MATLAB Programming

2 Data Types
MATLAB Classes
All MATLAB data types are implemented as object-oriented classes. You
can add data types of your own to your MATLAB environment by creating
additional classes. These user-defined classes define the structure of your new
data type, and the M-file functions, or methods, that you write for each class
define the behavior for that data type.
These methods can also define the way various MATLAB operators, including
arithmetic operations, subscript referencing, and concatenation, apply to the
new data types. For example, a class called polynomial might redefine the
addition operator (+) so that it correctly performs the operation of addition
on polynomials.
With MATLAB classes you can
• Create methods that override existing MATLAB functionality
• Restrict the operations that are allowed on an object of a class
• Enforce common behavior among related classes by inheriting from the
same parent class
• Significantly increase the reuse of your code
Read more about MATLAB classes in Chapter 9, “Classes and Objects”.
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