fprintf is outputting the wrong number, what's wrong with my code?

so to quickly summarize im trying to figure out how to make a budgeting code using the function program. the problem is that fprintf is outputting the wrong number. ill put the code below. what am i doing wrong?

function budget(x,y);
x = input('please give the budget for today:');
if isnumeric(x)  
else
    fprintf('Error: Input must be  numeric.')
end 
if isfinite(x)   
else
     fprintf('Error: Input must be a finite value.')
end
y = input('how much did you spend')
z = x-y;
if (y>x)    
fprintf('the shopper went $%g over the budget.','z')
elseif (y>200)
    fprintf('try to scale back the costs next week')
elseif (y<x)
    fprintf('the shopper is $%g under budget','y')
elseif (x<=0)
    fprintf('thats a great job budgeting')
elseif (y==x)
    fprintf('the shopper is exactly on budget')
end

[Stephen23]

What is the purpose in defining a function with two input arguments, and then ignoring them both inside the function?

[jacob parente]

idk, its just what they wanted me to do for my homework

[Stephen23]

"its just what they wanted me to do for my homework"

So your homework specifically asked for you to define a function with two totally pointless input arguments? Very ... unusual.

Or did it actually ask you to define a function which accepts two input arguments, to be used in the rest of the function?

[jacob parente]

It just asked to right a function that puts out a fprintf based off the value of the input. I attached the homework. I may have read it wrong, which is a my bad.

[Stephen23]

"Create a function named budget that has one input and no outputs. The input will be the amount spent at the grocery store."

Answer 1

[Stephen23]

"what am i doing wrong?"

You are printing a character code, not the value of a numeric variable. Replace this:

fprintf('the shopper went $%g over the budget.','z')
%                                               ^ ^ wrong: defines the character 'z'

with this:

fprintf('the shopper went $%g over the budget.',z)
%                                               ^ refer to variable z

Ditto for y a few lines later.

[jacob parente]

this worked perfectly, thanks

[Stephen23]

@jacob parente: I am glad that it helped.

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