Problem 58349. Create an empty array

Created by Christian Schröder

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{"parts":[{"partUri":"/matlab/document.xml","contentType":"application/vnd.mathworks.matlab.code.document+xml","content":"<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?><w:document xmlns:w=\"http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/wordprocessingml/2006/main\"><w:body><w:p><w:pPr><w:pStyle w:val=\"text\"/><w:jc w:val=\"left\"/></w:pPr><w:r><w:t>Suppose you need an empty array.</w:t></w:r></w:p><w:p><w:pPr><w:pStyle w:val=\"text\"/><w:jc w:val=\"left\"/></w:pPr><w:r><w:t></w:t></w:r></w:p><w:p><w:pPr><w:pStyle w:val=\"text\"/><w:jc w:val=\"left\"/></w:pPr><w:r><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:cs=\"monospace\"/></w:rPr><w:t>e = []</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t> will give you one, but it's a double array, which may not help if you need a different type: </w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:cs=\"monospace\"/></w:rPr><w:t>e(1) = \"Hello, world!\"</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t> will (silently!) set </w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:cs=\"monospace\"/></w:rPr><w:t>e(1)</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t> to </w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:cs=\"monospace\"/></w:rPr><w:t>NaN</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t>, and </w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:cs=\"monospace\"/></w:rPr><w:t>e(1) = { @sin }</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t> will fail outright with an error message.</w:t></w:r></w:p><w:p><w:pPr><w:pStyle w:val=\"text\"/><w:jc w:val=\"left\"/></w:pPr><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t></w:t></w:r></w:p><w:p><w:pPr><w:pStyle w:val=\"text\"/><w:jc w:val=\"left\"/></w:pPr><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t>If you know the type you want, you can get around this easily. For instance, </w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:cs=\"monospace\"/></w:rPr><w:t>e = cell(0)</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t> (or </w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:cs=\"monospace\"/></w:rPr><w:t>e = cell.empty</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t>) will give you an empty cell array, </w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:cs=\"monospace\"/></w:rPr><w:t>e = string.empty</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t> will give you an empty string array, and in general you can do </w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:cs=\"monospace\"/></w:rPr><w:t>e = &lt;type&gt;.empty</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t> for most types (there are exceptions, such as </w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:cs=\"monospace\"/></w:rPr><w:t>graph</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t>, </w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:cs=\"monospace\"/></w:rPr><w:t>digraph</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t>, </w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:cs=\"monospace\"/></w:rPr><w:t>dictionary</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t> etc., which can only be instantiated as scalars).</w:t></w:r></w:p><w:p><w:pPr><w:pStyle w:val=\"text\"/><w:jc w:val=\"left\"/></w:pPr><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t></w:t></w:r></w:p><w:p><w:pPr><w:pStyle w:val=\"text\"/><w:jc w:val=\"left\"/></w:pPr><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t>But what if you don't know the type, and instead need to match a given array dynamically? Well, that's for you to figure out: create a function that accomplishes this: given an array </w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:cs=\"monospace\"/></w:rPr><w:t>A</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t>, create a function that returns an empty array (as determined by </w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:cs=\"monospace\"/></w:rPr><w:t>isempty()</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t>) with type matching that of </w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:cs=\"monospace\"/></w:rPr><w:t>A</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr/><w:t>.</w:t></w:r></w:p></w:body></w:document>","relationship":null}],"relationships":[{"relationshipType":"http://schemas.mathworks.com/matlab/code/2013/relationships/document","target":"/matlab/document.xml","relationshipId":"rId1"}]}

<div style = "text-align: start; line-height: 20.44px; min-height: 0px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Menlo, Monaco, Consolas, monospace; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none solid rgb(0, 0, 0); white-space: normal; "><div style="block-size: 327px; display: block; min-width: 0px; padding-block-start: 0px; padding-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 407px 163.5px; transform-origin: 407px 163.5px; vertical-align: baseline; "><div style="block-size: 21px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 10.5px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 10.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">Suppose you need an empty array.</div><div style="block-size: 21px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 10.5px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 10.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; "></div><div style="block-size: 42px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 21px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 21px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">e = []<span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; "> will give you one, but it's a double array, which may not help if you need a different type: <span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">e(1) = "Hello, world!"<span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; "> will (silently!) set <span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">e(1)<span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; "> to <span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">NaN<span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">, and <span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">e(1) = { @sin }<span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; "> will fail outright with an error message.</div><div style="block-size: 21px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 10.5px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 10.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; "></div><div style="block-size: 84px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 42px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 42px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">If you know the type you want, you can get around this easily. For instance, <span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">e = cell(0)<span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; "> (or <span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">e = cell.empty<span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">) will give you an empty cell array, <span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">e = string.empty<span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; "> will give you an empty string array, and in general you can do <span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">e = &lt;type&gt;.empty<span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; "> for most types (there are exceptions, such as <span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">graph<span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">, <span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">digraph<span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">, <span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">dictionary<span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; "> etc., which can only be instantiated as scalars).</div><div style="block-size: 21px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 10.5px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 10.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; "></div><div style="block-size: 63px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 31.5px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 31.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">But what if you don't know the type, and instead need to match a given array dynamically? Well, that's for you to figure out: create a function that accomplishes this: given an array <span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">A<span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">, create a function that returns an empty array (as determined by <span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">isempty()<span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">) with type matching that of <span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">A<span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 0px 0px; transform-origin: 0px 0px; ">.</div></div></div>

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Problem 58349. Create an empty array

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