optickaCore Class Reference

optickaCore base class inherited by other opticka classes. More...

Detailed Description

optickaCore base class inherited by other opticka classes.

Introduction

optickaCore is derived from handle and provides shared infrastructure for Opticka classes.

Main methods:

• optickaCore(varargin): class constructor; parses name-value inputs, sets defaults, creates dateStamp/uuid, and initialises paths/fonts.
• parseArgs(args, allowedProperties): safely applies allowed construction properties from a struct or name-value pairs.
• findAttributes(attrName, attrValue): queries class properties by metadata attributes (used for UI auto-generation and inspection).
• clone(): creates a deep copy of the object and nested Opticka objects.
• getALF(subject, lab, create): builds or resolves ALF-style save paths and session identifiers.
• makeReport(rpt): generates or appends an HTML report with object state and related manager summaries.

Copyright ©2014-2026 Ian Max Andolina — released: LGPL3, see LICENCE.md

Inheritance diagram for optickaCore:

Public Member Functions
function	optickaCore (in varargin)
	Class constructor.
function get	fullName (in me)
function	getALF (in me, in subject, in lab, in create)
	get the ALF path
function	makeReport (in me, in rpt)
	Generate a detailed report for the opticka object.
function	findAttributes (in me, in attrName, in attrValue)
function	findAttributesandType (in me, in attrName, in attrValue, in type)
	find properties of object with specific attributes, for example all properties whose GetAcccess attribute is public and type is logical.
function	findPropertyDefault (in me, in propName)
	Return the declared default value for a class property.
function	clone (in me)
	Use this syntax to make a deep copy of the object, i.e. OBJ_OUT has the same field values, but will not behave as a handle-copy of me anymore.
function	checkSuperclasses (in List)
function	editProperties (in me, in properties)
	method to modify a set of properties
function	setProp (in me, in property, in value)
	method to fast change a particular value. This is useful for use in anonymous functions, like in the state machine.
function	initialiseSaveFile (in me, in varargin)
	just get date fragment for backwards compatibility
function	checkPaths (in me)
	checks the paths are valid

Static Public Member Functions
static function	initialiseGlobals (in doReset, in doOpen)
static function	makeArgs (in args)
	Converts cell args to structure array.
static function	addDefaults (in args, in defs)
	regularises and adds default options to arg input
static function	hasKey (in in, in key)
	check if a struct / object has a propery / field
static function	getKeys (in device)
	PTB Get key presses, stops key bouncing.

Public Attributes
Property	name
	object name
Property	comment
	comment
Property	verbose
	verbose logging, subclasses must assign this. This is normally logical true/false
Property	optickaVersion
	version number
Property	dateStamp
	clock() dateStamp set on construction
Property	uuid
	universal ID
Property	paths
	storage of various paths
Property	fullName
	The fullName is the object name combined with its uuid and class name.

Protected Member Functions
function	parseArgs (in me, in args, in allowedProperties)
	Sets properties from a structure or normal arguments pairs, ignores invalid or non-allowed properties.
function	addArgs (in me, in args)
function	setPaths (in me)
	Sets properties from a structure or normal arguments pairs, ignores invalid or non-allowed properties.
function	getFonts (in me)
	set paths for object
function	toStructure (in me)
	Converts properties to a structure.
function	getType (in me, in in)
function	logOutput (in me, in in, in message, in override)
	Give a metaproperty return the likely property class.
function	salutation (in me, in varargin)
	Prints messages dependent on verbosity.

Protected Attributes
Property	cloning
	are we cloning this from another object
Property	mversion
	Matlab version number, this is transient so it is not saved.
Property	sansFont
	sans font
Property	monoFont
	monoFont
Property	className
	class name
Property	savePrefix
	save prefix generated from clock time
Property	fullName_
	cached full name

Constructor & Destructor Documentation

optickaCore()

optickaCore::optickaCore

(

in

varargin

)

Class constructor.

The class constructor for optickaCore.

Parameters

args	are passed as name-value pairs or a structure of properties which is parsed.

Returns

instance of class.

Member Function Documentation

addArgs()

function optickaCore::addArgs ( in  me, in  args  )

protected

addDefaults()

optickaCore::addDefaults ( in  args, in  defs  )

static

regularises and adds default options to arg input

Parameters

args	input structure from varargin
defs	extra default settings

Returns

args structure

checkPaths()

optickaCore::checkPaths

(

in

me

)

checks the paths are valid

checkSuperclasses()

function optickaCore::checkSuperclasses

(

in

List

)

clone()

obj_out optickaCore::clone

(

in

me

)

Use this syntax to make a deep copy of the object, i.e. OBJ_OUT has the same field values, but will not behave as a handle-copy of me anymore.

Returns

obj_out cloned object

editProperties()

optickaCore::editProperties	(	in	me,
		in	properties
	)

method to modify a set of properties

Parameters

properties

- cell or struct of properties to modify

findAttributes()

function optickaCore::findAttributes	(	in	me,
		in	attrName,
		in	attrValue
	)

findAttributesandType()

list optickaCore::findAttributesandType	(	in	me,
		in	attrName,
		in	attrValue,
		in	type
	)

find properties of object with specific attributes, for example all properties whose GetAcccess attribute is public and type is logical.

