MATLAB: Multiple switch-case, get position value

switch case

switch var
    case {'ABC' 'ADE' 'AFG' 'AHI'}
        Str = 'A';
    case {'BAC' 'BDE' 'BFG' 'BHI'}
        Str = 'B';
end
The above is my switch-case condition. Is there a way if i select
"ADE" The Str should be "A", and the pos should 2. 
"BHI" The Str should be "B", and the pos should 4.
Is there a way i can do to get the position, or should i write switch-case again

Best Answer

switch ... case (or if ... elseif ...) statements are simple to understand and are great for beginners, but are very limited. To do what you want with a switch you'd have to split each of your case statement into 4, so you'd have
switch var
    case 'ABC'
        Str = 'A'; pos = 1;
    case 'ADE'
        Str = 'A'; pos = 2;
    ...etc
A much simpler way to do what you want is not to use switch at all, and just use look-up tables:
lookuptable = {{'ABC' 'ADE' 'AFG' 'AHI'}, 'A';
                {'BAC' 'BDE' 'BFG' 'BHI'}, 'B'};
for row = 1:size(lookuptable, 1)
   [found, pos] = ismember(var, lookuptable{row, 1});
   if found
      Str = lookuptable{row, 2};
      break;
   end
end
if found
   fprintf('"%s" found, Str is "%s" and pos is %d\n', var, Str, pos);
else
   fprintf('"%s" not found\n', var);      
end
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