Convert an array of strings to a vector of numbers

Question

I have this: ``` d = {'2.5', '3.5'}; d = '2.5' '3.5' ``` How do I convert it to a vector of numbers? ``` d = 2.5 3.5 ```

Accepted Answer

Given that you have a cell array of string values, you can use `cellfun` to apply `str2num` conversion on each entry. The output will be a vector/matrix of the converted values.

```
d = {'2.3','3.5'}
dVec = cellfun(@str2num, d);
```

However, you are better using `str2double` than `str2num.` From the documentation:

Note: str2num uses the eval function to convert the input argument. Side effects can occur if the string contains calls to functions. Using str2double can avoid some of these side effects.

```
dVec = cellfun(@str2double, d);
```

Update: As @yuk points out, you can call `str2double()` directly on the cell array for the same output.

```
dVec = str2double(d);
```

Note that the same call with `str2num()` will give the "must be a string or string array" error.

Convert an array of strings to a vector of numbers

Solution

Problem