How to set class property without calling setter function

I'm looking to achieve the following code structure in my class definition for several different properties to make an instrument driver.

function set.prop(obj, value)
   'send command to instrument'
   obj.prop = value
end

 function value = get.prop(obj)
     value = obj.prop
 end

 funciton readprop(obj)
     obj.prop = 'function to read value from instrument'
 end

With this code format I can store the value in property and recall it by obj.prop without having to reread the instrument each time. However, when I call obj.readprop, this method calls the setter method. How do I get around this in the simplest way?

Answer 1

[Krishna Chaitanya Duggineni]

Let me know if my understanding of your question is incorrect.

'readprop' member function of a class is used to read a property from the instrument and then calls 'setter' to set the property value with the current reading. You would like to avoid calling the setter.

This requirement needs you to modify your code for 'readprop' function. For 'readprop' not to call setter function, you can add another boolean argument (ex: "enable") which is by default 1. Manipulate 'readprop' to call the 'setter' only if this argument is true(or the vice versa of this).

Member function 'readprop' will look like this

function readprop(obj,enable)
if nargin < 2
 enable = true;
%get property value from instrument
end
if(enable)
    %call setter
else 
    % Do not call setter
end
end

[amoney]

Perhaps what I really need is a getter that has two different modes:

function value get.prop(obj, enable)
    if nargin < 2
       value = obj.prop
    else
        obj.prop = external query
        value = obj.prop
    end
end

will this work?

Answer 2

[Krishna Chaitanya Duggineni]

Getters must have only one argument. So, passing 'enable' as an input and getting 'value' as output might be a trouble. Moreover, It will be better if the getter does not alter the value of property.

[amoney]

Ah, yes, this makes sense. However, your suggestion has given me the idea of how to solve the problem. It's the setter that I'll but an indicator to read the instrument.

function get.prop(obj, newvalue)
   if strcmp(newvalue, 'read')
      newvalue='read inst func'
   else
      'set inst func'
   end
   obj.prop = newvalue
end

Thanks for your help!

Answer 3

[grajcjan]

Hi, I'm trying to solve a similar problem with set and get. Do you know how I can do something similar, using only get & set function? When I'm connected to a device, I want to read the set values directly from the device, but when I'm disconnected, I want to see the last set value and if I reconnect, I would like to set the device to the last set value.

 function set.Prop(visaObject, Prop)
   if strcmp(visaObject.Status,'open')
     fprintf(visaObject, ['command',Prop]);
   end
     visaObject.Prop = Prop;
 end

function Prop = get.Prop(visaObject)
  if strcmp(visaObject.Status,'closed')
    Prop = visaObject.Prop;
  else
    Prop = query(visaObject,’command’);
    visaObject.Prop = Prop;
  end
end