MATLAB: How to convert a numeric string into a numeric range

evalguiguideinputdlgrange

I am working with a GUI which allows users to select custom groups of numbers. The inputs are always stored as strings; however, I need to convert the string to a range of numbers.
For example, if the user inputs…
[1:3,5,7:9]
Then I would like to have a stored value of…
[1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9]
Is there a way to do this without using eval()?
eval('[1:3,5,7:9]')
I know the use of eval() is frowned upon, but I cannot think of a more efficient method. My only other idea has been to use regexp() which takes much more time because of all the conditional aspects of the search.
Note: I know this can be done in the Command Window, but I am attempting to only use GUI functions or other similar functions that create a pop-up, such as:
inputdlg()

Best Answer

function out = str2vec(str)
vec = sscanf(str(2:end),'%f%c');
out = [];
idb = 1;
ide = 1;
while idb<=numel(vec)
    ide = idb+2*(vec(idb+1)==58); % 58==':'
    out = [out,vec(idb):vec(ide)];
    idb = ide+2;
end
end
It allows any decimal or integer numbers (including optional +/- sign and E-notation), separated by either one colon or one comma. For each number leading space characters are ignored, whereas trailing spaces cause an incorrect output. It could be adapted to allow for the optional step of the colon command.
Outputs using your example data:
   28   29   30   31   32   33    5    7    8    9   20 % this function
   28   29   30   31   32   33    5    7    8    9   20 % eval
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