User input various labbelled array data

Hi, I'm very new to MATLAB so I don't know the best way to go about completing the task I've been set and hence why I'm hoping to get some help. Below is an explanation of what I'm trying to achieve perhaps to take a different/better approach.

I'm writing a piece of code to allow a user to plot details about a building in order to graphically represent it and lay it out in a floor plan. So far - at the start of the code I ask the user to enter how many floors in the building. The user then is asked to enter the length, width and height of floor 1 as three seperate questions hitting return each entry. The user then is asked to enter the number of rooms on that floor (i.e. floor 1). The code then asks for each rooms length, width and height in the same way. This continues until all the floors and rooms are complete and generates an array of all the floors lengths, a sererate array for all the floors widths, then another array for all the floor heights. It also does the same for all the room dimensions in the same way so I'm left with many arrays with data which would ideally be better sorted a different way and with a means of describing the purpose of the room as one of the 5 options.

Here is the outputted data for example:

And here is my code so far:

clear;

numberFloors=input('Please input the number of floors required: ');
if numberFloors<=0
   disp('Number of floors must be at least 1');
   return
else
    disp('Thanks');
end

floorLength=zeros(1,numberFloors);
floorWidth=zeros(1,numberFloors);
mainlooptotal=1;

while mainlooptotal<=numberFloors

    for i=1:1:numberFloors
        floorLength(i)=input(['Please enter floor ',num2str(mainlooptotal),' length: ']);
        floorWidth(i)=input(['Please enter floor ',num2str(mainlooptotal),' width: ']);
        floorHeight(i)=input(['Please enter floor ',num2str(mainlooptotal),' height: ']);
        numberRooms(i)=input(['Please enter the number of rooms on floor ',num2str(mainlooptotal),': ']);
    
        if floorLength(i)<=0 || floorWidth(i)<=0 || floorHeight(i)<=0 || numberRooms(i)<=0
            disp('Floor dimensions and number of rooms must be greater than 0');
            return
        else
            mainlooptotal=mainlooptotal+1;        
        end

    roomLength=zeros(1,(numberRooms(i)));
    roomWidth=zeros(1,(numberRooms(i)));
    roomlooptotal=1;

    while roomlooptotal<=numberRooms
        for j=1:1:(numberRooms(i))
         roomLength(j)=input(['Please enter room ',num2str(roomlooptotal),' length: ']);
         roomWidth(j)=input(['Please enter room ',num2str(roomlooptotal),' width: ']);
         roomHeight(j)=input(['Please enter room ',num2str(roomlooptotal),' height: ']);

         if roomLength(j)<=0 || roomWidth(j)<=0 || roomHeight(j)<=0
             disp('Room dimensions must be greater than 0');
                return
            else
                roomlooptotal=roomlooptotal+1;
            end
        end
    end
    end
end

I'm thinking there is probably a better way to input this data perhaps to make an array of each floor or maybe each room rather than how it currently is formatting the inputted data.

I hope this make sense and thanks in advance.

Cheers, Toby

Answer 1

[Shivam]

Hey @Tobias Wey,

I understand you are trying to know the better way to input and store data of a building.

Using MATLAB struct can be a better way to deal with the requirements of the problem.

You can follow the below workaround to solve the problem.

clear;
numberFloors=input('Please input the number of floors required: ');
if numberFloors<=0
   disp('Number of floors must be at least 1.');
   return
end

% Initialize an empty array to store the floor data
floors = struct('length', [], 'width', [], 'height', [], 'rooms', []);

% Iterate over each floor
for floorIndex=1:numberFloors
    % Prompt the user to enter the dimensions of the floor
    floor.length = input(['Enter the length of the floor-',num2str(floorIndex),': ']);
    floor.width = input(['Enter the width of the floor-',num2str(floorIndex),': ']);
    floor.height = input(['Enter the height of the floor-',num2str(floorIndex),': ']);
    
    % Prompt the user to enter the number of rooms on this floor
    numberRooms = input('Enter the number of rooms on this floor: ');
    
    if floor.length <= 0 || floor.width <= 0 || floor.height <= 0 || numberRooms <= 0
        disp('Floor dimensions and number of rooms must be greater than 0.');
        return;
    end

    % Initialize an empty array to store the room data
    rooms = struct('length', [], 'width', [], 'height', []);
    
    % Iterate over each room on this floor
    for roomIndex = 1:numberRooms
        % Prompt the user to enter the dimensions and purpose of the room
        room.length = input(['Enter the length of the room-',num2str(roomIndex),': ']);
        room.width = input(['Enter the width of the room-',num2str(roomIndex),': ']);
        room.height = input(['Enter the height of the room-',num2str(roomIndex),': ']);
        
        if room.length <= 0 || room.width <= 0 || room.height <= 0
            disp("Room dimension must be greater than 0.");
            return;
        end
        % Add the room data to the rooms array
        rooms(roomIndex) = room;
    end
    
    % Add the floor data, including the rooms array, to the floors array
    floor.rooms = rooms;
    floors(floorIndex) = floor;
end
clearvars -EXCEPT floors;

Please refer to the following documentation to learn more about struct in MATLAB: Structure array - MATLAB (mathworks.com)

I hope this helps.