Documentation

Cannot Mix Class Hierarchy

It is not possible to create class hierarchies that mix classes defined before Version 7.6 and current class definitions that use classdef. Therefore, you cannot subclass an old class to create a version of the new class.

Only One “@” Class Folder Per Class

For classes defined using the new classdef keyword, a class folder shadows all class folders that occur after it on the MATLAB path. Classes defined in class folders must locate all class files in that single folder. However, classes defined in class folders continue to take precedence over functions and scripts having the same name, even those functions and scripts that come before them on the path.

Private Methods

You do not need to define private folders in class folders in Version 7.6. You can set the method's Access attribute to private instead.

Example of Old and New Syntax

Compare the following two Stock constructor methods. The Stock class is a subclass of the Asset class, which requires arguments passed to its constructor.

Constructor Function Before Version 7.6

   function s = Stock(description,num_shares,share_price)
      s.NumShares = num_shares;
      s.SharePrice = share_price;
% Construct Asset object
      a = Asset(description,'stock',share_price*num_shares);
% Use the class function to define the stock object 
      s = class(s,'Stock',a);

Write the same Stock class constructor as shown here. Define the inheritance on the classdef line and define the constructor within a methods block.

Constructor Function for Version 7.6

classdef Stock < Asset
   ...
   methods
 
      function s = Stock(description,num_shares,share_price)
% Call superclass constructor to pass arguments 
         s = s@Asset(description,'stock',share_price*num_shares);
         s.NumShares = num_shares;
         s.SharePrice = share_price;
      end % End of function
 
   end % End of methods block
end % End of classdef block