MATLAB Object-Oriented Programming

Class Definitions in Path Folders

Suppose that you define two versions of a class named Foo in two folders, fldA and

fldB, but do not use a class folder.

fldA/+FooPkg/Foo.m

fldB/+FooPkg/Foo.m

Add folder fldA to the top of the path.

addpath fldA

Create an instance of class FooPkg.Foo. MATLAB uses fldA/+FooPkg/@Foo/Foo.m as

the class definition.

a = FooPkg.Foo;

Change the current folder to fldB.

cd fldB

The current folder is effectively the top of the path. However, MATLAB does not identify

fldB/+FooPkg/Foo.m as the definition for class FooPkg.Foo. MATLAB continues to use

the original class definition until you clear the class.

To use the definition of FooPkg.Foo in foldB, clear FooPkg.Foo.

clear FooPkg.Foo

MATLAB automatically updates the existing objects to conform to the class definition in

fldB. In most cases, clearing instance variables is unnecessary.

See Also

More About

• “Packages Create Namespaces” on page 6-25


• “Automatic Updates for Modified Classes” on page 5-51

6 Defining and Organizing Classes