Finally diving into Subroutines - Is this how it works?

[kevinb]

@alltiagocom

unfortunately the Wiki pages don't help a lot of the times without real examples and images...),

I found the Wiki's page on subroutines quite confusing but the concept is very simple.

To tie together some posts, here are a couple of mine on the subject of subroutines. I've added some headers so you can see at a glance what they are about.

Q: What does a subroutine offer that you can't do just by having one macro call another?

A: A subroutine is a type of macro that provides an easy way to receive and return values with another macro directly, without always needing to use variables.

I also touch upon the general concept of subroutines beyond KM.

Execute next macro in group

Before V. 10 of KM, there were no subroutines, but you could call one macro from another macro, using the Execute a Macro action. And of course you can still do this, and it may often be all you need. So what does a subroutine offer that you can't do just by having one macro call another? The KM Wiki explains that when one macro calls (executes) another macro, there is a limitation: The Execute Macro action allows you to execute another macro... though without any ability to pass parameters …

Q: Could you give a simple example of a subroutine in use with a macro?

A: Yes....

Problems with getting a macro to repeat itself

So here is the start of a super-advanced (hmm) calculator macro called my_calculator: [1 calc] my_calculator executes a subroutine called my_doubler, and passes it the number 10. Here is the subroutine my_doubler, which expects to receive a parameter value, which will be used for the local variable "number". [2 doubler] my_doubler performs the complex calculation, and returns the result to my_calculator. my_calculator brings up an alert with the answer. I'm sure it's obvio…