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Flexible Workflow

The MATLAB^® language does not require you to define classes for all the code you write. You can use objects along with ordinary functions. This section illustrates the use of an object that implements the basic task of writing text to a file.

Performing a Task with an Object

One of the advantages of an object instead of writing a function to perform a task is that objects can encapsulate related data. For example, consider the task of writing data to a file. It involves the following steps:

• Opening a file for writing and saving the file identifier

• Using the file identifier to write data to the file

• Using the file identifier to close the file

Defining the Filewriter Class

This class writes text to a file. The advantage of using a class for this purpose is to:

• Hide private data — The caller does not need to manage the file identifier.

• Ensure that only one file identifier is in use at any time — Copies of handle objects reference the same file identifier as the original.

• Provide automatic file closing when the object is deleted — the object's delete method takes care of cleanup without needing to be called explicitly.

The Filewriter class derives from the handle class. Therefore, a Filewriter object is a handle object. All copies of handle objects reference the same internal data. There is only one file identifier in use, even if you make copies of the object.

Also, handle classes define a delete method, which is called automatically when MATLAB destroys a handle object. This example overrides the delete method. This method closes the file before deleting the object and losing file identifier.

The Filewriter Class

classdef Filewriter < handle
   properties (Access = private)
      FileID
   end
   
   methods
      function obj = Filewriter(filename)
         obj.FileID = fopen(filename,'a');
      end
      
      function writeToFile(obj,text_str)
         fprintf(obj.FileID,'%s\n',text_str);
      end
      
      function delete(obj)
         fclose(obj.FileID);
      end
   end
end

Filewriter Class Synopsis

classdef Filewriter < handle

   properties (Access = private)
      FileID
   end

   methods

   function obj = Filewriter(filename)
      if nargin < 1
         error('You must specify a filename')
      else
         obj.FileID = fopen(filename,'a');
      end
   end

   function writeToFile(obj,text_str)
      fprintf(obj.FileID,'%s\n',text_str);
   end

   function delete(obj)
      fclose(obj.FileID);
   end

   end
end

Using Filewriter Objects

Provides a file name to create a Filewriter object. Use the writeToFile method to write text to the file. The following statements create a file named mynewclass.m and write one line to it. The clear all command deletes the Filewriter object. Clearing the object variable calls its delete method, which closes the file.

fw = Filewriter('MyNewClass.m');
writeToFile(fw,'classdef < handle')
clear fw
type MyNewClass

classdef MyNewClass < handle

Filewriter objects provide functionality that you can use from functions and within other classes. You can create an ordinary function that uses this object, as the writeClassFile function does.

This example creates only one simple class template, but another version could accept a cell array of attribute name/value pairs, method names, and so on.

function writeClassFile(classname,superclass)
   fw = Filewriter([classname '.m']);
   if nargin > 1
      writeToFile(fw,['classdef ' classname ' < ' superclass])
   else
      writeToFile(fw,['classdef ' classname])
   end
   writeToFile(fw,'    properties ')
   writeToFile(fw,' ')
   writeToFile(fw,'    end')
   writeToFile(fw,' ')
   writeToFile(fw,'    methods ')
   writeToFile(fw,'        function')
   writeToFile(fw,' ')
   writeToFile(fw,'        end')
   writeToFile(fw,'    end')
   writeToFile(fw,'end')
end

To create a class file template, call writeClassFile with the name of the new class and its superclass. Use the type command to display the contents of the file:

writeClassFile('MyNewClass','handle')
edit MyNewClass

Here is the template file in the editor ready to add code: