MATLAB: How to convert string within a cell array into an array

arraycell array

I have a cell array like this:
c = {'[18,1]' '[18,2]' '[18,3]' '[19,4]'}
I would like to be able to convert it into something like this:
A = [18,1] [18,2] [18,3] [19,4]
Essentially what I want to do is to separate the strings in the cell arrays and turn them into individual array, can someone please help?

Best Answer

Method one: concatenation and sscanf:
>> c = {'[18,1]' '[18,2]' '[18,3]' '[19,4]'};
>> reshape(sscanf([c{:}],'[%f,%f]'),2,[]).'
ans =
   18    1
   18    2
   18    3
   19    4
Method two: cellfun and cell2mat:
>> A = cell2mat(cellfun(@(s)sscanf(s,'[%f,%f]'),c,'uni',0)).'
A =
   18    1
   18    2
   18    3
   19    4
However if you are importing these strings from a file it would be easier to import the data correctly as numeric in the first place. Where do these strings come from?
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