Self reference within an object method - matlab

Question

Just started crash coursing in Matlab OO programing and I would like to write a set method for a object that will set the value then reciprocate by setting itself in the relevant field on the other object.
classdef Person
properties
age;
sex;
priority; % net priority based on all adjustment values
adjustment; % personal adjustment value for each interest
family;
end
methods
function obj = set.sex(obj, value)
if value == 'm' || value == 'f'
obj.sex = value;
else
error('Sex must be m or f')
end
end
function obj = set.family(obj,value)
if class(value) == 'Family'
obj.family = value;
else
error('Family must be of type Family')
end
end
end
end
classdef Family
properties
husband;
wife;
children;
elders;
adjustment; % interest adjustment values
end
methods
function this = set.husband(this,person)
if class(person) == 'Person'
this.husband = person;
person.family = this;
else
error('Husband must be of type Person')
end
end
function this = set.wife(this,person)
if class(person) == 'Person'
this.wife = person;
person.family = this;
else
error('Wife must be of type Person')
end
end
end
end
So what I have to do now is:
p = Person
f = Family
f.husband = p
p.family = f
What I would like is for family and person to auto set themselves in each other:
p = Person
f = Family
f.husband = p
And Family set.husband function will set p's family value to f. Why is my code not working? As far as I can tell I'm doing what is suggested in the comments.
Edit:
After some messing around I've confirmed that "this" and "person" are objects of the correct type. Ultimately the issue is that Matlab passes by value rather then by reference. Unless anyone knows a way around that I'll answer myself when I can.

Answer 1

Normal objects are usually considered value objects. When they are passed to a function or a method, only the value is passed not a reference to the original object. Matlab may use a read-only referencing mechanism to speed things up, but the function or method cannot change the properties of the original object.
To be able to pass an input parameter by reference, your custom object needs to be a handle object. Simply when defining your class, inherit from handle and that should do the trick:
classdef Person < handle
and
classdef Family < handle