How to get property validation functions to show source file location on error?

When using property validation functions for class propeties, if an error is thrown, MATLAB does not show the line number or any other source file information. This is in contrast to the behavior with function argument validation.

Here is an example class definition and function definition to demonstrate.

classdef ValidationClass
    properties
        PositiveProp {mustBePositive};
    end
end

function validationFunction(PositiveArg)
    arguments
        PositiveArg {mustBePositive};
    end
end

When I call the following code inside of a script, I get an error as expected.

validationFunction(-1);
% Prints the following error message:
%     Error using error_test_script>validationFunction
%      validationFunction(-1);
%                         ↑
%     Invalid argument at position 1. Value must be positive.
%     
%     Error in error_test_script (line 9)
%     validationFunction(-1);

This error message is useful, as it shows the exact line of code causing the error (with hyperlinks). However, when I do the same thing with class properties, I do not get a useful message.

test = ValidationClass;
test.PositiveProp = -1;
% Prints the following error message:
%     Error using error_test_script
%     Error setting property 'PositiveProp' of class 'ValidationClass'. Value must be positive.

This error message has much less info. It is very difficult to identify where the error occured. Is there a way to make the error message similar to that of the function argument version?

Answer 1

[Matt J]

It is very difficult to identify where the error occured.

Running in debug mode will take you to the point where the error occurred:

>> dbstop if error

>>test

[Matthew Dvorsky]

Thanks, this is a very helpful suggestion. Hopefully MATLAB will be updated to give better error messages in these cases, but this is a good temporary solution.

Answer 2

[Ayush]

@Matthew Dvorsky This seems to be a requested feature which is not currently available.

Kindly contact us through MathWorks Support.