Assume we have a Matlab class called MyClas, as below,
classdef MyClass
properties
Value
end
methods
function foo(input1, input2)
...
end
end
end
What I am looking for is having MyClass.anyThing(inputValue), where anyThing and inputValue are arbitrary strings and anyThing is not a defined method in MyClass, passes anyThing and inputValue as two strings to my foo function.
In other words, I want to be able to handle undefined methods by passing their name and inputs to a function/method as strings.
I am having a hard time to elaborate on my issue since I don't know if there is any technical term for what I am trying to pull off here. Yet, I managed to find this link from math works, which just customizes indexing operations and does not exactly address my issue.
You can emulate this by hacking in an implementation of subsref. Like this:
classdef MethodRedirector
methods
function varargout = subsref(obj, S)
if numel(S) == 2 && strcmp(S(1).type, '.') && ...
strcmp(S(2).type, '()')
% Looks like obj.method(args)
fprintf('In method invocation to: %s with args:\n', S(1).subs);
celldisp(S(2).subs);
else
[varargout{1:nargout}] = builtin('subsref', obj, S);
end
end
end
end
The restriction is that callers must use the obj.method(args...) syntax, and cannot use the (usually equivalent) method(obj, args...) syntax.
Here's how that looks in practice:
>> mr = MethodRedirector; mr.someMethod(1, '2', magic(3))
In method invocation to: someMethod with args:
ans{1} =
1
ans{2} =
2
ans{3} =
8 1 6
3 5 7
4 9 2
Related
I use 16a. I found overloading subsref makes any function calls to an object call (). I am not sure if this is the correct use of subsref. For example,
classdef A < handle
methods
function obj = A(varargin)
end
function v = subsref(obj, S) %#ok<STOUT,INUSD>
assert(false);
end
function c = foo(obj) %#ok<MANU>
c = 1;
end
end
end
Then I god the following errors when using foo.
>> a = A()
a =
A with no properties.
>> a.foo()
Error using A/subsref (line 6)
Assertion failed.
8 assert(false);
If I removed subsref, it works fine. In terms of
http://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/subsref.html
subsref is called only when A{i}, A(i) or A.field. Since foo is a method, why is subsref still called?
This is completely expected behavior, because to MATLAB, A.field and A.method both use the dot referencing and therefore are processed by subsref. The typical way of getting around this is to instead call your class methods using the standard function call rather than a dot referenced method call.
method(A)
%// Rather than
A.method()
This usage is also superior as it can operate on arrays of objects rather than only scalars. Also, it is more performant.
I have a class with a scheduler function that is supposed to insert characters into a cell array:
classdef timeline < handle
properties
schedule
i
%other properties
end
methods
%other functions
function t = timeline()
%other initializations
t.schedule = cell(1,738);
t.i = 1;
end
function scheduler(t, g, fT)
if nargin == 2
fT = t.i;
end
if strcmp(g,'science')
'science' % eclipse occurs after
for j = (fT+t.sTime+1) : (fT+t.sTime+1+t.eTime)
t.schedule{j} = 'e';
end
elseif strcmp(g,'pass')
'pass' % science occurs 2 hrs after end
for j = (fT) : (fT+t.pTime)
t.schedule{j} = 'p'
end
for j = (fT+t.pTime+121) : (fT+t.pTime+120+t.sTime)
t.schedule{j} = 's';
end
scheduler(t, 'science', fT+t.pTime+120);
end
end
end
end
In the command window, I define my object t = timeline() and a mode g = 'pass' and then call the scheduler, t.scheduler(t,g).
It doesn't change the schedule property. What's going on inside the if statements to write the schedule isn't the problem I am concerned with. I put outputs in each part of the if statement, and found that strcmp is returning false and skipping over the whole block. So, I added a break point in the scheduler function, and found that for some reason g is passed to the function as another timeline object instead of the string 'pass'. Why is this?
When you call a method for an object you can use dot notation or function notation. Dot notation means you call the method using the dot operator on the object instance. For example,
obj.methodName(args);
In function notation you pass the object instance variable as the first argument to the method. For example,
methodName(obj, args);
Both the above calls are equivalent and call the same method in the object. In both the calls MATLAB passes obj as input to the method. Note the absence of obj as an argument in the dot notation. In dot notation obj, is added as an input argument before your args. In your code you are mixing both of these options. So you got two obj arguments for your method.
