subsasgn

(Not Recommended) Subscripted assignment to dataset array

The dataset data type is not recommended. To work with heterogeneous data, use the MATLAB^® table data type instead. See MATLAB table documentation for more information.

Description

A = subsasgn(A,S,B) is called for the syntax A(i,j)=B, A{i,j}=B, or A. var=B when A is a dataset array. S is a structure array with the fields:

type	'()', '{}', or '.' specifying the subscript type.
subs	Cell array or character vector containing the actual subscripts.

A(i,j) = B assigns the contents of the dataset array B to a subset of the observations and variables in the dataset array A. i and j are one of the following types:

• positive integers

• vectors of positive integers

• observation/variable names

• cell arrays containing one or more observation/variable names

• logical vectors

The assignment does not use observation names, variable names, or any other properties of B to modify properties of A; however properties of A are extended with default values if the assignment expands the number of observations or variables in A. Elements of B are assigned into A by position, not by matching names.

A{i,j} = B assigns the value B into an element of the dataset array A. i and J are positive integers, or logical vectors. Cell indexing cannot assign into multiple dataset elements, that is, the subscripts i and j must each refer to only a single observation or variable. B is cast to the type of the target variable if necessary. If the dataset element already exists, A{i,j} may also be followed by further subscripting as supported by the variable.

For dataset variables that are cell arrays, assignments such as A{1,'CellVar'} = B assign into the contents of the target dataset element in the same way that {}-indexing of an ordinary cell array does.

For dataset variables that are n-D arrays, i.e., each observation is a matrix or array, an assignment such as A{1,'ArrayVar'} = B assigns into the second and following dimensions of the target dataset element, i.e., the assignment adds a leading singleton dimension to B to account for the observation dimension of the dataset variable.

A.var = B or A.(varname) = B assigns B to a dataset variable. var is a variable name literal, or varname is a character variable containing a variable name. If the dataset variable already exists, the assignment completely replaces that variable. To assign into an element of the variable, A.var or A.(varname) may be followed by further subscripting as supported by the variable. In particular, A.var(obsnames,...) = B and A.var{obsnames,...} = B (when supported by var) provide assignment into a dataset variable using observation names.

A.properties.propertyname = P assigns to a dataset property. propertyname is one of the following:

• 'ObsNames'

• 'VarNames'

• 'Description'

• 'Units'

• 'DimNames'

• 'UserData'

• 'VarDescription'

To assign into an element of the property, A.properties.propertyname may also be followed by further subscripting as supported by the property.

You cannot assign multiple values into dataset variables or properties using assignments such as [A.CellVar{1:2}] = B, [A.StructVar(1:2).field] = B, or [A.Properties.ObsNames{1:2}] = B. Use multiple assignments of the form A.CellVar{1} = B instead.

Similarly, if a dataset variable is a cell array with multiple columns or is an n-D cell array, then the contents of that variable for a single observation consists of multiple cells, and you cannot assign to all of them using the syntax A{1,'CellVar'} = B. Use multiple assignments of the form [A.CellVar{1,1}] = B instead.