class of returns from get() with 1 vs. mutliple handles

Get(h,'parameter') always returns a cell if h contains more than one handle, but if h is a single handle it returns a value of the class of the parameter.

The result is that a special case needs to be written to handle the return if h is of length 1. Is there a way to avoid this so that get always returns a cell even if it is of length one?

Example: >> for i=1:5;h(i)=line(i,i);set(h(i),'userdata',x);end

>> class(get(h,'userdata')) ans = cell

>> class(get(h(i),'userdata')) ans = double

Answer 1

[Matt Fig]

To force a cell array, use:

plot(1:10,1:10,1:12,1:12);  % Example.
H = get(gca,'children') % Multiple handles.
C1 = get(H,{'linestyle'}) % A cell array, 2-by-1.
C2 = get(H(1),{'linestyle'})  % A cell array, 1-by-1.

[Fangjun Jiang]

Thanks, Matt! Good to know your trick.

[Brett Shoelson]

Very nice, Matt!

Answer 2

[Fangjun Jiang]

I don't have an answer but I want to second your opinion. I found this inconvenient many times. What I usually do is to add a line to process the result.

if ~iscell(answer),answer={answer};end

Answer 3

[Peter]

Thanks - that's neat solution.