How to create matlab::da​ta::CharAr​rayRef for matlab::data::CharArray?

I'm using the C++ (not C!) MATLAB Data API from MATLAB R2019b. I would like to handle data referenced by a matlab::data::CharArray and a matlab::data::CharArrayRef in the same manner, i.e. I would like to implement something such as the following in C++ without using code duplication:

std::string toString(matlab::data::CharArray const& in) {

// TODO(2021-12-13 by wolters): How-to create `CharArrayRef` from

// `CharArray` in order to call the other toString function and avoid

// code duplication?

auto const multiByte = in.toUTF16();

return std::string{multiByte.begin(), multiByte.end()};

}

std::string toString(matlab::data::CharArrayRef const& in) {

auto const multiByte = in.toUTF16();

return std::string{multiByte.begin(), multiByte.end()};

}

I've tried a lot, but can't find a way to create an instance of matlab::data::CharArrayRef from an existing matlab::data::CharArray. (the same applies to other data types of the MATLAB Data API). Do you know how to achieve that?

Answer 1

[Eswaramoorthy]

Hi

Yes, you can create an instance of matlab::data::CharArrayRef from an existing matlab::data::CharArray by using the createArrayRef function. Here's an example of how you could modify your code to avoid code duplication:

std::string toString(matlab::data::CharArray const& in) {
auto const multiByte = in.toUTF16();
return std::string{multiByte.begin(), multiByte.end()};
}

std::string toString(matlab::data::CharArrayRef const& in) {
auto const multiByte = in.toUTF16();
return std::string{multiByte.begin(), multiByte.end()};
}

// Wrapper function that calls the appropriate toString function
std::string toStringWrapper(const matlab::data::CharArray& in) {
return toString(in.createArrayRef());
}

In the toStringWrapper function, we create a matlab::data::CharArrayRef object from the matlab::data::CharArray input using the createArrayRef function. This matlab::data::CharArrayRef object can then be passed to the toString function that takes a matlab::data::CharArrayRef input. By using this wrapper function, you can avoid code duplication while still being able to handle both matlab::data::CharArray and matlab::data::CharArrayRef inputs in the same manner