Problem 649. Return the first and last characters of a character array

Created by @bmtran (Bryant Tran)

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<div style = "text-align: start; line-height: 20.4333px; min-height: 0px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Menlo, Monaco, Consolas, monospace; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: rgb(0, 0, 0); white-space: normal; "><div style="block-size: 123.433px; display: block; min-width: 0px; padding-block-start: 0px; padding-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 407px 61.7167px; transform-origin: 407px 61.7167px; vertical-align: baseline; "><div style="block-size: 63px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 31.5px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 31.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 364px 8px; transform-origin: 364px 8px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">Return the first and last characters of a character array, concatenated together. If there is only one character in the character array, the function should give that character back twice since it is both the first and last character of the character array.</span></span></div><div style="block-size: 21px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 10.5px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 10.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 28.5px 8px; transform-origin: 28.5px 8px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">Example:</span></span></div><div style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); block-size: 20.4333px; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-end-end-radius: 4px; border-end-start-radius: 4px; border-start-end-radius: 4px; border-start-start-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; margin-block-end: 10px; margin-block-start: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-inline-end: 3px; margin-inline-start: 3px; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; margin-top: 10px; perspective-origin: 404px 10.2167px; transform-origin: 404px 10.2167px; margin-left: 3px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 3px; "><div style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-end-end-radius: 0px; border-end-start-radius: 0px; border-inline-end-color: rgb(233, 233, 233); border-inline-end-style: solid; border-inline-end-width: 1px; border-inline-start-color: rgb(233, 233, 233); border-inline-start-style: solid; border-inline-start-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(233, 233, 233); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(233, 233, 233); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-start-end-radius: 0px; border-start-start-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-block-size: 18px; min-height: 18px; padding-inline-start: 4px; padding-left: 4px; white-space: nowrap; "><span style="block-size: auto; border-inline-end-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-inline-end-style: none; border-inline-end-width: 0px; border-inline-start-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-inline-start-style: none; border-inline-start-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; margin-inline-end: 45px; margin-right: 45px; min-block-size: 0px; min-height: 0px; padding-inline-start: 0px; padding-left: 0px; perspective-origin: 184px 8.5px; transform-origin: 184px 8.5px; unicode-bidi: normal; white-space: pre; margin-right: 45px; "><span style="margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-right: 0px; perspective-origin: 88px 8.5px; transform-origin: 88px 8.5px; ">   stringfirstandlast(</span><span style="border-block-end-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); border-block-start-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); border-inline-end-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); border-inline-start-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); border-left-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); border-right-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); border-top-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); caret-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); color: rgb(170, 4, 249); column-rule-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-right: 0px; outline-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); perspective-origin: 64px 8.5px; text-decoration: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); text-emphasis-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); transform-origin: 64px 8.5px; ">'boring example'</span><span style="margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-right: 0px; perspective-origin: 16px 8.5px; transform-origin: 16px 8.5px; ">) = </span><span style="border-block-end-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); border-block-start-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); border-inline-end-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); border-inline-start-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); border-left-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); border-right-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); border-top-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); caret-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); color: rgb(170, 4, 249); column-rule-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-right: 0px; outline-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); perspective-origin: 16px 8.5px; text-decoration: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); text-emphasis-color: rgb(170, 4, 249); transform-origin: 16px 8.5px; ">'be'</span></span></div></div></div></div>

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Solution Stats

7746 Solutions
4006 Solvers

Last Solution submitted on Apr 22, 2021

Last 200 Solutions

Problem Comments

2 Comments

2 Comments

Rik on 19 Jan 2021

There is a difference between string and char array since R2016b. Before that they could be used interchangeably, but now that is no longer true (although I believe some doc pages are still not careful about this).

goc3 on 20 Jan 2021

The title and description have been updated, along with a few new test cases.

Solution Comments

Solution 4570248

2 Comments

2 Comments

Enrico Michielan on 10 Jan 2021

Why this solution isn't correct? I tried this code on Matlab for pc and it's run correctly, but here on Matlab Cody's platform, it doesn't run. Someone can help me? Thanks

goc3 on 11 Jan 2021

Look at the errors—your function never defines the output variable y.

Solution 4143445

1 Comment

1 Comment

Cory Cunningham on 11 Dec 2020

Thank you for the help

Solution 2586385

1 Comment

1 Comment

Piero Cimule on 19 Jun 2020

y = [x(1),x(end)];

Solution 2132280

1 Comment

1 Comment

Sankari Narne on 18 Feb 2020

#strcat(x(1),x(length(x)));
very easy like it!

Solution 2026148

2 Comments

2 Comments

Raymond MacNeil on 18 Nov 2019

Well, I guess my understanding that string is defined using (" " , i.e. double quotations) is incorrect. I thought class string was formally distinguished from char (defined using ' ', i.e. single quotes). I should have looked at the test-suite.

Mario Malic on 13 Mar 2020

Yes, the title should be "Return the first and last character of a char array"

Solution 1985237

2 Comments

2 Comments

Adobe Fl on 22 Oct 2019

Nice!

Raymond MacNeil on 18 Nov 2019

Only need:
out = x([1 end])
This is legal even if length(x) == 1, because in that case, x(1) == x(end)

Solution 775429

1 Comment

1 Comment

vahid simintan on 10 Nov 2015

that is it

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Problem 649. Return the first and last characters of a character array

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Problem 649. Return the first and last characters of a character array

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Last 200 Solutions

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