Custom Object property save/load problem

Greetings. I have run up against the most infurating problem. I obviously broke something with a recent change, but I can't see how I possibly could have. Hopefully one of you detectives can help.

I have a custom class I'll just call classDataSet here for simplicity. classDataSet holds data in a property called dataSet as a table, and holds notes about that data in another property called dataSetNotes. This morning I made a change to how I was setting the dataSetNotes property. Originally I passed a 3 column table of notes to the set property method, did some validation to make sure it met expectations, and then set the property to that table.

The change I made started with writting another class (classLogBook) that deals with the administrative work of adding and working with notes. Now when I want to set the dataSetNotes property of classDataSet, I pass classLogBook to the set property method for dataSetNotes. This method just pulls a struct from classLogBook, converts it to table and saves it to the dataSetNotes property. Seems to me like barely any change at all. The end result is that the dataSetNotes property is still a three column table, regardless of how it is being set.

An all this works fine. Notes are visible in classDataSet after I set the property. There is no abnormal indication at all. UNTIL I trie to save classDataSet to a .mat file and load it again. After loading from file, the dataSetNotes property is empty. I dont' know if it isn't saving or it isn't loading. And I'm at a loss how to troubleshoot.

Here is the property set code

        %% Property Set: dataSetNotes
        function obj = set.dataSetNotes(obj,logBookObject)
            % Accepts an object of classAvengerLogBook type and extracts the logbook.
            if class(logBookObject) == "classLogBook"
                logBookStruct = logBookObject.logBookStruct;
                logBookTable = struct2table(logBookStruct);
                obj.dataSetNotes = logBookTable;
            else
                error("dataSetNotes property requires the passed argument to be an object of type classLogBook")
            end
        end
        

I can't imagine how it could be related, but here is the class constructor for the classLogBook object. The only interaction these two classes have is when classLogBook is passed to classDataSet to create a table that gets assigned to dataSetNotes (...which is the property that no longer save/loads).

                %% Class Constructor
        function obj = classLogBook(logTitle)
            % Sets a default title if the user does not pass one. 
            obj.logBookStruct(1).time = UTC_Now;
            obj.logBookStruct(1).author = "Logbook Constructor";
            if nargin == 1
                obj.logBookStruct(1).entry = logTitle;
            else
                obj.logBookStruct(1).entry = "Title not Set";
            end
            
        end
        

I appreciate any help you can give. Even if it is just an approach to troubleshooting what is going on.

Answer 1

[TADA]

It seems to me that you are saving a 3 column table to the .mat file, then when you load it again, it uses the property to set it again, but now thats not an instance of classLogBook, so you get a nifty exception that load function hides from you (that is annoying)

The easiest solution in my mind would be to add another validation for a table:

        function obj = set.dataSetNotes(obj,logBookObject)
            if istable(logBookObject)
                % do the old validation you used to perform
                obj.dataSetNotes = logBookObject
            elseif class(logBookObject) == "classLogBook"
                % Accepts an object of classAvengerLogBook type and extracts the logbook.
                logBookStruct = logBookObject.logBookStruct;
                logBookTable = struct2table(logBookStruct);
                obj.dataSetNotes = logBookTable;
            else
                error("dataSetNotes property requires the passed argument to be an object of type classLogBook")
            end
        end

[TADA]

I was curious, so I checked....

It does save your value, and it fails when loading again due to the exception

To check I generated two classes:

classdef class1
    properties
        a;
    end
    
    methods
        function this = set.a(this,inputArg)
            this.a = inputArg.text;
        end
    end
end

classdef class2
    properties
        text char;
    end
end

next, generate objects:

obj1 = class1()

obj1 = 

  class1 with properties:

    a: []

obj2 = class2()

obj2 = 

  class2 with properties:

    text: ''

obj2.text = 'abc'

obj2 = 

  class2 with properties:

    text: 'abc'
    
obj1.a = obj2

obj1 = 

  class1 with properties:

    a: 'abc'

So far so good.

Now save and load it and you get:

obj1

obj1 = 

  class1 with properties:

    a: []
    

Add the fix:

classdef class1
    properties
        a;
    end
    
    methods
        function this = set.a(this,inputArg)
            if ischar(inputArg)
                this.a = inputArg;
            else
                this.a = inputArg.text;
            end
        end
    end
end

now, reload the object previously saved:

obj1

obj1 = 

  class1 with properties:

    a: 'abc'

[Roger Pierson]

TADA indeed. That was exactly the problem and the solution. Thank you so much! My next idea was to start throwing hardware around in a rage to see if that would help, but now I don't have to. :)

[TADA]

throwing hardware around is usually my first urge, and its pretty hard to resist :)

Answer 2

[Matt J]

I dont' know if it isn't saving or it isn't loading. And I'm at a loss how to troubleshoot.

Put a breakpoint on this line,

            if class(logBookObject) == "classLogBook"

Then, save and reload the object from the .mat file. Is the breakpoint reached (and debug mode trigerred) when you do so? If so, does it happen during save or during load?

[Roger Pierson]

Good thought, thanks.

TADA has solved the mystery though.