cell2sym

Convert cell array to symbolic array

Syntax

S = cell2sym(C)

S = cell2sym(C,flag)

Description

S = cell2sym(C) converts a cell array C to a symbolic array S. The elements of C must be convertible to symbolic objects.

If each element of the input cell array C is a scalar, then size(S) = size(C), and S(k) = sym(C(k)) for all indices k. If the cell array C contains nonscalar elements, then 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. However, they do not need to have the same number of rows. See figure.

S = cell2sym(C,flag) uses the technique specified by flag for converting floating-point numbers to symbolic numbers.

Examples

Convert Cell Array of Scalars

Convert a cell array of only scalar elements to a symbolic array.

Create a cell array of scalar elements.

C = {'x','y','z'; 1 2 3}

C=2×3 cell array
    {'x'}    {'y'}    {'z'}
    {[1]}    {[2]}    {[3]}

Convert this cell array to a symbolic array.

S = cell2sym(C)

S = 
$$\left(\begin{array}{ccc}x& y& z\\ 1& 2& 3\end{array}\right)$$

cell2sym does not create symbolic variables x, y, and z in the MATLAB® workspace. To access an element of S, use parentheses.

S(1,1)

ans = $$x$$

Convert Cell Array Containing Nonscalar Elements

Convert a cell array whose elements are scalars, vectors, and matrices into a symbolic array. Such conversion is possible only if the contents of the cell array can be concatenated into an N-dimensional rectangle.

Create a cell array, the elements of which are a scalar, a row vector, a column vector, and a matrix.

C = {'x' [2 3 4]; ['y'; sym(9)] [6 7 8; 10 11 12]}

C=2×2 cell array
    {'x'    }    {[   2 3 4]}
    {2×1 sym}    {2×3 double}

Convert this cell array to a symbolic array.

S = cell2sym(C)

S = 
$$\left(\begin{array}{cccc}x& 2& 3& 4\\ y& 6& 7& 8\\ 9& 10& 11& 12\end{array}\right)$$

Choose Conversion Technique for Floating-Point Values

When converting a cell array containing floating-point numbers, you can explicitly specify the conversion technique.

Create a cell array pi with two elements: the double-precision value of the constant pi and the exact value pi.

C = {pi,sym(pi)}

C=1×2 cell array
    {[3.1416]}    {[pi]}

Convert this cell array to a symbolic array. By default, cell2sym uses the rational conversion mode. Thus, results returned by cell2sym without a flag are the same as results returned by cell2sym with the flag 'r'.

S = cell2sym(C)

S = $$\left(\begin{array}{cc}\pi & \pi \end{array}\right)$$

S = cell2sym(C,'r')

S = $$\left(\begin{array}{cc}\pi & \pi \end{array}\right)$$

Convert the same cell array to a symbolic array using the flags 'd', 'e', and 'f'. See the Input Arguments section for the details about conversion techniques.

S = cell2sym(C,'d')

S = $$\left(\begin{array}{cc}3.1415926535897931159979634685442& \pi \end{array}\right)$$

S = cell2sym(C,'e')

S = 
$$\left(\begin{array}{cc}\pi -\frac{198\hspace{0.17em}\mathrm{eps}}{359}& \pi \end{array}\right)$$

S = cell2sym(C,'f')

S = 
$$\left(\begin{array}{cc}\frac{884279719003555}{281474976710656}& \pi \end{array}\right)$$

Input Arguments

C — Input cell array

cell array

Input cell array, specified as a cell array. The elements of C must be convertible to symbolic objects.

flag — Conversion technique

'r' (default) | 'd' | 'e' | 'f'

Conversion technique, specified as one of the characters listed in this table.

'r'	In the rational mode, cell2sym converts floating-point numbers obtained by evaluating expressions of the form p/q, p*pi/q, sqrt(p), 2^q, and 10^q for modest sized integers p and q to the corresponding symbolic form. This approach effectively compensates for the round-off error involved in the original evaluation, but might not represent the floating-point value precisely. If cell2sym cannot find simple rational approximation, then it uses the same technique as it would use with the flag 'f'.
'd'	In the decimal mode, cell2sym takes the number of digits from the current setting of digits. Conversions with fewer than 16 digits lose some accuracy, while more than 16 digits might not be warranted. For example, cell2sym({4/3},'d') with the 10-digit accuracy returns 1.333333333, while with the 20-digit accuracy it returns 1.3333333333333332593. The latter does not end in 3s, but it is an accurate decimal representation of the floating-point number nearest to 4/3.
'e'	In the estimate error mode, cell2sym supplements a result obtained in the rational mode by a term involving the variable eps. This term estimates the difference between the theoretical rational expression and its actual floating-point value. For example, cell2sym({3*pi/4},'e') returns (3*pi)/4 - (103*eps)/249.
'f'	In the floating-point mode, cell2sym represents all values in the form N*2^e or -N*2^e, where N >= 0 and e are integers. For example, cell2sym({1/10},'f') returns 3602879701896397/36028797018963968. The returned rational value is the exact value of the floating-point number that you convert to a symbolic number.

Output Arguments

S — Resulting symbolic array

symbolic array

Resulting symbolic array, returned as a symbolic array.

Version History

Introduced in R2016a