MATLAB: Dynamically update cell without clearing previous content

cell

Hi all,
I'd like to dynamically update cell content and size, without clearing the previous cell content. Check the following code:
clear; clc;
nr = 1;
for i = 1:5
      a = cell(1, nr);
      a{:, i} = {nr};
      nr = nr + 1;
end
,
>> a
a =
  []    []    []    []    {1x1 cell}
>> a{5}
ans = 
    [5]
Imagine I do not know how many iterations I will do, meaning cell size of 'a' needs to be dynamically updated with the number of iterations (which is why I use a = cell(1, nr) in the loop). However, after each iteration, content of 'a' is cleared, so I get only the last cell element of 'a'. But what I want is:
>> a
a = 
    {1x1 cell}    {1x1 cell}    {1x1 cell}    {1x1 cell}    {1x1 cell}
>> [a{:}]
ans = 
    [1]    [2]    [3]    [4]    [5]
I cannot move a = cell(1, nr) out of the for loop because in my real work I do not know how many iterations I will do. Any ideas? Thanks!

Best Answer

solution: 'a' can be dynamically updated without special treatment:
clear; clc;
nr = 1;
a = cell(1);
for i = 1:5
      a{i} = {nr};
      nr = nr + 1;
end
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