MATLAB: Does “requiredFilesAndProducts” fail to find the function when “which” is able to find it

MATLABpackagerequiredfilesandproductsundefined

I am using "requiredFilesAndProducts" to try and find all dependencies of my function, but it is failing to work, saying it cannot find my function. Here is the command I am using:

>> [fList,pList] = matlab.codetools.requiredFilesAndProducts('packageName.functionName.m');

Which gives the error:

Error using matlab.codetools.requiredFilesAndProducts (line 91)

File, function or class "packageName.functionName.m" may not exist. Neither WHICH nor EXIST could find an exact, case-sensitive match. Please check the spelling of the name, and that any required directories are on the MATLAB path.

However, "which" is able to find the file:

>> which packageName.functionName

returns the path to the file.

Why is "requiredFilesAndProducts" not working?

Best Answer

For files in a package, you need to input the file name without the '.m' on the end of it, so if you change your command to:

>> [fList,pList] = matlab.codetools.requiredFilesAndProducts('packageName.functionName');

you should get the output you expect.

Similarly, if you were to run the "which" command with the '.m' included, it would return zero results:

>> which packageName.functionName.m

This is the implied "which" call that your previous instance of "requiredFilesAndProducts" was calling.

The reason the '.m' cannot be on the name is because the file is in a private package - it is effectively a method of the package name, rather than a normal script or function. For example, you cannot call your M file from outside the package with the '.m' included in the name either - it would return an "undefined variable" error.

Another tool that you may find useful for your work is the Dependency Report, which provides more in-depth information than "requiredFilesAndProducts". You can read more about the Dependency Report on the following documentation page:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_prog/identify-dependencies.html#brsjdf2

Related Solutions

MATLAB: How to create custom code suggestions for class functions in MATLAB live scripts

It is possible to use code suggestions with ordinary class member functions.

The only difference is you must account for the first method argument being a reference to the class.

The first argument passed to a MATLAB class member function is a reference to the object. In that sense, the following two function calls are equivalent:

classObj.func(val)
func(classObj, val)

For more information on this, please see:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_oop/specifying-methods-and-functions.html

When creating the 'functionsSignatures.json', be sure to include an input for the class object.

Here is an example 'functionsSignature.json' snippet for a class which has static and ordinary member functions:

{
      "BasicClass.BasicClass":
      {
          "inputs":
          [
              {"name":"inputVal", "kind":"required", "type":["numeric"], "purpose":"Constructor with value to initalize with."}
          ]
      },
      "BasicClass.printString":
      {
          "inputs":
          [
              {"name":"inputString", "kind":"required", "type":["string"], "purpose":"String to print to screen."}
          ]
      },
      "BasicClass.multBy":
      {
          "inputs":
          [
              {"name":"obj", "kind":"required", "type":["BasicClass"], "purpose":"BasicClass object to run function on."},
              {"name":"multVal", "kind":"required", "type":["numeric"], "purpose":"Will multiply the initial value by multVal."}
          ]
      }
  }

In the example, "printString" is static, while "multBy" is a traditional member function.

Moreover, once you have written the JSON file, you can also verify it by executing the following command in the MATLAB Command Window:

>> validateFunctionSignaturesJSON

You will find more information about this function in the documentation:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/validatefunctionsignaturesjson.html

MATLAB: Does “requiredFilesAndProducts” not list the callback as a requirement if it is specified as a character vector

Unfortunately if a callback is specified as a character vector, then "requiredFilesAndProducts" is not able to find that dependency. However, the callback will be found as a dependency if it is specified as a function handle.

It is advised to always specify callbacks as function handles. Specifying callbacks as character vectors or strings is supported, but not recommended.

You can read about this at the following documentation link:

https://uk.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2019a/matlab/ref/matlab.ui.control.uicontrol-properties.html#bt6ck7c-1-Callback

However, if you are adamant about specifying the callback as a character vector, you can always use a "pragma function" directive in "myApp.m" to force a dependency to "myPackage.myFunction.m". To include this directive, you can modify "myApp.m" as follows:

function varargout = myApp(varargin)
%#function myPackage.myFunction
% the rest of the function goes here.

You can read more about "pragma function" directives at the following documentation link:

https://uk.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2019a/compiler_sdk/ml_code/function.html

Best Answer

Related Solutions

MATLAB: How to create custom code suggestions for class functions in MATLAB live scripts

MATLAB: Does “requiredF​ilesAndPro​ducts” not list the callback as a requirement if it is specified as a character vector

Related Question

MATLAB: Does “requiredFilesAndProducts” not list the callback as a requirement if it is specified as a character vector