Relevant documentation is at http://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_oop/method-invocation.html
If I have a class
classdef foo
properties
a = 0;
end
methods
function obj foo(obj)
obj.a = 5;
end
end
end
And a function
function result = GetFoo()
result = foo();
end
At the command interpreter:
>> x = GetFoo()
x =
foo
Properties:
a: 5
Methods
>> x.a = 10
x =
foo
Properties:
a: 10
Methods
this yields an instance of foo and the value 'a' can be assigned. However, doing the same in one step:
>> GetFoo().a = 10
GetFoo =
a: [1x1 struct]
This creates a new structure called GetFoo that overrides the class and gives it a member called 'a'. Rather than the code getting the result of GetFoo() (the class instance) and settings its property 'a' = 10, it does this instead. I can see that it is likely a hangover from the ability to create weakly typed structures on the fly and the code having to be backward compatible It also seems to be related to the fact that MATLAB has no concept of a pointer so every input/output argument is a deep copy and that the above even if it would work would be setting the value of a copy of the value GetFoo() is using to source its return object, then throwing it away.
Nonetheless the goal really is to be able to do all the work I need without creating and requiring to clear temporary variables. The intent is code maintainability as much as cosmetic style.
You're mixing together quite a few different issues/complaints in your question, but I suspect what you're looking for is a handle class. Inherit your class from handle (i.e. write classdef foo < handle, and your class will have what is basically pass-by-reference behavior. You're right that MATLAB doesn't use pointers, but with handle classes it does have references.
Separately, it's not possible in MATLAB to index in to the output of a function (i.e. to write GetFoo.a or GetFoo().a - you do need a temporary variable for that, whether or not it returns a value or handle class.
Note that in your example above, the result of the GetFoo().a = 10 is not an instance of foo with the property a equal to 10 - it is a structure with a field a equal to 10. Type class(GetFoo), and you'll see it's a struct, not a foo.
This is really ugly, but is just to raise the glove that was thrown about doing it in one line. :-)
First of all, I'll modify a bit the class so you'll see that the constructor is called:
classdef foo
properties
a = 0;
end;
methods
function obj = foo()
obj.a = 5;
display('foo!');
end;
end;
end
And the one-liner, ran in Command Window:
>> subsasgn(GetFoo(), struct('type', '.', 'subs', 'a'), 10);
foo!
I have a function for cached evaluation. As one of the arguments, it takes a function handle. Under some circumstances, the function handle is unaccessible, and I don't quite understand why. The example below shows what got me stumped:
>> A.a = #plus; feval(#A.a, 1, 1)
ans =
2
>> clear A
>> A.a.a = #plus; feval(#A.a.a, 1, 1)
Error using feval
Undefined function 'A.a.a' for input arguments of type 'double'.
So, if I have a function handle stored as a structure member, I can pass it along fine if it's one level deep, but not if it's two levels deep. In my real use case, I have a structure D that holds many (117) instances of various classes, so I actually have stct.obj.meth, where stct is a structure, obj is a class instance/object, and meth is a method. Passing #stct.obj.meth fails, but if I assign A = stct.obj, then passing #A.meth succeeds.
Under what conditions can I pass a function handle as an argument, so that it's still accessible down the stack?
Edit: Although in the use case above, I could simply remove the # because #plus is already a function handle. However, consider the situation here:
>> type cltest.m
classdef cltest < handle
methods
function C = mymeth(self, a, b)
C = a + b;
end
end
end
>> A.a = cltest();
>> feval(#A.a.mymeth, 1, 1)
Error using feval
Undefined function 'A.a.mymeth' for input arguments of type 'double'.
>> b = A.a;
>> feval(#b.mymeth, 1, 1)
ans =
2
In this case, I need the # before A.a.mymeth...
Introducing classes was a big deal for MATLAB. So big, in fact, that they still do not work properly today. Your example shows that structure access and class method access conflict, because they had to overload the the meaning of dot '.' and didn't get it to work seamlessly. It all more or less works fine when you are calling class methods explicitly by their name on the MATLAB console, e.g. in your example >> A.a.mymeth(1,1). But when you have any type of indirection, it soon breaks.
You tried getting the function handle by >> #A.a.mymeth, which MATLAB cannot make sense of, probably because it gets confused by the mixed structure/class thing. Trying to work around using str2func doesn't work either. It works, again, only for explicit name access, as shown here. It breaks for your example, e.g. >> str2func('b.mymeth'). It does not even work inside the class. Try other indirections and watch them fail.
Additionally, MATLAB does not like giving you a class method's handles. There's no function for it. There's no way to get all function handles in one go, or even dynamically by a name string.
I see three options here. First, try changing your program, if possible. Do these functions need to sit in a classdef?
Second, follow your or nispio's workaround. They both create a temporary variable to hold a reference to the class instance in order to create a non-mixed access to its member methods. The problem is, they both require explicitly naming the function. You have to explicitly put this code for every function involved. No way to abstract that out.
