How to know the size of a variable in MATLAB

I have variables in MATLAB, I've checked their class using class() but I a开发者_StackOverflow社区lso want to know the size that they take in the memory. More accurately, I know that they are of double type, and I want to make sure that they are 32-bit double and not 64-bit.

The version of the MATLAB I'm using is R2009b.

I wrote a simple convenience function to handle just this problem. Usage is:

>> x = ones(1000);
>> ByteSize(x)
7.63 Mb

I run R2007a, so the problem of Java objects not returning sizes may have been fixed in subsequent releases. Here's the code:

function ByteSize(in, fid)
% BYTESIZE writes the memory usage of the provide variable to the given file
% identifier. Output is written to screen if fid is 1, empty or not provided.

if nargin == 1 || isempty(fid)
    fid = 1;
end

s = whos('in');
fprintf(fid,[Bytes2str(s.bytes) '\n']);
end

function str = Bytes2str(NumBytes)
% BYTES2STR Private function to take integer bytes and convert it to
% scale-appropriate size.

scale = floor(log(NumBytes)/log(1024));
switch scale
    case 0
        str = [sprintf('%.0f',NumBytes) ' b'];
    case 1
        str = [sprintf('%.2f',NumBytes/(1024)) ' kb'];
    case 2
        str = [sprintf('%.2f',NumBytes/(1024^2)) ' Mb'];
    case 3
        str = [sprintf('%.2f',NumBytes/(1024^3)) ' Gb'];
    case 4
        str = [sprintf('%.2f',NumBytes/(1024^4)) ' Tb'];
    case -inf
        % Size occasionally returned as zero (eg some Java objects).
        str = 'Not Available';
    otherwise
       str = 'Over a petabyte!!!';
end
end

You can use whos to obtain an array of structures that describe, amongst other things, the size in bytes of each variable.

Note that a double is, by definition, 64-bit!

dt=whos('VARIABLE_YOU_CARE_ABOUT'); MB=dt.bytes*9.53674e-7;  

This will give you the size in megabytes, for example MB=123.78

I tried to enhance ' MatlabSorter's ' simple function to handle this problem. Usage is still the same:

>> x = ones(1000);
>> getByteSize(x)
7.63 mb

additions :

1.you can state which type of return you seek for - b, kb, mb, tb or pb

2.you can get the result as a variable without printing it on the screen

Here's the code:

function b = getByteSize(theVariable, returnType, fid)
% getByteSize returns the mem.usage of the provided variable(theVariable) to the given file
% identifier. 
% returnType is assigned meaningfully according to the byte size if not stated
% Output is written to screen if fid is 1, empty or not provided.
s = whos('theVariable');
b = s.bytes;
if nargin == 1 || isempty(returnType)
    scale = floor(log(b)/log(1024));
    switch scale
        case 0
            returnType = 'byte';
        case 1
            returnType = 'kb';
        case 2
            returnType = 'mb';
        case 3
            returnType = 'gb';
        case 4
            returnType = 'tb';
        case -inf
            % Size occasionally returned as zero (eg some Java objects).
            returnType = 'byte';
            warning('Size occasionally returned as zero (eg some Java objects). Bytes assumed');
        otherwise
            returnType = 'petabytes';
            warning('Over 1024 petabyte. petabytes assumed');
    end
end
switch returnType
    case {'b','byte','bytes'}
        b = s.bytes;
    case {'kb','kbs','kilobyte','kilobytes'}
        b = b / 1024;
    case {'mb','mbs','megabyte','megabytes'}
        b = b / 1024^2;
    case {'gb','gbs','gigabyte','gigabytes'}
        b = b / 1024^3;
    case {'tb','tbs','terabyte','terabytes'}
        b = b / 1024^4;
    case {'pb','pbs','petabyte','petabytes'}
        b = b / 1024^5;
    otherwise
        returnType = 'bytes';
end
if nargin <= 2 || isempty(fid) || fid == 1
    fprintf(1,[num2str(b) ' ' returnType '\n']);
elseif nargin > 2 && ~isempty(fid) && fid > 2
    try
        fprintf(fid,[num2str(b) ' ' returnType '\n']);
    catch
        warning(['fid(' num2str(fid) ') could not be edited. Hence the output will be written on the screen.']);
        fprintf(1,[num2str(b) ' ' returnType '\n']);
    end
end
end

Another way is to set the option in the workspace.

1. find the workspace
2. put the mouse on the title bar
3. click the right mouse
4. tick the byte option

Please see the screenshot in the following picture.

sceenshot

Yet another one liner using whos function

x=1;
Nbytes=getfield(whos('x'),'bytes')