class2str: creates an eval-able string containing Matlab code describing a variable

Creates an eval-like string which represents a variable. Useful for saving data/INI configuration

Description

class2str(this,data) Create a string [ 'this = data;' ]
    This function creates a string containing Matlab code describing a variable. Works recursively, for any class type (char, struct, cell, array, objects, ...). First argument may be omitted, so that class2str(variable) will also work. String can then be exported into a file.

INPUT
this: string containing the name of the object to describe (optional)
data: any data set (struct, array, cell, char)

OUTPUT
str: string which contains a code to generate the data.

EXAMPLES:
str=class2str('this', struct('a',1,'b',{'a comment'},'c',{[]}) );
str=class2str(struct('a',1,'b',{'a comment'},'c',{[]}));

See also: mat2str, num2str, eval, sprintf

 
  Part of: iFiles utilities (ILL library)
  Author: E. Farhi <[e-mail]>. June, 2007.

• MATLAB release: MATLAB 6.5 (R13)

[us]

nice and useful utility... given the release for which it was coded (r13)

unfortunately, it does not (yet!) too well for more modern data types:
- function handles are recognized and it ends with a error msg
- graphics handles, eg, gca/line/etc, are caught by
  their current value
- other classes are decoded into a struct, which may not
  completely reconstruct the object, eg,
     c=cfit; % <- a fit object
  ends up as
     res=struct(c);

some of these (understandable) shortcomings should be mentioned in the help section...
us