MAT-File format Introduction This document describes the internal format of matlab version 5 and Version 4 MAT-files. A MAT-file stores data in binary (not human-readable form. In MATLAB, you create MAT-files by using the save command, which writes the arrays currently in memory to a file as a continuous byte stream. By convention this file has the filename extension. mat thus the name mat-file The l oad command reads the arrays from a MAT-file into the MATLAB Most matlab users do not need to know the internal format of a mat-file ven users who must read and write MAT-files from C and Fortran programs do not need to know the MAT-file format if they use the MATLAB Application Program Interface(API). This API shields users from dependence on the details of the mat-file format However, if you need to read or write MAT-files on a system for which the MATLAB API library is not supported, you must write your own read and write outines. The MATLAB API is only available for platforms on which MATLAB is supported. This document provides the details about the MAT-file format you will need to read and write MAT-files on these systems Note Whenever possible, The MathWorks strongly advises you to use the MAT-file APi routines to read and write MAT-files. Any code you write that depends on the MAT-file format will very likely need to be rewritten when the format changes in future releases MAT-File Formats This document describes both the matlab version 5 and Version 4 MAT-file formats. The MATLAB Version 5 MAT-file format supports all the matlaB V5 array types, including multidimensional numeric arrays, character arrays sparse arrays, cell arrays, structures, and objects. Version 5 MAT-File Format"on page-3 describes this format The MATLAB Version 4 MAT-file format is a simpler format but it only supports two-dimensional matrices and character strings. "Version 4 MAT-File Format"on page -32 describes this format.MAT-File Format 2 Introduction This document describes the internal format of MATLAB ® Version 5 and Version 4 MAT-files. A MAT-file stores data in binary (not human-readable) form. In MATLAB, you create MAT-files by using the save command, which writes the arrays currently in memory to a file as a continuous byte stream. By convention, this file has the filename extension .mat; thus the name MAT-file. The load command reads the arrays from a MAT-file into the MATLAB workspace. Most MATLAB users do not need to know the internal format of a MAT-file. Even users who must read and write MAT-files from C and Fortran programs do not need to know the MAT-file format if they use the MATLAB Application Program Interface (API). This API shields users from dependence on the details of the MAT-file format. However, if you need to read or write MAT-files on a system for which the MATLAB API library is not supported, you must write your own read and write routines. The MATLAB API is only available for platforms on which MATLAB is supported. This document provides the details about the MAT-file format you will need to read and write MAT-files on these systems. Note Whenever possible, The MathWorks strongly advises you to use the MAT-file API routines to read and write MAT-files. Any code you write that depends on the MAT-file format will very likely need to be rewritten when the format changes in future releases. MAT-File Formats This document describes both the MATLAB Version 5 and Version 4 MAT-file formats. The MATLAB Version 5 MAT-file format supports all the MATLAB V5 array types, including multidimensional numeric arrays, character arrays, sparse arrays, cell arrays, structures, and objects. “Version 5 MAT-File Format” on page -3 describes this format. The MATLAB Version 4 MAT-file format is a simpler format but it only supports two-dimensional matrices and character strings. “Version 4 MAT-File Format” on page -32 describes this format