bioinfo.pipeline.block.Concatenate

Concatenate data

Since R2026a

• 

Description

A Concatenate block enables you to combine multiple inputs into a single output. Use this block when you need to combine multiple input data and pass such combined data to downstream blocks for further analysis. For instance, you can use this block to combine several filenames into a single list of files, or join multiple output tables into one table for further processing.

Creation

Syntax

b = bioinfo.pipeline.block.Concatenate

b = bioinfo.pipeline.block.Concatenate(Name=Value)

Description

b = bioinfo.pipeline.block.Concatenate creates a Concatenate block.

b = bioinfo.pipeline.block.Concatenate(Name=Value) sets the block properties using one or more name-value arguments. Name is the property name and Value is the property value.

Properties

Dimension — Dimension in which to combine input data

1 (default) | positive integer scalar

Dimension in which to combine the input data, specified as a positive integer scalar.

By default, the block uses the row dimension (dimension 1), that is, it combines data vertically. For example, if both input data are 2-by-2 matrices, then the block combines them vertically to produce a 4-by-2 matrix. This block works similarly to the cat function. For more information about dimensions, see Multidimensional Arrays.

Data Types: double

InputNames — Input port names

["Input1";"Input2"] (default) | string vector | ...

Input port names, specified as a character vector, string scalar, string vector, or cell array of character vectors.

Data Types: char | string | cell

OutputName — Output port name

"Output" (default) | string scalar | character vector | ...

Output port name, specified as a string scalar or character vector.

Data Types: char | string

Inputs — Input ports

Read-only: structure

This property is read-only.

Input ports of the block, specified as a structure. The field names of the structure are the names of the block input ports, and the field values are bioinfo.pipeline.Input objects. These objects describe the input port behaviors. The input port names are the expected field names of the input structure that you pass to the block run method.

The Concatenate block Inputs structure has the following fields:

• Input1 — First input. This input is required and must be satisfied.

• Input2 — Second input. This input is required and must be satisfied.

Data Types: struct

Outputs — Output ports

Read-only: structure

This property is read-only.

Output ports of the block, specified as a structure. The field names of the structure are the names of the block output ports, and the field values are bioinfo.pipeline.Output objects. These objects describe the output port behaviors. The field names of the output structure returned by the block run method are the same as the output port names.

The Concatenate block Outputs structure has a field named Output, which contains the concatenated data.

Data Types: struct

ErrorHandler — Function to handle errors from run method

[] (default) | function handle

Function to handle errors from the run method of the block, specified as a function handle. The handle specifies the function to call if the run method encounters an error within a pipeline. For the pipeline to continue after a block fails, ErrorHandler must return a structure that is compatible with the output ports of the block. The error handling function is called with the following two inputs:

• Structure with these fields:

  Field	Description
  identifier	Identifier of the error that occurred
  message	Text of the error message
  index	Linear index indicating which block process failed in the parallel run. By default, the index is 1 because there is only one run per block. For details on how block inputs can be split across different dimensions for multiple run calls, see Bioinformatics Pipeline SplitDimension.

• Input structure passed to the run method when it fails

Data Types: function_handle

Object Functions

compile	Perform block-specific additional checks and validations
copy	Copy array of handle objects
emptyInputs	Create input structure for use with run method
eval	Evaluate block object
run	Run block object

Examples

Concatenate Filenames

Create a pipeline.

p = bioinfo.pipeline.Pipeline;

Create a Concatenate block.

catBlk = bioinfo.pipeline.block.Concatenate

catBlk = 
  Concatenate with properties:

       Dimension: 1
      InputNames: [2×1 string]
      OutputName: "Output"
          Inputs: [1×1 struct]
         Outputs: [1×1 struct]
    ErrorHandler: []

Create two lists of filenames, where each list is a 1-by-2 array.

list1 = ["random.fastq","arbitrary.fastq"]

list1 = 1×2 string
    "random.fastq"    "arbitrary.fastq"

list2 = ["testdata.fastq","example.fastq"]

list2 = 1×2 string
    "testdata.fastq"    "example.fastq"

Set the value of each input of the block.

catBlk.Inputs.Input1.Value = list1;
catBlk.Inputs.Input2.Value = list2;

Add the block to the pipeline.

addBlock(p,catBlk);

Run the pipeline and get the results.

run(p);
combinedList = results(p,catBlk);

By default, the Concatenate block combines the input data using dimension 1, that is, it combines data vertically.

combinedList.Output

ans = 2×2 string
    "random.fastq"      "arbitrary.fastq"
    "testdata.fastq"    "example.fastq"  

Change the dimension to 2 to combine data horizontally.

catBlk.Dimension = 2;
run(p);
combinedList = results(p,catBlk);
combinedList.Output

ans = 1×4 string
    "random.fastq"    "arbitrary.fastq"    "testdata.fastq"    "example.fastq"

Version History

Introduced in R2026a