Contradictory results in command window with variable class and ischar function?

debugging a script i wrote and came across this? How is this possible?

K>> class structure(8).timetotemp

ans =

'char'

K>> ischar(structure(8).timetotemp)

ans =

logical

0

[Stephen23]

"Contradictory results in command window with variable class and ischar function?"

No.

"How is this possible?"

Very easily: https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_prog/command-vs-function-syntax.html

Answer 1

[Bruno Luong]

class structure(8).timetotemp

is like

class('structure(8).timetotemp')

which return char.

The correct function syntax call is

class(structure(8).timetotemp)

Answer 2

[Steven Lord]

This code, class structure(8).timetotemp, is equivalent to:

class('structure(8).timetotemp')

ans = 'char'

If you had a variable array named structure whose 8th element had a property or field named timetotemp and you wanted to know the class of that property or field, use the function form of the class function call rather than the command form.

structure(8) = struct('timetotemp', datetime('today'))

structure = 1×8 struct array with fields:
    timetotemp

class(structure(8).timetotemp)

ans = 'datetime'