Parameters

attrName	attribute name, i.e. GetAccess, Transient
attrValue	value of that attribute, i.e. public, true
type	logical, notlogical, string or number

Returns

list of properties that match that attribute

findPropertyDefault()

value optickaCore::findPropertyDefault	(	in	me,
		in	propName
	)

Return the declared default value for a class property.

Accepts either an object instance or a class name in me, then inspects MATLAB metaclass information to locate propName.

Parameters

me	object instance or class name to inspect.
propName	property name whose default value is requested.

Returns

value default value declared for the property, or empty if the property is not found.

fullName()

function get optickaCore::fullName

(

in

me

)

getALF()

optickaCore::getALF	(	in	me,
		in	subject,
		in	lab,
		in	create
	)

get the ALF path

Returns

path - the path to use

sessionID - session number

dateID - YYYY-MM-DD-HH-MM-SS,

name - [date]-[id]-[subject]

key - [lab]/subjects/[subject]/[date]/[sessionID]/

getFonts()

optickaCore::getFonts ( in  me )

protected

set paths for object

Checks OS and assigns a sans and mono font.

Parameters

getKeys()

optickaCore::getKeys ( in  device )

static

PTB Get key presses, stops key bouncing.

getType()

function optickaCore::getType ( in  me, in  in  )

protected

hasKey()

optickaCore::hasKey ( in  in, in  key  )

static

check if a struct / object has a propery / field

Parameters

value

name

initialiseGlobals()

static function optickaCore::initialiseGlobals ( in  doReset, in  doOpen  )

static

initialiseSaveFile()

optickaCore::initialiseSaveFile	(	in	me,
		in	varargin
	)

just get date fragment for backwards compatibility

logOutput()

function optickaCore::logOutput ( in  me, in  in, in  message, in  override  )

protected

Give a metaproperty return the likely property class.

Parameters

me	this instance object
in	metaproperty

Returns

out class name

makeArgs()

optickaCore::makeArgs ( in  args )

static

Converts cell args to structure array.

Parameters

args	input data

Returns

args as a structure

makeReport()

rpt optickaCore::makeReport	(	in	me,
		in	rpt
	)

Generate a detailed report for the opticka object.

Creates an HTML report using MATLAB's Report Generator toolbox. The report includes detailed information about the object and its components.

Parameters

me	this instance object
rpt	optional existing Report object to append to (creates new if empty)

Returns

rpt generated Report object

Handles different object types including:

• opticka core objects
• runExperiment objects
• timeLogger objects
• taskSequence objects
• stateMachine objects
• behaviouralRecord objects
• eye tracker analysis objects

Requires MATLAB Report Generator toolbox.

parseArgs()

optickaCore::parseArgs ( in  me, in  args, in  allowedProperties  )

protected

Sets properties from a structure or normal arguments pairs, ignores invalid or non-allowed properties.

Parameters

args	input structure
allowedProperties	properties possible to set on construction

salutation()

function optickaCore::salutation ( in  me, in  varargin  )

protected

Prints messages dependent on verbosity.

Prints messages dependent on verbosity

Parameters

me	this instance object
in	the calling function or main info
message	additional message that needs printing to command window
override	force logging if true even if verbose is false

setPaths()

function optickaCore::setPaths ( in  me )

protected

Sets properties from a structure or normal arguments pairs, ignores invalid or non-allowed properties.

Parameters

args	input structure

setProp()

optickaCore::setProp	(	in	me,
		in	property,
		in	value
	)

method to fast change a particular value. This is useful for use in anonymous functions, like in the state machine.

Parameters

property	— the property to change
value	— the value to change it to

toStructure()

out optickaCore::toStructure ( in  me )

protected

Converts properties to a structure.

Parameters

me	this instance object
tmp	is whether to use the temporary or permanent properties

Returns

out the structure

Member Data Documentation

className

Property optickaCore::className

protected

class name

cloning

Property optickaCore::cloning

protected

are we cloning this from another object

comment

Property optickaCore::comment

comment

dateStamp

Property optickaCore::dateStamp

clock() dateStamp set on construction

fullName

get optickaCore::fullName

The fullName is the object name combined with its uuid and class name.

concatenate the name with a uuid at get.

Parameters

return name the concatenated name

fullName_

Property optickaCore::fullName_

protected

cached full name

monoFont

Property optickaCore::monoFont

protected

monoFont

mversion

Property optickaCore::mversion

protected

Matlab version number, this is transient so it is not saved.

name

Property optickaCore::name

object name

optickaVersion

Property optickaCore::optickaVersion

version number

paths

Property optickaCore::paths

storage of various paths

sansFont

Property optickaCore::sansFont

protected

sans font

savePrefix

Property optickaCore::savePrefix

protected

save prefix generated from clock time

uuid

Property optickaCore::uuid

universal ID

verbose

Property optickaCore::verbose

verbose logging, subclasses must assign this. This is normally logical true/false

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The documentation for this class was generated from the following file:

• core/optickaCore.m