// Stuff to do when we have enough
		// investment money
	}
}

// Functions can return anything you want it to
// Make sure you return what is expected.
// In this case, it is the 'int' datatype
int daysUntilCompletion( int numberOfWorkers ) {
	/*
		Create you algorithms to calculate what
		you need to return
	*/
	int daysCalculated = numberOfWorkers * 100;

	/*
		You can return any variable so long
		as it is an 'int' in this particular case.
	*/
	return daysCalculated;
}