Creating variable from string

Hello, looks like this question has been asked many times but I didn't find any answer. So I'm creating a function which read a text file and runs commands accordingly to what available in the text file. However, there are times when certain variables from the text file are not available within the function but are available in the base workspace (Like different config files for one instrument, and I don't want to reconnect every time). I'm trying to figure out something like this:

function MyFunction('a',b)
if(~exist('a','var')
<Make a variable named 'a' with value of 'b'>
end

Answer 1

[Star Strider]

Experiment with the assignin (link) function.

This is generally not recommended. However it is the only way I am aware of to do what you want.

[Minh Nguyen]

Thanks for the reply, I can see why it's not recommended, but for my case where I need is to either create an instrument object or use the one that's already available, this is pretty helpful to me. Anyways appreciate the help!

[Star Strider]

As always, my pleasure!