Using the C Math Library

Supported MATLAB Array Types

The MATLAB C Math Library supports the following MATLAB array types (or classes):

• Numeric arrays - The library supports multidimensional numeric arrays, where values are represented in double precision format. All MATLAB arithmetic functions operate on numeric arrays. For more information about working with numeric arrays, see Numeric Arrays.
• Sparse arrays - To conserve space, two-dimensional numeric arrays can be stored in sparse format, where only nonzero elements of the array are stored. Numeric arrays with more than two dimensions cannot be converted to sparse format. For more information about working with sparse arrays, see Sparse Matrices.
• Character arrays - The library supports multidimensional arrays of characters, represented in 16-bit ASCII Unicode format. For more information about working with character arrays, see Character Arrays in Chapter 3.
• Cell arrays - The library supports multidimensional arrays of MATLAB's primary container type called cells. Each cell can contain any type of MATLAB array, including other cell arrays. For more information about working with cell arrays, see Cell Arrays.
• Structures - The library supports multidimensional arrays of MATLAB's other container type called structures. A structure can be thought of as a one-dimensional cell array where each cell is assigned a name. These named cells, called fields, define the organization of the structure. Do not confuse MATLAB structures with standard C structures. For more information about working with MATLAB structures, see MATLAB Structures.

Choose the MATLAB array type that best fits your data. For more detailed information about these array types, see Using MATLAB.

Working with MATLAB Arrays

MATLAB Array C Data Type