Create a function handle to a local function from outside of the function

Hi,

Is there any way to create a handle to a local function from a function outside of the current m-file?

Specifically, this is my example func.m:

function lfhs = func()
    lfhs = localfunctions;
end

function tests()
    func();
end

From this I can extract handle to tests(), if I run

>> func_tests = func()
func_tests =
  1×1 cell array
    {@tests}

but I need to explicitly add call to localfunctions in the function itself, and on top reserve an output for that purpose.

I'd like to be able to create a handle to tests() without adding anything new (i.e., call to localfunctions) to function func(). Is that possible? Obviously str2func('func>tests') or any similar syntax doesn't work.

Alternatively, is there a way to convert the structure returned by functions() back into a working function handle? E.g.,:

>> functions(func_tests{1})
ans = 
  struct with fields:

     function: 'tests'
         type: 'scopedfunction'
         file: 'C:\...\func.m'
    parentage: {'tests'  'func'}

>> ????(ans)
ans =
  function_handle with value:
    @tests

One of the reasons I want to do that would be integartion of unit tests as local functions inside of each individual function, e.g.,:

for fn=["func","etc"]
    ftest = createHandleToTest(fn);
    ftest(); %Run tests
end

Thanks!

Answer 1

[Vinayak Choyyan]

Hi Robert

As per my understanding, you would like to get function handles outside a m file.

I believe it is not possible to directly get local function handles outside a m file. One way to do this would be to have the functions inside a class. Here is an example

test1.m file

classdef test1
    methods (Static)
        function func1(obj)
            a=5; 
            a
        end
    end
end

>> obj=test1;
>> k=@obj.func1;
>> k()
a =
5