Why does WHAT return incorrectly when my current directory is not the folder containing the MATLAB file in question in MATLAB 7.7 (R2008b)?

I get an incorrect answer from the WHAT command if I am calling into @classfolder/private and the current directory is not the directory where @classfolder resides.

This behavior does not occur in MATLAB 7.6 (R2008a).

Reproduction steps:

1. Create in the MATLAB path, a folder called @myclassfold. Inside of that, place a folder called private. Inside of that, place a function MATLAB file called myprivatefunc.m.

 PATHDIRECTORY  

 |__@myclassfold

       |__private

             |__myprivatefunc.m

2. Set your current directory to be something else. It must NOT be the folder where @myclassfold resides.

3. Execute the following call to WHAT at the MATLAB Command Prompt:

what @myclassfold/private

4. I receive the following error:

 @myAtclass\private not found.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

There are two ways to obtain a correct result from the WHAT command:

1. Set the current directory to the folder that contains the @classfolder.

2. Specify the entire path as an input to WHAT such as:

what('C:\Work\@myAtclass/private')