How to use exist for a cell?

Hello,

I have a cell with string elements and I am trying to check if they exist as variables:

A={'B0','B01','B04'}
for i=1:3
if exist(A(i,1),'var')==1
...

This does not work so what do I do? Thx!

Answer 1

[Walter Roberson]

if exist(A{i,1},'var')

Notice the {} instead of ()

[osminbas]

You rock, Walter!

[Shamir Alavi]

It doesn't work for me! Here's the code:

>> h = {1,2;3,4};

>> exist('h','var')

ans =

     1

>> exist('h{1}','var')

ans =

     0

>> exist('h{1,1}','var')

ans =

     0

Am I making any mistake? If not, is there any other way to check existence of different elements in a cell array?

Thanks

[Matt J]

You have several errors. First, notice that Walter doesn't enclose the first argument to exist() in quotes. Secondly, your h{i,j} data are not relevant examples because they are not strings.

Answer 2

[RNTL]

ismember(A,who)

[osminbas]

Actually, I am really trying to use exist and check the elements one by one in a loop so ismember(A,who) would not work for me.

[Jan]

@osminbas: Please take the time to think twice. This method would help to avoid the loop or at least compare all elements of the cell string h in a very compact form.