cell2mat

Convert cell array to ordinary array of the underlying data type

Syntax

A = cell2mat(C)

Description

A = cell2mat(C) converts a cell array into an ordinary array. The elements of the cell array must all contain the same data type, and the resulting array is of that data type.

The contents of C must support concatenation into an N-dimensional rectangle. Otherwise, the results are undefined. For example, the contents of cells in the same column must have the same number of columns, although they need not have the same number of rows (see figure).

Examples

Convert Cell Array to Numeric Array

Convert numeric arrays in four cells of a cell array into one numeric array.

C = {[1],    [2 3 4];
     [5; 9], [6 7 8; 10 11 12]}

C=2×2 cell array
    {[       1]}    {[   2 3 4]}
    {2x1 double}    {2x3 double}

A = cell2mat(C)

A = 3×4

     1     2     3     4
     5     6     7     8
     9    10    11    12

Convert Cell Array of Structures to Array

Convert structures in a cell array into one structure array. The structures must have the same fields.

s1.a = [1 2 3 4];
s1.b = 'Good';
s2.a = [5 6; 7 8];
s2.b = 'Morning';
c = {s1,s2};
d = cell2mat(c)

d=1×2 struct array with fields:
    a
    b

Display the first field of structure d(1).

d(1).a

ans = 1×4

     1     2     3     4

Display the second field of d(2).

d(2).b

ans = 
'Morning'

Input Arguments

C — Input cell array

cell array

Input cell array, in which all cells contain the same data type. cell2mat accepts numeric, logical, or character data within cells of C, or structures with the same field names and data types. cell2mat does not accept objects or nested cells within C.

Extended Capabilities

Tall Arrays

Calculate with arrays that have more rows than fit in memory.

The cell2mat function fully supports tall arrays. For more information, see Tall Arrays.

C/C++ Code Generation

Generate C and C++ code using MATLAB® Coder™.

Usage notes and limitations:

• Code generation is not supported for cell2mat for unbounded or variable-size cell arrays containing sparse arrays.

• Arrays or structures present in unbounded or variable-size cell array input with a dimension greater than 2 are not supported for code generation with the cell2mat function.

• For a run-time empty-cell input, cell2mat returns an empty cell of the same data type. For a compile-time empty-cell input, cell2mat returns an empty cell of type double.

Thread-Based Environment

Run code in the background using MATLAB® backgroundPool or accelerate code with Parallel Computing Toolbox™ ThreadPool.

This function fully supports thread-based environments. For more information, see Run MATLAB Functions in Thread-Based Environment.

Distributed Arrays

Partition large arrays across the combined memory of your cluster using Parallel Computing Toolbox™.

This function fully supports distributed arrays. For more information, see Run MATLAB Functions with Distributed Arrays (Parallel Computing Toolbox).

Version History

Introduced before R2006a