MATLAB Functions

Compare strings

k = strcmp('str1','str2')
TF = strcmp(S,T)

Description

k = strcmp('str1','str2')

compares the strings str1 and str2 and returns logical true (1) if the two are identical, and logical false (0) otherwise.

TF = strcmp(S,T)

where either S or T is a cell array of strings, returns an array TF the same size as S and T containing 1 for those elements of S and T that match, and 0 otherwise. S and T must be the same size (or one can be a scalar cell). Either one can also be a character array with the right number of rows.

Remarks

Note that the value returned by strcmp is not the same as the C language convention. In addition, the strcmp function is case sensitive; any leading and trailing blanks in either of the strings are explicitly included in the comparison.

Examples

strcmp('Yes','No') =
   0
strcmp('Yes','Yes') =
   1
A = 
     'MATLAB'              'SIMULINK'     
    'Toolboxes'           'The MathWorks'
B = 
    'Handle Graphics'    'Real Time Workshop'
    'Toolboxes'          'The MathWorks'     
C = 
    'Signal Processing'    'Image Processing'
    'MATLAB'               'SIMULINK'        
strcmp(A,B)
ans =
     0     0
     1     1
strcmp(A,C)
ans =
     0     0
     0     0