Using the diary Function to Export Data :: Data Import and Export (Programming)

Programming

Using the diary Function to Export Data

To export small numeric arrays or cell arrays, you can use the diary function. diary creates a verbatim copy of your MATLAB session in a disk file (excluding graphics).

For example, if you have the array A in your workspace,

```
A = [ 1 2 3 4; 5 6 7 8 ];
```

execute these commands at the MATLAB prompt to export this array using diary:

Turn on the diary function. You can optionally name the output file diary creates.

```
diary my_data.out
```

Display the contents of the array you want to export. This example displays the array A. You could also display a cell array or other MATLAB data type.

A =
    1     2     3     4
    5     6     7     8

Turn off the diary function.

```
diary off
```

diary creates the file my_data.out and records all the commands executed in the MATLAB session until it is turned off.
- ```
A =

     1     2     3     4
     5     6     7     8

diary off
```

Open the diary file my_data.out in a text editor and remove all the extraneous text.

Exporting Delimited ASCII Data Files Exporting to XML Documents