Specifying elements of a structure array that have different fields

Hello -

I'm using a structure array to describe a set of particles that can have very different properties. I've found that by creating a structure field for each element of the array, I can then add specific fields that may not be shared by all members of the array:

particle(1).type =  'human';
particle(1).properties.name = 'Barney';
particle(1).properties.gender = 'm';
particle(1).properties.weight = 190.0;

particle(2).type = 'vehicle';
particle(2).properties.model = 'Camry';
particle(2).properties.weight = 3000.0;
particle(2).properties.length = 14.0;

Is this permissible to do? Thanks.

Answer 1

[José-Luis]

To get a logical index into all 'human':

 humanIdx = cellfun(@(x) strcmp('human',x),{particle(:).type})

Please accept an answer if it helped you.

[Martin]

I think I was confusing. I am just wondering if it is OK to build such structure arrays with different fields in a substructure, or whether this will cause some kind of problem

[José-Luis]

Yes you can. Accessing stuff will lead to tricky syntax, but is doable as shown above.

What is your ultimate purpose? Build a database? If so, then Matlab is really not the right tool for the job.