meta.method class

Package: meta
Superclasses: meta.MetaData

Describe MATLAB class method

Description

The meta.method class provides information about the methods of MATLAB^® classes. Properties of the meta.method class correspond to method attributes and other information that is specified syntactically in the class definition. All properties are read-only.

The meta.method class is a handle class.

Class Attributes

Abstract	true
ConstructOnLoad	true

For information on class attributes, see Class Attributes.

Creation

You cannot instantiate a meta.method object directly. Obtain a meta.method object from the MethodList property of a meta.class object. MethodList contains an array of meta.method objects, one for each class method.

For example, in this code, replace ClassName with the name of the class whose methods you want to query:

mco = ?ClassName;
mlist = mco.MethodList;
mlist(1).Name; % name of first method in the list

To obtain a meta.class object from a class instance, use the metaclass function:

mco = metaclass(obj);

Properties

Name — Method name

character vector

Method name returned as a character vector.

Description — Short description of method

character vector

Short description of the method, returned as a character vector. For user-defined classes, the text for this property comes from code comments in the method definition. If there are no comments, the property returns an empty character vector. For more information on how to include help text for your class methods, see Custom Help Text.

DetailedDescription — Detailed description of method

character vector

Detailed description of the method, returned as a character vector. For user-defined classes, the text for this property comes from code comments in the method definition. If there are no comments, the property returns an empty character vector. For more information on how to include help text for your class methods, see Custom Help Text.

Access — Access level of method

public (default) | protected | private | one or more meta.class objects

The access level of the method, specified as:

• public — unrestricted access

• protected — access from methods in class or subclasses

• private — access by class methods only (not from subclasses)

• List of classes that have access to this method, specified as meta.class objects in the form:

  • A single meta.class object.

  • A cell array of meta.class objects. An empty cell array, {}, is the same as private access.

Data Types: enumerated | meta.class

Static — Is method static

false (default) | true

Is the method static, returned as logical true or false. When true, the method does not depend on an object of the class and does not require an object as input.

for more information, see Static Methods.

Abstract — Is method abstract

false (default) | true

Is the method abstract, returned as logical true or false. If true, the method has no implementation, but the method has a syntax line that can include arguments. Subclasses implement the method following the abstract method signature.

Sealed — Can this method be overridden

false (default) | true

Can this method be overridden, returned as logical true or false. If true, the method cannot be redefined in a subclass. Attempting to define a method with the same name in a subclass causes an error.

Hidden — Is this method hidden

false (default) | true

Is this method hidden, returned as logical true or false. When false, the method name appears in the list of methods displayed using the methods or methodsview command. When set to true, the method name is not included in these listings or when displaying the object in the command window.

InputNames — Names of input arguments

character vector | cell array of character vectors

Names of the input arguments used in the function signature, returned as a character vector or a cell array of character vectors.

OutputName — Names of output arguments

character vector | cell array of character vectors

Names of the output arguments used in the function signature, returned as a character vector or cell array of character vectors.

DefiningClass — Class that defines method

meta.class object

Class that defines the method, returned as a meta.class object representing the defining class. The defining class is always the most specific class from the perspective of the meta.method object. Therefore, if a subclass overrides an inherited method, then the defining class for the subclass meta.method object is the subclass. Similarly, the defining class for the superclass meta.method object is the superclass.

Examples

Use Introspection to Get Information About Method

Use meta.method to get information about a class method of the IntrospectionExample class.

Code for IntrospectionExample

classdef IntrospectionExample
    % IntrospectionExample  Performs basic functions on two numbers
    % This class can return the sum and product of its two properties.
    properties
        % a  First property
        % First of two numeric properties
        a {mustBeNumeric} = 0

        % b  Second property
        % Second of two numeric properties
        b {mustBeNumeric} = 0
    end
    
    methods
        function sum = addNumbers(obj)
            % addNumbers  Sum the properties
            %   Finds the sum of properties a and b.
            sum = obj.a + obj.b;
        end
        function prod = multNumbers(obj)
            % multNumbers  Multiply the properties
            %   Finds the product of properties a and b.
            prod = obj.a*obj.b;
        end
    end
end

Create and Inspect a Metaclass Instance

Create a metaclass instance for IntrospectionExample. Access the first method in the MethodList property of mc to get a meta.method object.

mc = ?IntrospectionExample;
mc.MethodList(1)

ans = 
  method with properties:

                   Name: 'multNumbers'
            Description: 'Multiply the properties'
    DetailedDescription: '    Finds the product of properties a and b.'
                 Access: 'public'
                 Static: 0
               Abstract: 0
                 Sealed: 0
     ExplicitConversion: 0
                 Hidden: 0
             InputNames: {'obj'}
            OutputNames: {'prod'}
          DefiningClass: [1x1 meta.class]

Version History

Introduced in R2008a

R2022a: Description and DetailedDescription properties contain text from code comments

For user-defined classes with appropriately placed code comments, the Description and DetailedDescription properties are populated with text pulled from those comments. For more information on how to use code comments to store custom help text for user-defined classes, see Custom Help Text.