Third, cheat by giving out your class' method handles from the inside. You can give them out in a structure.
classdef cltest < handle
methods
function C = mymeth(self, a, b)
C = a + b;
end
function hs = funhandles(self)
hs = struct('mymeth', #self.mymeth, ...
'mymeth2', #self.mymeth2);
end
end
end
You can then access the handles by name, even dynamically.
>> A.a = cltest;
>> feval(A.a.funhandles.mymeth, 1, 1);
>> feval(A.a.funhandles.('mymeth'), 1, 1)
ans =
2
But be careful, by using this you can access Access=private methods from outside.
Try this:
feval(#(varargin)A.a.mymeth(varargin{:}),1,1);
It is a little kludgy, but it should work.
EDIT:
The way it works is by creating an Anonymous Function that takes a variable number of arguments, and dumps those arguments into the method A.a.mymeth(). So you are not actually passing a pointer to the function A.a.mymeth, you are passing a pointer to a function that calls A.a.mymeth.
An alternative way of achieving the same thing without using varargin would be:
feval(#(x,y)A.a.mymeth(x,y),1,1);
This creates an anonymous function that accepts two arguments, and passes them along to A.a.mymeth.
<speculation> I think that it must be inherent in the way that the unary function handle operator # works. The Matlab parser probably looks at #token and decides whether token is a valid function. In the case of a.mymeth it is smart enough to decide that mymeth is a member of a, and then return the appropriate handle. However, when it sees A.a.mymeth it may discover that A is not a class, nor does A have a member named a.mymeth and therefore no valid function is found. This seems to be supported by the fact that this works:
A.a.a = #plus; feval(A.a.a,1,1)
and this doesn't:
A.a.a = #plus; feval(#A.a.a,1,1)
</speculation>
You can get around it by introducing a separate function that corrects what # operator is not doing:
function h=g(f)
x = functions(f);
if ~strcmp(x.type, 'anonymous')
h = evalin('caller', ['#(varargin)' x.function '(varargin{:})']);
else
h = f;
end
end
Now for your example:
>> feval(g(#A.a.mymeth), 1, 1)
ans =
2
>> feval(g(#b.mymeth), 1, 1)
ans =
2
I think this will have the smallest impact on your code. You can make it a bit more elegant but less robust and/or readable. The uplus method is not defined for function_handle class so you can create uplus.m in folder #function_handle somewhere in your path with this content:
function h=uplus(f)
x = functions(f);
if ~strcmp(x.type, 'anonymous')
h = evalin('caller', ['#(varargin)' x.function '(varargin{:})']);
else
h = f;
end
end
Now you just need to use +# instead of #. For your examples:
>> feval(+#A.a.mymeth, 1, 1)
ans =
2
>> feval(+#b.mymeth, 1, 1)
ans =
2
Working on an assignment involving Genetic Algorithms (loads of headaches, loads of fun). I need to be able to test differing crossover methods and differing mutation methods, to compare their results (part of the paper I have to write for the course). As such, I want to just pass the function names into the Repopulate method, as function handles.
function newpop = Repopulate(population, crossOverMethod, mutationMethod)
...
child = crossOverMethod(parent1, parent2, #mutationMethod);
...
function child = crossOverMethod(parent1, parent2, mutationMethod)
...
if (mutateThisChild == true)
child = mutationMethod(child);
end
...
The key point here is like 3, parameter 3: how do I pass mutationMethod down another level? If I use the # symbol, I get told:
"mutationMethod" was previously used as a variable,
conflicting with its use here as the name of a function or command.
If I don't use the # symbol, then mutationMethod gets called, with no parameters, and is quite unhappy.
While I am aware that yes, I could just rewrite my code to make it work differently, I'm now curious as to how to make it actually work.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Actually just dont use the # symbol, use it when you call the Repopulate function instead.
Example:
function x = fun1(a,m)
x = fun2(a,m);
end
function y = fun2(b,n)
y = n(b);
end
which we call as:
> fun1([1 2 3], #sum)
6
Refer to the documentation for Passing Function Handle Arguments
Note you can check if the argument is a function handle by: isa(m,'function_handle'). Therefore you can make your function Repopulate more flexible by accepting both a function handle and a function name as a string:
function x = fun(a,m)
if ischar(m)
f = str2func(m);
elseif isa(m,'function_handle')
f = m;
else
error('expecting a function')
end
x = fun2(a,f);
end
which now can be called both ways:
fun1([1 2 3], #sum)
fun1([1 2 3], 'sum')