String comparison in MATLAB - Mini Project: Build & Apply

String comparison

📖 Scenario: You are working on a simple program to check if two words are the same. This is useful when you want to compare user input with a correct answer or check if two labels match.

🎯 Goal: Build a MATLAB script that compares two strings and tells if they are exactly the same or not.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create two string variables with exact values

Create a variable to hold the comparison result

Use the strcmp function to compare the two strings

Print the comparison result

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

String comparison is useful in many programs where you need to check if user input matches expected answers, like password checks or form validations.

💼 Career

Understanding string comparison is important for software testing, data validation, and building interactive applications.

1

Create two string variables

Create two string variables called word1 and word2 with the exact values 'hello' and 'Hello' respectively.

MATLAB

% Your code here

Hint

Use single quotes to create strings in MATLAB, like word1 = 'hello';

2

Create a variable for comparison result

Create a variable called areEqual to store the result of comparing word1 and word2 using the strcmp function.

MATLAB

word1 = 'hello';
word2 = 'Hello';
% Your code here

Hint

Use strcmp(word1, word2) to compare the two strings exactly.

3

Check the comparison result

Use an if statement to check if areEqual is true. Inside the if, create a variable called message with the value 'The words are the same.'. Otherwise, set message to 'The words are different.'.

MATLAB

word1 = 'hello';
word2 = 'Hello';
areEqual = strcmp(word1, word2);
% Your code here

Hint

Use if areEqual to check the boolean and assign message accordingly.

4

Display the result message

Use the disp function to print the value of the message variable.

MATLAB

word1 = 'hello';
word2 = 'Hello';
areEqual = strcmp(word1, word2);
if areEqual
    message = 'The words are the same.';
else
    message = 'The words are different.';
end
% Your code here

Hint

Use disp(message) to show the message on the screen.

Practice

1. Which MATLAB function is used to compare two strings with case sensitivity?

easy

A. strcmpi

B. strcmp

C. strcomp

D. strcompare

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand string comparison functions

   MATLAB provides strcmp for case-sensitive string comparison and strcmpi for case-insensitive comparison.

2. Step 2: Identify the correct function for case-sensitive comparison

   strcmp compares strings exactly, including letter case, so it is the correct choice.

3. Final Answer:

   strcmp -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Case-sensitive comparison = strcmp [OK]

Hint: Use strcmp for exact case-sensitive string checks [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing strcmp with strcmpi
• Using non-existent functions like strcomp
• Assuming strcmpi is case-sensitive

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to compare two strings s1 and s2 ignoring case in MATLAB?

easy

A. strcmpi(s1 == s2)

B. strcmp(s1, s2)

C. strcmpi(s1, s2)

D. strcmp(s1 == s2)

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall syntax for case-insensitive comparison

   strcmpi compares two strings ignoring case and takes two string inputs as separate arguments.

2. Step 2: Identify correct syntax

   strcmpi(s1, s2) uses strcmpi with two string arguments correctly. Options C and D incorrectly use '==' inside the function, which is invalid.

3. Final Answer:

   strcmpi(s1, s2) -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Case-insensitive syntax = strcmpi(s1, s2) [OK]

Hint: Use strcmpi(s1, s2) for ignoring case in string comparison [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using '==' inside strcmp or strcmpi
• Mixing up strcmp and strcmpi
• Passing strings as one argument with '=='

3. What is the output of the following MATLAB code?

s1 = "Hello";
s2 = "hello";
result = strcmp(s1, s2);
disp(result);

medium

A. "true"

B. 1

C. Error

D. 0

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand strcmp behavior

   strcmp compares strings with case sensitivity. "Hello" and "hello" differ in case.

2. Step 2: Evaluate strcmp result

   Since the strings differ in case, strcmp returns logical 0 (false), which disp prints as 0.

3. Final Answer:

   0 -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Case-sensitive mismatch = 0 [OK]

Hint: strcmp returns 0 if cases differ exactly [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming strcmp ignores case
• Expecting output '1' for different case
• Confusing output with string 'true'

4. Identify the error in this MATLAB code snippet for case-insensitive string comparison:

s1 = "Test";
s2 = "test";
if strcmpi(s1 == s2)
    disp('Match');
end

medium

A. Using '==' inside strcmpi causes an error

B. Missing semicolon after disp statement

C. strcmpi cannot compare strings

D. Strings must be converted to char arrays first

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the use of '==' inside strcmpi

   The expression s1 == s2 compares strings element-wise, returning a logical array, not a string.

2. Step 2: Understand strcmpi input requirements

   strcmpi expects two string inputs, not a logical array. Using '==' inside causes a syntax or runtime error.

3. Final Answer:

   Using '==' inside strcmpi causes an error -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   strcmpi needs strings, not logical arrays [OK]

Hint: Do not use '==' inside strcmpi; pass strings directly [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using '==' inside strcmpi
• Thinking strcmpi compares logical arrays
• Ignoring input type requirements

5. You want to compare two cell arrays of strings C1 = {'Apple', 'Banana', 'Cherry'} and C2 = {'apple', 'banana', 'cherry'} ignoring case. Which MATLAB code correctly returns a logical array indicating matches?

hard

A. cellfun(@strcmpi, C1, C2)

B. strcmpi(C1{:}, C2{:})

C. cellfun(@strcmp, C1, C2)

D. strcmp(C1, C2)

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand cell array string comparison

   To compare each pair of strings in cell arrays element-wise, use cellfun with a comparison function.

2. Step 2: Choose case-insensitive comparison

   strcmpi ignores case, so cellfun(@strcmpi, C1, C2) applies it element-wise correctly.

3. Step 3: Why other options fail

   cellfun(@strcmp, C1, C2) uses case-sensitive strcmp. strcmpi(C1{:}, C2{:}) unpacks cells into multiple arguments, causing a "too many input arguments" error. strcmp(C1, C2) is case-sensitive.

4. Final Answer:

   cellfun(@strcmpi, C1, C2) -> Option A

5. Quick Check:

   Use cellfun with strcmpi for cell array case-insensitive comparison [OK]

Hint: Use cellfun(@strcmpi, C1, C2) for cell array case-insensitive compare [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using strcmp instead of strcmpi for ignoring case
• Unpacking cell arrays with strcmpi(C1{:}, C2{:})
• Not using cellfun for element-wise comparison