hex2dec 5x slower than sscanf

Using hex2dec(str) and reading 4000 5-character hex values from a file takes about 1 sec. Using sscanf(str,'%x') takes about 200 ms. Seems like hex2dec could be improved!

[Thorsten]

True. So what is your question?

[Frank]

As a question: why does Mathworks provide a function that is 5x slower than an equivalent function?

As an enhancement request: It would be beneficial if Mathworks rewrote hex2dec, either in C, or as a wrapper for sscanf, instead of the existing kluge.

At the least, the documentation should state that hex2dec is very slow. I'm reading thousands of hex values, this makes the difference between a 1 minute wait and a 5 minute wait.