Function Fields Feature in Matlab - matlab

mapminmax is a builtin Matlab function. I am trying to implement something that does autocomplete for functions/subfunctions like this.
I've done a quick search but haven't really come up with what it's called. mapminmax is the only function I know of that implements this feature. It looks like a field of a function (like how a field of a struct).
I've used edit mapminmax to see the insides of Matlab's function but I haven't found anything leading to how this is possible. getParamStructFromArgs looks like it might be able to explain what this is, but it looks like it's related to NNs.
Question: What is this feature called and is there any documentation on this?

Looks like what #hypfco said was right. This "feature" is related to Matlab's package system. I'm sure there's a way to do it by creating a package, but for those who don't want to create such a package there's a simple way of doing this.
If you have a function such as untitled.m, you can create a folder called +untitled in your Matlab directory.
Function's .m file
+Function folder
Then when you do untitled. and press tab in the console, you'll get the following pop-up.
If anyone's got a way to do this inside the .m file, I'll accept that answer instead.

Related

FreeMat alternative to MatLab's findobj()

Is there an equivalent function in FreeMat? I can't seem to find one and the documentation is poorly organised.
Any recommendations for work-arounds?
I am not sure if that helps, but I am not using this function in Matlab either. I always organise my objects in a list that is either stored in a global workspace or passed around other to objects.
So what you could do is create an Object like a list that has a search and add function. Put it in global scope and make it a singleton (I know, friends don't let friends write singletons). This way you can find all you add to this list easily.
You might want to check out the "service locator" pattern: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_locator_pattern
I think the findobj() function in MATLAB does someting similar.

Documentation of OCaml code in Eclipse

I'm using Eclipse with the OcaIDE-Plugin to write my ocaml-project.
I have written several ocaml-functions that I want to document (comment, return values and params).
I've created my documentation in the .ml-files like described in this link: http://caml.inria.fr/pub/docs/manual-ocaml/ocamldoc.html
Here is an example of one function:
(** sorting tuples where first element is key *)
let my_comp x y = (*Some code*)
Unfortunately, my comments don't show up, when I press F2 at one of the functions, it only shows the name and the file it is contained.
When writing comments in an mli-file, it works as expected, but i also want to document "private" functions that are not accessible from the outside. Can I define functions in the mli, that are NOT accessible from the outside, just for the documentation?
How can I make Eclipse to show my documention?
Well, as you said, you would like to show the documentation but not export the function out of the module. That, sadly, won't work.
I guess OcaIDE can be considered as incomplete but it doesn't look like it's something people care about (I don't know a single person working on OcaIDE). If you like having autocompletion etc, maybe try to program with emacs and install merlin (look, I found the perfect post for you : here)
As for the suggestion of defining a function in the mli not accessible from the outside, it's completely opposed to why mli files are created, so don't expect that to be possible. ;-)
I hoped I've been able to help you.

Find indirect calls to specific built-in MATLAB function

What do I want?
I am looking for a way to detect all points in my code where a specific function is called.
Why do I want it?
Some examples:
Some output comes out sorted or randomized, and I want to know where this happens
I am considering to change/overload a function and want to know in which part of my code this could have impact
What have I tried?
I tried placing a breakpoint in the file that was called. This only works for non builtin functions which are called from short running code that always executes everything.
I tried 'find files', this way I can easily find direct calls to sort but it is not so easy to find a call to sort invoked by unique for example.
I have tried depfun, it tells me:
whether something will be called
from where non-builtin functions will be called
I thought of overloading the builtin function, but feels like a last resort for me as I am afraid to make a mess. | Edit: Also it probably won't help due to function precedence.
The question
What is the best way to track all potential (in)direct function calls from a specific function to a specific (built-in)function.
I don't exactly understand your use case, but I guess most of the information you want can be obtained using dbstack, which gives you the call-stack of all the parent functions calling a certain function. I think the easiest way is to overload built-in functions something like this (I tried to overload min):
function varargout = min(varargin)
% print info before function call
disp('Wrapped function called with inputs:')
disp(varargin)
[stack,I] = dbstack();
disp('Call stack:')
for i=1:length(stack)
fprintf('level %i: called from line %i in file %s\n', ...
i, stack(i).line, stack(i).file);
end
% call original function
[varargout{1:nargout}] = builtin('min', varargin{:});
% print info after function call
disp('Result of wrapped function:')
disp(varargout)
I tried to test this, but I could not make it work unfortunately, matlab keeps on using the original function, even after playing a lot with addpath. Not sure what I did wrong there, but I hope this gets you started ...
Built-in functions take precedence over functions in local folder or in path. There are two ways you can overload a built-in for direct calls from your own code. By putting your function in a private folder under the same directory where your other MATLAB functions are. This is easier if you are not already using private folder. You can rename your private folder once you are done investigating.
Another way is to use packages and importing them. You put all your override functions in a folder (e.g. +do_not_use). Then in the function where you suspect built-in calls are made add the line "import do_not_use.*;". This will make calls go to the functions in +do_not_use directory first. Once you are done checking you can use "clear import" to clear all imports. This is not easy to use if you have too many functions and do not know in which function you need to add import.
In addition to this, for each of the function you need to follow Bas Swinckels answer for the function body.
Function precedence order.
Those two methods does not work for indirect calls which are not from your own code. For indirect calls I can only think of one way where you create your own class based on built-in type. For example, if you work only on double precision types, you need to create your own class which inherits from double and override the methods you want to detect. Then pass this class as input to your code. Your code should work fine (assuming you are not using class(x) to decide code paths) since the new class should behave like a double data type. This option will not work if your output data is not created from your input data. See subclassing built-in types.
Did you try depfun?
The doc shows results similar to the ones you request.
doc depfun:
...
[list, builtins, classes, prob_files, prob_sym, eval_strings, called_from, java_classes] = depfun('fun') creates additional cell arrays or structure arrays containing information about any problems with the depfun search and about where the functions in list are invoked. The additional outputs are ...
Looks to me you could just filter the results for your function.
Though need to warn you - usually it takes forever to analyze code.

