MATLAB: How to Check if Element of Array Exists

Question

I have an array of strings which varies in size depending on the number of words in a file name. One file might result in an array of animals[dog, cat, fish], whilst the next might be animals[horse, bird, dog, cat, snake]. If, say, the fifth element of animals is snake, then I will have the program do something. However, this only works if the array is at least 5 elements long. Using my first example would result in an Error, as it only has three elements. Is there a way to check if the array has x elements before I check the xth element?

Answer 1

Try length()

animals1 = ["dog", "cat", "fish"]
animals2 = ["horse", "bird", "dog", "cat", "snake"]
x = 5
if length(animals2) >= x
	% animals2 has at least x strings in it, so do something.
	if strcmpi(animals2(x), 'snake')
		% Do something.
		fprintf('animals2(%d) = "%s".\n', x, animals2(x));
	end
end