Passing by reference vs value

73 次查看（过去 30 天）
Robin L.
Robin L. 2019-3-19
编辑： Stephen23 2019-10-6
Hello !
Hope you are all doing fine.
What is better ?
clear; clc;
% let's consider a and b, some matrix
tic;
multiply_tab(a, b);
toc;
tic;
multiply(max(max(c)),min(min(d)));
toc;
function result = multiply(max_a, min_b)
result = max_a * min_b;
end
function result = multiply_tab(a, b)
result = max(max(a)) * min(min(b));
end
In fact, I would like to know if Matlab passes array parameters as a reference of the array in the memory or a new copy of the array.
Because I try to get my code the most efficient, finding the cleanest way between human readability and high computing speed.
Thanks !
Robin

请先登录，再回答此问题。

采纳的回答

Stephen23
Stephen23 2019-3-19
编辑：Stephen23 2019-3-19
"Passing by reference vs value"
Neither. MATLAB is more intelligent that either of those. MATLAB uses something called "copy on write", which essentially means that is passes by reference unitl the data is changed, at which point it makes a copy. This is explained in the blogs: "MATLAB makes copies of arrays it passes only when the data referred to changes"
source: https://blogs.mathworks.com/loren/2006/05/10/memory-management-for-functions-and-variables/
What does this mean for your code? In 99.99% of cases you should just use the simplest syntax, i.e. simply pass the variables and let MATLAB's memory management take care of how the variables are stored. In your example just pass a and b, no copies will be made.
In any case, TMW discourages writing code to take advantage of specific JIT features. The philosophy is that the JIT engine is written to optimize your code, not the other way around.
  3 个评论
显示 1更早的评论
Han Yoo
Han Yoo 2019-10-5
How would you recursively call a function?
I need to make my own version of bwconncomp() using the flood fill algorithm.
[ioaImgConnComp] = setImgFloodFill(ioaImgConnComp, ivCoordX_pix, ...)
Without pass by reference, MATLAB keeps making a copy of the input image array (e.g., ioaImgConnComp), which is named the same as the output argument.
Pass by reference or point enables creating a recursive function easy and intelligent. What equivalent techniques are available on MATLAB?
Thanks.
Stephen23
Stephen23 2019-10-6
编辑：Stephen23 2019-10-6
@Han Yoo: recursive functions appear to create copies of their inputs (this might change depending on MATLAB version, etc). The simple solution to prevent this occuring is to write the recursive function as a nested function and define those variable/s in the "parent" workspace. Then all calls of the recursive function will access exactly the same variable/s in memory.

请先登录，再进行评论。

更多回答（0 个）

类别

在 Help Center 和 File Exchange 中查找有关 Logical 的更多信息

标签

产品


版本

R2018a

Community Treasure Hunt

Find the treasures in MATLAB Central and discover how the community can help you!

Start Hunting!

Translated by