Custom function App Designer [Matlab] [App Designer]

Hello !

I made a discovery in App Designer : it seems like "app" is optional when using custom functions :

methods (Access = private)
    function add(app, a, b) % get both parameters BUT also app before !
        disp(a + b);
    end
    function startupFcn(app)
        app.add(app, 5, 6); % print 11
        app.add(5, 6); % let's send 2 parameters (without app) / print also 11
    end
end

Am I right ?

Is it advisable to send "app" first ?

Robin

Answer 1

[Steven Lord]

No, the app object is not optional. You must pass it into the method in order to invoke the method.

What you're seeing is one of the two ways to invoke a method, dot notation versus function notation. See the section "Dot Notation vs. Function Notation" on this documentation page for a description of the specific cases where those two approaches to invoking a method can differ. [You can also use this to dynamically call a method whose name is stored in a string or char variable, as described in the "Referencing Names with Expressions—Dynamic Reference" section on that same documentation page.]

When you use dot notation, the object before the dot is passed into the method as the first input.

[Robin L.]

Thank you so much Steven Lord ! 😃

But which one is better ?

add(app, 5, 6);
app.add(5, 6);