the matlab way of preprocessor macros

To make my code more readable i'd like to move some hard coded values like b_index = find(all_user_state == 24); to something like b_index = find(all_user_state == UNCONNECTED); which i would do in C-style with #define.

What would you recommend in Matlab. I already thought about enum and collect the definitions in a def. struct, but would have then the problem to propagate this in all scopes.

[Bruno Luong]

The lack of preprocessing is to me a serious drawback in MATLAB. Define static, persistent variable(s) or in function will slow down greatly when one to access to it compared to a direct hard-code value.

Answer 1

[Wil Koenen]

Define a class containing the definitions, either using constant properties (1) or enumeration values (2).

Example (1)

classdef MyDef 
  properties(Constant)
    UNCONNECTED = 24
    CONNECTED = 25
    % more definitions
  end
end

Use as follows:

   b_index = find(all_user_state == MyDef.UNCONNECTED)

Example (2)

classdef MyEnum < int32
   enumeration
       UNCONNECTED(24)
       CONNECTED(25)
       % more definitions
   end
end

Use similarly:

   b_index = find(all_user_state == MyEnum.UNCONNECTED)

Answer 2

[Walter Roberson]

You can use static methods of a class.

You can define UNCONNECTED as a function that returns 24 .