MATLAB Language Object-Oriented Programming Value vs Handle classes
Example
Classes in MATLAB are divided into two major categories: value classes and handle classes. The major difference is that when copying an instance of a value class, the underlying data is copied to the new instance, while for handle classes the new instance points to the original data and changing values in new instance changes them in the original. A class can be defined as a handle by inheriting from the handle class.
classdef valueClass
properties
data
end
end
and
classdef handleClass < handle
properties
data
end
end
then
>> v1 = valueClass;
>> v1.data = 5;
>> v2 = v1;
>> v2.data = 7;
>> v1.data
ans =
5
>> h1 = handleClass;
>> h1.data = 5;
>> h2 = h1;
>> h2.data = 7;
>> h1.data
ans =
7
