ifversion documentation

Table of contents

• Description section:
• • Description
• Matlab/Octave section:
• • Syntax
• • Output arguments
• • Input arguments
• • Examples
• • Compatibility, version info, and licence

This minitool helps you determine the version of Matlab (or Octave) that is running your code. This is helpful when imposing a minimum version requirement, or when different versions need different methods to reach the same end result. By using persistent variables this will stay fast even with repeated calls.

You shouldn't use a logical test with v=version;v=str2double(v(1:3)); as it is incomplete for several releases (like e.g. 7.14 or 23.2). That also includes the potential for float rounding errors.

If you don't want to use a separate function, there are two built-in functions that may do what you need: verLessThan (introduced in R2007a) and isMATLABReleaseOlderThan (introduced in R2020b). The latter also allows filtering based on release type (pre-release vs normal release) and update number.

tf=ifversion(test,Rxxxxab)
tf=ifversion(test,Rxxxxab,'Octave',test_for_Octave,v_Octave)

A few examples of valid syntax options:

    ifversion('>=','R2009a')        % returns true when run on R2009a or later
    ifversion('<','R2016a')         % returns true when run on R2015b or older
    ifversion('==','R2018a')        % returns true only when run on R2018a
    ifversion('==',24.01)           % returns true only when run on R2024a
    ifversion('<',0,'Octave','>',0) % returns true only on Octave
    ifversion('<',0,'Octave','>=',6)% returns true only on Octave 6 and higher
    ifversion('==',9.10)            % !!! returns true only when run on R2016b (v9.1), not R2021a (v9.10) !!!

Compatibility considerations:

• This is expected to work on all releases.

Version: 1.2.1.2
Date:    2024-03-23
Author:  H.J. Wisselink
Licence: CC by-nc-sa 4.0 ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 )
Email = 'h_j_wisselink*alumnus_utwente_nl';
Real_email = regexprep(Email,{'*','_'},{'@','.'})

The tester is included so you can test if your own modifications would introduce any bugs. These tests form the basis for the compatibility table above. Note that functions may be different between the tester version and the normal function. Make sure to apply any modifications to both.