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Cell vs. Structure Arrays

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This example compares cell and structure arrays, and shows how to store data in each type of array. Both cell and structure arrays allow you to store data of different types and sizes.

Structure Arrays

Structure arrays contain data in fields that you access by name.

For example, store patient records in a structure array.

patient(1).name ='John Doe';patient(1).billing = 127.00; patient(1).test = [79, 75, 73; 180, 178, 177.5; 220, 210, 205]; patient(2).name ='Ann Lane';病人(2)。计费= 28.50;病人(2)。测试= [68, 70, 68; 118, 118, 119; 172, 170, 169]; patient
patient=1×2 struct array with fields:name billing test

Create a bar graph of the test results for each patient.

numPatients = numel(patient);forp = 1:numPatients figure bar(patient(p).test) title(patient(p).name) xlabel('Test') ylabel('Result')end

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object with title John Doe contains 3 objects of type bar.

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object with title Ann Lane contains 3 objects of type bar.

Cell Arrays

Cell arrays contain data in cells that you access by numeric indexing. Common applications of cell arrays include storing separate pieces of text and storing heterogeneous data from spreadsheets.

For example, store temperature data for three cities over time in a cell array.

temperature(1,:) = {'2009-12-31', [45, 49, 0]}; temperature(2,:) = {'2010-04-03', [54, 68, 21]}; temperature(3,:) = {'2010-06-20', [72, 85, 53]}; temperature(4,:) = {'2010-09-15', [63, 81, 56]}; temperature(5,:) = {'2010-12-09', [38, 54, 18]}; temperature
temperature=5×2 cell array{'2009-12-31'} {[ 45 49 0]} {'2010-04-03'} {[54 68 21]} {'2010-06-20'} {[72 85 53]} {'2010-09-15'} {[63 81 56]} {'2010-12-09'} {[38 54 18]}

Plot the temperatures for each city by date.

allTemps = cell2mat(temperature(:,2)); dates = datetime(temperature(:,1)); plot(dates,allTemps) title('Temperature Trends for Different Locations') xlabel('Date') ylabel('Degrees (Fahrenheit)')

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object with title Temperature Trends for Different Locations contains 3 objects of type line.

Other Container Arrays

Struct and cell arrays are the most commonly used containers for storing heterogeneous data. Tables are convenient for storing heterogeneous column-oriented or tabular data. Alternatively, use map containers, or create your own class.

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