ObjDiff - Generic object comparator

Compares objects of any type inc. Java, Matlab, HG handles, structs, cells & arrays

OBJDIFF compares two objects & returns an object of the same type with just the different fields/values. Unlike Matlab's SETDIFF or SETXOR, this OBJDIFF utility also compares structs, GUI handles, ActiveX, Matlab & Java objects, in addition to arrays & cells. OBJDIFF also allows comparison of numeric cell arrays, unlike SETDIFF/SETXOR. It also accepts anything that SETDIFF/SETXOR accept.

Syntax: [objectC,IA,IB] = objdiff(objectA, objectB, options, ...)

Inputs:

- objectA - first object to compare

- objectB - second object to compare. Field order in opaque objects does not matter.

Note: If objectB is not supplied, then objectA(1) is compared to objectA(2)

- options - optional flags as follows:

'rows' - see documentation for SETXOR

'dontIgnoreJava' - show different instances of the same java class (default=ignore them)

Outputs:

- objectC - object containing only the different (or new) fields, in a {old, new} pattern

- IA,IB - index vector into objectA,objectB such that objectC = [objectA(IA),objectB(IB)] (see SETXOR)

Examples:

>> objectA = struct('a',3, 'b',5, 'd',9);

>> objectB = struct('a','ert', 'c',struct('t',pi), 'd',9);

>> objectC = objdiff(objectA, objectB) % a=different, b=new in objectA, c=new in objectB, d=same

objectC =

a: {[3] 'ert'}

b: {[5] {}}

c: {{} [1x1 struct]}

>> objectC = objdiff(java.awt.Color.red, java.awt.Color.blue)

objectC =

Blue: {[0] [255]}

RGB: {[-65536] [-16776961]}

Red: {[255] [0]}

>> objectC = objdiff(0,gcf) % 0 is the root handle

objectC =

children: {[2x1 struct] []}

handle: {[0] [1]}

properties: {[1x1 struct] [1x1 struct]}

type: {'root' 'figure'}

>> [objectC,IA,IB] = objdiff({2,3,4,7}, {2,4,5})

objectC =

3 5 7

IA =

2

4

IB =

3

See also:

setdiff, setxor, isstruct, isjava, ishghandle, isobject, iscell, http://UndocumentedMatlab.com