Converting from Numeric to String :: Data Types (Programming)

Programming

Converting from Numeric to String

The functions listed in this table provide a number of ways to convert numeric data to character strings.

Function
Description
Example

char
Convert a positive integer to an equivalent character. (Truncates any fractional parts.)
[72 105] 'Hi'

int2str
Convert a positive or negative integer to a character type. (Rounds any fractional parts.)
[72 105] '72 105'

num2str
Convert a numeric type to a character type of the specified precision and format.
[72 105] '72/105/'(format set to %1d/)

mat2str
Convert a numeric type to a character type of the specified precision, returning a string MATLAB can evaluate.
[72 105] '[72 105]'

dec2hex
Convert a positive integer to a character type of hexadecimal base.
[72 105] '48 69'

dec2bin
Convert a positive integer to a character type of binary base.
[72 105] '1001000 1101001'

dec2base
Convert a positive integer to a character type of any base from 2 through 36.
[72 105] '110 151'(base set to 8)

Function	Description	Example
`char`	Convert a positive integer to an equivalent character. (Truncates any fractional parts.)	`[72 105]` `'Hi'`
`int2str`	Convert a positive or negative integer to a character type. (Rounds any fractional parts.)	`[72 105]` `'72 105'`
`num2str`	Convert a numeric type to a character type of the specified precision and format.	`[72 105]` `'72/105/'`(format set to `%1d/`)
`mat2str`	Convert a numeric type to a character type of the specified precision, returning a string MATLAB can evaluate.	`[72 105]` `'[72 105]'`
`dec2hex`	Convert a positive integer to a character type of hexadecimal base.	`[72 105]` `'48 69'`
`dec2bin`	Convert a positive integer to a character type of binary base.	`[72 105]` `'1001000` `1101001'`
`dec2base`	Convert a positive integer to a character type of any base from 2 through 36.	`[72 105]` `'110 151'`(base set to `8`)

Converting to a Character Equivalent

The char function converts integers to Unicode character codes and returns a string composed of the equivalent characters:

x = [77 65 84 76 65 66];
char(x)
ans =
   MATLAB

Converting to a String of Numbers

The int2str, num2str, and mat2str functions convert numeric values to strings where each character represents a separate digit of the input value. The int2str and num2str functions are often useful for labeling plots. For example, the following lines use num2str to prepare automated labels for the x-axis of a plot:

function plotlabel(x, y)
plot(x, y)
str1 = num2str(min(x));
str2 = num2str(max(x));
out = ['Value of f from ' str1 ' to ' str2];
xlabel(out);

Converting to a Specific Radix

Another class of conversion functions changes numeric values into strings representing a decimal value in another base, such as binary or hexadecimal representation. This includes dec2hex, dec2bin, and dec2base.

Searching and Replacing Converting from String to Numeric