MATLAB - Data Types

MATLAB does not require any type declaration or dimension statements. Whenever MATLAB encounters a new variable name, it creates the variable and allocates appropriate memory space.

If the variable already exists, then MATLAB replaces the original content with new content and allocates new storage space, where necessary.
For example,

Total = 42

The above statement creates a 1-by-1 matrix named 'Total' and stores the value 42 in it.

Data Types Available in MATLAB

MATLAB provides 15 fundamental data types. Every data type stores data that is in the form of a matrix or array. The size of this matrix or array is a minimum of 0-by-0 and this can grow up to a matrix or array of any size.
The following table shows the most commonly used data types in MATLAB −

Data Type	Description
int8	8-bit signed integer
uint8	8-bit unsigned integer
int16	16-bit signed integer
uint16	16-bit unsigned integer
int32	32-bit signed integer
uint32	32-bit unsigned integer
int64	64-bit signed integer
uint64	64-bit unsigned integer
single	single precision numerical data
double	double precision numerical data
logical	logical values of 1 or 0, represent true and false respectively
char	character data (strings are stored as vector of characters)
cell array	array of indexed cells, each capable of storing an array of a different dimension and data type
structure	C-like structures, each structure having named fields capable of storing an array of a different dimension and data type
function handle	pointer to a function
user classes	objects constructed from a user-defined class
java classes	objects constructed from a Java class

Example

Create a script file with the following code −

str = 'Hello World!'
n = 2345
d = double(n)
un = uint32(789.50)
rn = 5678.92347
c = int32(rn)

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

str = Hello World!
n =  2345
d =  2345
un = 790
rn = 5678.9
c =  5679

Data Type Conversion

MATLAB provides various functions for converting, a value from one data type to another. The following table shows the data type conversion functions −

Function	Purpose
char	Convert to character array (string)
int2str	Convert integer data to string
mat2str	Convert matrix to string
num2str	Convert number to string
str2double	Convert string to double-precision value
str2num	Convert string to number
native2unicode	Convert numeric bytes to Unicode characters
unicode2native	Convert Unicode characters to numeric bytes
base2dec	Convert base N number string to decimal number
bin2dec	Convert binary number string to decimal number
dec2base	Convert decimal to base N number in string
dec2bin	Convert decimal to binary number in string
dec2hex	Convert decimal to hexadecimal number in string
hex2dec	Convert hexadecimal number string to decimal number
hex2num	Convert hexadecimal number string to double-precision number
num2hex	Convert singles and doubles to IEEE hexadecimal strings
cell2mat	Convert cell array to numeric array
cell2struct	Convert cell array to structure array
cellstr	Create cell array of strings from character array
mat2cell	Convert array to cell array with potentially different sized cells
num2cell	Convert array to cell array with consistently sized cells
struct2cell	Convert structure to cell array

Determination of Data Types

MATLAB provides various functions for identifying data type of a variable.
Following table provides the functions for determining the data type of a variable −

Function	Purpose
is	Detect state
isa	Determine if input is object of specified class
iscell	Determine whether input is cell array
iscellstr	Determine whether input is cell array of strings
ischar	Determine whether item is character array
isfield	Determine whether input is structure array field
isfloat	Determine if input is floating-point array
ishghandle	True for Handle Graphics object handles
isinteger	Determine if input is integer array
isjava	Determine if input is Java object
islogical	Determine if input is logical array
isnumeric	Determine if input is numeric array
isobject	Determine if input is MATLAB object
isreal	Check if input is real array
isscalar	Determine whether input is scalar
isstr	Determine whether input is character array
isstruct	Determine whether input is structure array
isvector	Determine whether input is vector
class	Determine class of object
validateattributes	Check validity of array
whos	List variables in workspace, with sizes and types

Example

Create a script file with the following code −

x = 3
isinteger(x)
isfloat(x)
isvector(x)
isscalar(x)
isnumeric(x)
 
x = 23.54
isinteger(x)
isfloat(x)
isvector(x)
isscalar(x)
isnumeric(x)
 
x = [1 2 3]
isinteger(x)
isfloat(x)
isvector(x)
isscalar(x)
 
x = 'Hello'
isinteger(x)
isfloat(x)
isvector(x)
isscalar(x)
isnumeric(x)

When you run the file, it produces the following result −

x = 3
ans = 0
ans = 1
ans = 1
ans = 1
ans = 1
x = 1177/50
ans = 0
ans = 1
ans = 1
ans = 1
ans = 1
x =

          1          2          3

ans = 0
ans = 1
ans = 1
ans = 0
x = Hello
ans = 0
ans = 0
ans = 1
ans = 0
ans = 0