MATLAB - DATA TYPES

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MATLAB does not require any type declaration or dimension statements. Whenever MATLAB
encounters a new variable name, it creates the variable and allocates appropriate memory space.

If the variable already exists, then MATLAB replaces the original content with new content and
allocates new storage space, where necessary.

For example,

Total = 42

The above statement creates a 1-by-1 matrix named 'Total' and stores the value 42 in it.

Data Types Available in MATLAB

MATLAB provides 15 fundamental data types. Every data type stores data that is in the form of a
matrix or array. The size of this matrix or array is a minimum of 0-by-0 and this can grow up to a
matrix or array of any size.

The following table shows the most commonly used data types in MATLAB −

Data Type Description

int8 8-bit signed integer

uint8 8-bit unsigned integer

int16 16-bit signed integer

uint16 16-bit unsigned integer

int32 32-bit signed integer

uint32 32-bit unsigned integer

int64 64-bit signed integer

uint64 64-bit unsigned integer

single single precision numerical data

double double precision numerical data

logical logical values of 1 or 0, represent true and false respectively

char character data stringsarestoredasvectorofcharacters

cell array array of indexed cells, each capable of storing an array of a different
dimension and data type

structure C-like structures, each structure having named fields capable of storing
an array of a different dimension and data type

function handle pointer to a function

user classes objects constructed from a user-defined class

java classes objects constructed from a Java class

Example
Create a script file with the following code −

str = 'Hello World!'

n = 2345
d = double(n)
un = uint32(789.50)
rn = 5678.92347
c = int32(rn)

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

str = Hello World!

n = 2345
d = 2345
un = 790
rn = 5678.9
c = 5679

Data Type Conversion

MATLAB provides various functions for converting, a value from one data type to another. The
following table shows the data type conversion functions −

Function Purpose

char Convert to character array string

int2str Convert integer data to string

mat2str Convert matrix to string

num2str Convert number to string

str2double Convert string to double-precision value

str2num Convert string to number

native2unicode Convert numeric bytes to Unicode characters

unicode2native Convert Unicode characters to numeric bytes

base2dec Convert base N number string to decimal number

bin2dec Convert binary number string to decimal number

dec2base Convert decimal to base N number in string

dec2bin Convert decimal to binary number in string

dec2hex Convert decimal to hexadecimal number in string

hex2dec Convert hexadecimal number string to decimal number

hex2num Convert hexadecimal number string to double-precision number

num2hex Convert singles and doubles to IEEE hexadecimal strings

cell2mat Convert cell array to numeric array

cell2struct Convert cell array to structure array

cellstr Create cell array of strings from character array

mat2cell Convert array to cell array with potentially different sized cells

num2cell Convert array to cell array with consistently sized cells

 struct2cell Convert structure to cell array

Determination of Data Types

MATLAB provides various functions for identifying data type of a variable.

Following table provides the functions for determining the data type of a variable −

Function Purpose

is Detect state

isa Determine if input is object of specified class

iscell Determine whether input is cell array

iscellstr Determine whether input is cell array of strings

ischar Determine whether item is character array

isfield Determine whether input is structure array field

isfloat Determine if input is floating-point array

ishghandle True for Handle Graphics object handles

isinteger Determine if input is integer array

isjava Determine if input is Java object

islogical Determine if input is logical array

isnumeric Determine if input is numeric array

isobject Determine if input is MATLAB object

isreal Check if input is real array

isscalar Determine whether input is scalar

isstr Determine whether input is character array

isstruct Determine whether input is structure array

isvector Determine whether input is vector

class Determine class of object

validateattributes Check validity of array

whos List variables in workspace, with sizes and types

Example
Create a script file with the following code −

x = 3
isinteger(x)
isfloat(x)
isvector(x)
isscalar(x)
isnumeric(x)
x = 23.54
isinteger(x)
isfloat(x)
isvector(x)
isscalar(x)
isnumeric(x)

x = [1 2 3]
isinteger(x)
isfloat(x)
isvector(x)
isscalar(x)

x = 'Hello'
isinteger(x)
isfloat(x)
isvector(x)
isscalar(x)
isnumeric(x)

When you run the file, it produces the following result −

x = 3
ans = 0
ans = 1
ans = 1
ans = 1
ans = 1
x = 1177/50
ans = 0
ans = 1
ans = 1
ans = 1
ans = 1
x =

1 2 3

ans = 0
ans = 1
ans = 1
ans = 0
x = Hello
ans = 0
ans = 0
ans = 1
ans = 0
ans = 0
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