External Interfaces

MATLAB Data

Before you can program MEX-files, you must understand how MATLAB represents the many data types it supports. This section discusses the following topics:

• The MATLAB Array
• Data Storage
• Data Types in MATLAB
• Using Data Types

The MATLAB Array

The MATLAB language works with only a single object type: the MATLAB array. All MATLAB variables, including scalars, vectors, matrices, strings, cell arrays, structures, and objects are stored as MATLAB arrays. In C, the MATLAB array is declared to be of type mxArray. The mxArray structure contains, among other things:

• Its type
• Its dimensions
• The data associated with this array
• If numeric, whether the variable is real or complex
• If sparse, its indices and nonzero maximum elements
• If a structure or object, the number of fields and field names

The Distinction Between mx and mex Prefixes

Data Storage

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