: It reduces "boilerplate" code. Instead of writing complex if-else blocks to figure out what the user passed, one line of axescheck handles the heavy lifting. Anatomy of a Function Using axescheck
In MATLAB, it is a standard convention that plotting functions should allow the user to specify where the plot should go. For example: plot(y) — Plots in the current axes ( gca ). axescheck
Here is a simplified look at how a professional MATLAB function might be structured: : It reduces "boilerplate" code
function myCustomPlot(varargin) % 1. Extract the axes if provided [ax, args, nargs] = axescheck(varargin{:}); % 2. If no axes was provided, use the current one (gca) if isempty(ax) ax = gca; end % 3. Extract your data from 'args' x = args{1}; y = args{2}; % 4. Perform the plot on the specific axes line(x, y, 'Parent', ax); end Use code with caution. Modern Context: Beyond the Command Line For example: plot(y) — Plots in the current axes ( gca )
: It looks at the first argument in the list. It checks if that argument is a valid graphics handle of type axes (or a related object like a uifigure in modern MATLAB).
: If the first argument is not an axes handle (e.g., it's just your data
If you are writing a custom plotting utility, using axescheck ensures your function feels like a native part of the MATLAB ecosystem.