cellstr - Convert to cell array of character vectors - MATLAB (original) (raw)

Convert to cell array of character vectors

Syntax

Description

Convert Arrays

C = cellstr([A](#mw%5F43b42697-0729-44e3-b258-ed8bfcf96a3e)) convertsA to a cell array of character vectors. For instance, ifA is a string, "foo",C is a cell array containing a character vector,{'foo'}.

example

Convert Dates and Times

`C` = cellstr([D](#mw%5Fa9211254-61ed-4956-8f8a-c4ff5b344e58),[datefmt](#mw%5Fcb173ced-594a-40c2-b2be-cf034c400538)), where D is a datetime orduration array, applies the specified format, such as"HH:mm:ss".

example

`C` = cellstr([D](#mw%5Fa9211254-61ed-4956-8f8a-c4ff5b344e58),[datefmt](#mw%5Fcb173ced-594a-40c2-b2be-cf034c400538),[locale](#mw%5F9bfa804d-1ca5-459e-a700-852e48076afb)) specifies the locale, such as "en_US".

example

Examples

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You can create string arrays to contain multiple pieces of text. However, you might need to use functions that accept cell arrays of character vectors as input arguments, and that do not accept string arrays. To pass data from a string array to such functions, use the cellstr function to convert the string array to a cell array of character vectors.

Create a string array. You can create strings using double quotes.

A = ["Past","Present","Future"]

A = 1×3 string "Past" "Present" "Future"

Convert the string array to a 1-by-3 cell array of character vectors.

C = 1×3 cell {'Past'} {'Present'} {'Future'}

Create a character array. Include trailing spaces so that each row has the same length, resulting in a 3-by-4 array.

A = ['abc ';'defg';'hi ']

A = 3×4 char array 'abc ' 'defg' 'hi '

Convert the character array to a 3-by-1 cell array of character vectors.

C = 3×1 cell {'abc' } {'defg'} {'hi' }

Create a calendarDuration array.

D = calmonths(15:17) + caldays(8) + hours(1.2345)

D = 1×3 calendarDuration 1y 3mo 8d 1h 14m 4.2s 1y 4mo 8d 1h 14m 4.2s 1y 5mo 8d 1h 14m 4.2s

Convert the array to a cell array of character vectors.

C = 1×3 cell {'1y 3mo 8d 1h 14m 4.2s'} {'1y 4mo 8d 1h 14m 4.2s'} {'1y 5mo 8d 1h 14m 4.2s'}

Create a datetime.

D = datetime 01-Feb-2025 08:47:31

Convert the datetime to a character vector that is formatted and localized to france.

C = cellstr(D,'eeee, MMMM d, yyyy HH:mm:ss',"fr_FR")

C = 1×1 cell array {'samedi, février 1, 2025 08:47:31'}

Input Arguments

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Input array. The data type of A determines howcellstr converts A to a cell array of character vectors.

Date or duration array, specified as a datetime,duration, or calendarDuration array. The data type of D determines howcellstr converts A to a cell array of character vectors.

Date format and locale, specified as separate character vectors or string scalars. Input A must be of typedatetime, duration, orcalendarDuration.

If you do not specify a format, cellstr uses the value in the Format property of A.

Example: cellstr(A,"yyyy-MM-dd")

Example: cellstr(A,"dd:hh:mm:ss","en_US")

The supported formats depend on the data type ofA.

• datetime formats can include combinations of units and delimiters, such as "yyyy-MMM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSS". For details, see the Format property fordatetime arrays.
• duration formats are either single characters (y, d,h, m, ors) or one of these combinations:
  • "dd:hh:mm:ss"
  • "hh:mm:ss"
  • "mm:ss"
  • "hh:mm"
  • Any of the above, with up to nine S characters to indicate fractional second digits, such as"hh:mm:ss.SSSS"
• calendarDuration formats can include combinations of the characters y,q, m,w, d, and t in order from largest to smallest unit of time, such as"ym". For more information on theduration andcalendarDuration formats, see Set Date and Time Display Format.

Locale, specified as one of these values:

• "system", to specify your system locale.
• A string scalar in the form xx_YY, where_xx_ is a lowercase ISO 639-1 two-letter code that specifies a language, and YY is an uppercase ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code that specifies a country. For sample values, see the Locale name-value argument for the datetime function.

To specify only the locale, use an empty array as a placeholder for the format, [].

Example: cellstr(A, "yyyy-MM-dd","en_US")

Example: cellstr(A, [],"en_US")

The locale affects the language used to represent certain components of dates and times, such as month names. Valid values are:

This table lists some common values for the locale.

Extended Capabilities

Version History

Introduced before R2006a