Guide handing objects to functions

Using Guide I have two radiobuttons. When pushing one the other has to be unchecked. So far this is my solution:

function distButton_Callback(hObject, eventdata, handles)
checkThis = get(handles.distButton, 'Value');
checkThat = get(handles.fftButton, 'Value');
if checkThis == checkThat
  set(handles.fftButton, 'Value', ~checkThis);
end

Since there are four button pairs a function would save a couple of lines.

Calling the function:

checkThis('distButton', 'fftButton', handles);

However combining handles. with a string does not seem to convert this to 'distButton'

> Reference to non-existent field 'this'.

function checkThis(this, that, handles)
checkThis = get(handles.this, 'Value');
checkThat = get(handles.that, 'Value');
if checkThis == checkThat
  set(handles.that, 'Value', ~checkThis);
end

It's probably a simple matter of syntax..

[Adam]

Why are you not just placing the radio buttons inside a uibuttongroup which does the mutual exclusivity for you?

[Robert Worm]

Since this is my first time working with guide, I was simply not aware of that. Thanks for the advice.

Answer 1

[ES]

function checkThis(this, that, handles)
checkThis = get(eval(['handles.', this]), 'Value');
checkThat = get(eval(['handles.', that]), 'Value');
if checkThis == checkThat
  set(eval(['handles.', that]), 'Value', ~checkThis);
end

[Adam]

checkThis = get(handles.( this ), 'Value');
checkThat = get(handles.( that ), 'Value');

would be a lot better. Don't use eval when you don't have to (i.e. never use it!)

[Stephen23]

Do NOT follow this answer! There is absolutely no point in using ugly eval like that, unless you want to force yourself into writing slow, complex, buggy, hard-to-debug code.

It is so easy to write simpler and much more efficient code:

function checkThis(this, that, handles)
checkThis = get(handles.(this),'Value');
checkThat = get(handles.(that),'Value');
if checkThis==checkThat
    set(handles.(that),'Value',~checkThis);
end

https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_prog/generate-field-names-from-variables.html

And, as Adam already wrote, a uibuttongroup would be even simpler.

[Robert Worm]

Much appreciated. I will take this into account.