MATLAB Object-Oriented Programming

Developing Classes — Typical Workflow

In this section...

“Formulating a Class” on page 3-8

“Specifying Class Components” on page 3-9

“BankAccount Class Implementation” on page 3-10

“Formulating the AccountManager Class” on page 3-14

“Implementing the AccountManager Class” on page 3-15

“AccountManager Class Synopsis” on page 3-15

“Using BankAccount Objects” on page 3-17

Formulating a Class

This example discusses how to approach the design and implementation of a class. The

objective of this class is to represent a familiar concept (a bank account). However, you

can apply the same approach to most class designs.

To design a class that represents a bank account, first determine the elements of data and

the operations that form your abstraction of a bank account. For example, a bank account

has:

• An account number


• An account balance


• A status (open, closed, etc.)

You must perform certain operations on a bank account:

• Create an object for each bank account


• Deposit money


• Withdraw money


• Generate a statement


• Save and load the BankAccount object

If the balance is too low and you attempt to withdraw money, the bank account broadcasts

a notice. When this event occurs, the bank account broadcasts a notice to other entities

3 MATLAB Classes Overview