Programming |
Input/Output
This section covers the following topics:
For more information and examples on importing and exporting data, see Technical Note 1602:
http://www.mathworks.com/support/tech-notes/1600/1602.html
File I/O Function Overview
For a good overview of MATLAB file I/O functions, use the online "Functions -- Categorical List" reference. In the Help browser Contents, select MATLAB -> Functions -- Categorical List, and then click File I/O.
Common I/O Functions
The most commonly used, high-level, file I/O functions in MATLAB are save
and load
. For help on these, type doc
save
or doc
load
.
Functions for I/O to text files with delimited values are textread
, dlmread
, dlmwrite
. Functions for I/O to text files with comma-separated values are csvread
, csvwrite
.
For more information: See Text Files in the MATLAB "Functions -- Categorical List" reference documentation.
Readable File Formats
Type doc
fileformats
to see a list of file formats that MATLAB can read, along with the associated MATLAB functions.
Using the Import Wizard
A quick method of importing text or binary data from a file (e.g., Excel files) is to use the MATLAB Import Wizard. Open the Import Wizard with the command, uiimport
filename
or by selecting File -> Import Data at the Command Window.
Specify or browse for the file containing the data you want to import and you will see a preview of what the file contains. Select the data you want and click Finish.
For more information: See Using the Import Wizard with Text Data and Using the Import Wizard with Binary Data.
Loading Mixed Format Data
To load data that is in mixed formats, use textread
instead of load
. The textread
function lets you specify the format of each piece of data.
If the first line of file mydata.dat
is
Read the first line of the file as a free format file using the % format:
Reading Files with Different Formats
Attempting to read data from a file that was generated on a different platform may result in an error because the binary formats of the platforms may differ. Using the fopen
function, you can specify a machine format when you open the file to avoid these errors.
Reading ASCII Data into a Cell Array
A common technique used to read an ASCII data file into a cell array is
For more information: See the textread
and cellstr
function reference pages.
Interactive Input into Your Program
Your program can accept interactive input from users during execution. Use the input
function to prompt the user for input, and then read in a response. When executed, input
causes the program to display your prompt, pause while a response is entered, and then resume when the Enter key is pressed.
Files and Filenames | Starting MATLAB |
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