Undefined function or method 'nanvar_base' in Matlab

Somehow my Matlab does not has the function nanvar_base, needed to use the function ttest2 to calculate the t and p value of two sample data. How do I install that function? Is it missing to anyone else?
I had this same issue, the ttest2 function calling a nanvar function from SPM rather than the MATLAB statistics folder. A simple fix is going into 'change paths' in MATLAB and moving the SPM paths to the bottom of the list.
The function ttest2 is part of the statistics toolbox.
However, when I try to edit it, it does not show any calls to nanvar_base.
Did you perhaps try to edit it yourself, and in the process made a mistake? If this is not the case, try edit ttest2 and see where it is located and show the line with the call to nanvar_base.
This function isn't part of MATLAB or any of its toolboxes/add-ons. It must be custom functions. There is a function call nanvar however, in the Statistics toolbox and also in the Financial toolbox. Is this maybe the one you're after? If so, do you actually have the Statistics Toolbox and/or the Financial Toolbox?
the problem is probably another toolbox (like SPM) getting in the way, with their own 'nanvar' function.
Move SPM to the bottom of the path definition list, or remove it completely.
In general moving SPM have a lot of conflicting functions, so always make sure their path is at the bottom.
I had the same issue when calling the function nanvar, and realised that there was a conflict with a function with the same name in the Fieldtrip toolbox (this Fieldtrip function calls nanvar_base). After removing the Fieldtrip/src folder from my paths, it worked fine.

hierarchy of functions in MatLab

I have been reading someone else's matlab code and I don't know how the code structured. I mean I would like to know the hierarchy of functions, which function uses which function. I am reading the code to figure that out but its taking a lot of time.
So is there any other way I can see this hierarchy without reading the whole thing? To be honest it is starting to get confusing. Maybe MatLab has a built in function for that! I found this:
How can I generate a list of function dependencies in MATLAB?
but this doesn't seem to be helpful!
The MATLAB profiler will show you what functions are called by your code (and much more information to boot) and allow you to click through the hierarchy of function calls. You can either call profile on and then run your code, then call profile off and profile viewer, or you can simply call profile viewer and type a single line of code to run in the edit box at the top.
Use the dependency report provided in MATLAB:
http://www.mathworks.co.uk/help/matlab/matlab_prog/identify-dependencies.html
There are also some tools on the File Exchange, such as fdep.
No idea about a function to show visible or depended-upon functions. However the basic rules are:
1) Only the first function in a .m file (normally has to have the same name as the file itself) is visible outside that file.
2) Any function can see any top level (see 1.) function if the file is in the matlab path. Matlab can show you the path so you know where it's hunting.
3) The order of the path is important, the first instance of a function called foo found in the path will be called. Obviously the current directory is at the top of the path.
3) All functions in a given file can see all other functions in that file.
That's the basics. No doubt there are other rules, and possibly exceptions to this. But that understanding generally serves me well.
Obviously the easiest way to work out which function is being called is to click on it in the editor and open it.
One thing I do is simply place in each function at the beginning fprintf("inside function <name>/n"); and at the end of the function fprintf("leaving function <name>/n"); where <name> is the name of the function.
This will give you a very specific list of which function is being called by which function (based on the order that they appear). Another thing like this would be to place fprintf("function <name1> calling function <name2>/n"); so you can be more explicit about which function is being called by which one.