External Interfaces |
The save
command in MATLAB saves the MATLAB arrays currently in memory to a binary disk file called a MAT-file. The term MAT-file is used because these files have the extension .mat
. The load
command performs the reverse operation. It reads the MATLAB arrays from a MAT-file on disk back into MATLAB workspace.
A MAT-file may contain one or more of any of the data types supported in MATLAB 5 or later, including strings, matrices, multidimensional arrays, structures, and cell arrays. MATLAB writes the data sequentially onto disk as a continuous byte stream.
MAT-File Interface Library
The MAT-file interface library contains a set of routines for reading and writing MAT-files. You can call these routines from within your own C and Fortran programs. We recommend that you use these routines, rather than attempt to write your own code, to perform these operations. By using the routines in this library, you will be insulated from future changes to the MAT-file structure.
The MAT-file library contains routines for reading and writing MAT-files. They all begin with the three-letter prefix mat
. These tables list all the available MAT-functions and their purposes.
MAT-Function |
Purpose |
matOpen |
Open a MAT-file |
matClose |
Close a MAT-file |
matGetDir |
Get a list of MATLAB arrays from a MAT-file |
matGetFp |
Get an ANSI C file pointer to a MAT-file |
matGetVariable |
Read a MATLAB array from a MAT-file |
matPutVariable |
Write a MATLAB array to a MAT-file |
matGetNextVariable |
Read the next MATLAB array from a MAT-file |
matDeleteVariable |
Remove a MATLAB array from a MAT-file |
matPutVariableAsGlobal |
Put a MATLAB array into a MAT-file such that the load command will place it into the global workspace |
matGetVariableInfo |
Load a MATLAB array header from a MAT-file (no data) |
matGetNextVariableInfo |
Load the next MATLAB array header from a MAT-file (no data) |
MAT-Function |
Purpose |
matOpen |
Open a MAT-file |
matClose |
Close a MAT-file |
matGetDir |
Get a list of MATLAB arrays from a MAT-file |
matGetVariable |
Get a named MATLAB array from a MAT-file |
matGetVariableInfo |
Get header for named MATLAB array from a MAT-file |
matPutVariable |
Put a MATLAB array into a MAT-file |
matPutVariableAsGlobal |
Put a MATLAB array into a MAT-file |
matGetNextVariable |
Get the next sequential MATLAB array from a MAT-file |
matGetNextVariableInfo |
Get header for next sequential MATLAB array from a MAT-file |
matDeleteVariable |
Remove a MATLAB array from a MAT-file |
Exchanging Data Files Between Platforms | Writing Character Data |
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