Convert character vectors that represent numbers to double precision values. You can also convert a cell array of character vectors to a numeric array of the same size.

Convert a character vector to a real number.

X = str2double('3.1416')

X = 3.1416

Convert a character vector when it represents a number using exponential notation.

X = str2double('2.998e8')

X = 299800000

Convert a character vector that uses a comma as the thousands separator.

X = str2double('1,200.34')

X = 1.2003e+03

Convert a character vector to a complex number.

X = str2double('3.14 + 2.7i')

X = 3.1400 + 2.7000i

Convert a cell array of character vectors to a numeric array.

str = {'2.718','3.1416';'137','0.015'}; X = str2double(str)

X =2×22.7180 3.1416 137.0000 0.0150

Starting in R2016b, you can create string arrays using thestringfunction. You can convert strings to numbers using thestr2doublefunction.

Create a string that represents a number. Convert it to a numeric scalar.

str = string('81470.5')

str = "81470.5"

X = str2double(str)

X = 8.1471e+04

Create a string array representing numbers. Convert it to a numeric array that is the same size.

str = string({“91.57”,'95.95','3.57';'79.22','65.57','84.91'})

str =2x3 string array"91.57" "95.95" "3.57" "79.22" "65.57" "84.91"

X = str2double(str)

X =2×391.5700 95.9500 3.5700 79.2200 65.5700 84.9100