Data Type Identification

Determine data type of a variable

MATLAB^® has many functions to identify the data type of a variable or to determine whether a variable has a specific data type. Use these functions when calling or writing code that depends on variables having specific data types.

Functions

expand all

Numeric Data Types

`isfloat`	Determine if input is floating-point array
`isinteger`	Determine whether input is integer array
`islogical`	Determine if input is logical array
`isnumeric`	Determine whether input is numeric array
`isreal`	Determine whether array uses complex storage
`issparse`	Determine whether input is sparse

Characters and Strings

`isstring`	Determine if input is string array
`ischar`	Determine if input is character array
`iscellstr`	Determine if input is cell array of character vectors

Dates and Times

`isdatetime`	Determine if input is datetime array
`isduration`	Determine if input is duration array
`iscalendarduration`	Determine if input is calendar duration array

Cells, Structures, and Tables

`iscell`	Determine if input is cell array
`isstruct`	Determine if input is structure array
`istable`	Determine whether input is table
`istimetable`	Determine if input is timetable

Other Types

`is*`	Detect state
`isa`	Determine if input has specified data type
`iscategorical`	Determine whether input is categorical array
`isenum`	Determine if variable is enumeration
`isgraphics`	True for valid graphics object handles
`isjava`	Determine if input is Java object
`isobject`	Determine if input is MATLAB object

Information About Variables

`whos`	List variables in workspace, with sizes and types
`class`	Class of object
`underlyingType`	Type of underlying data determining array behavior
`isUnderlyingType`	Determine whether input has specified underlying data type
`validateattributes`	Check validity of array

Topics

Fundamental MATLAB Classes

There are many different data types, or classes, that you can work with in MATLAB. You can build matrices and arrays of floating-point and integer data, characters and strings, logical true and false values, and so on. Function handles connect your code with any MATLAB function regardless of the current scope. Tables, timetables, structures, and cell arrays provide a way to store dissimilar types of data in the same container.