MATLAB: Strcmp isn’t comparing properly

strcmp

I'm having trouble figuring out why the strcmp is providing an incorrect output when comparing PSymbol and symbol. The two cells are identical but when comparing strcmp(PSymbol,symbol) it should return a 1 and change location to 1 but it is not. Please help.
   % Find the location in the table where symbols are matched
          % Symbol  is supposed to be unique in P
          if strcmp(PSymbol,symbol)
              location = i;
              % If sides are opposite, flag as a closing transaction
              if strcmp(side,oppSide1)
                  open = 0;
              end
          end
Ive attached the code and the .mat file. Please help.

Best Answer

Of course strcmp works fine. If you do not get the expected result, the inputs differ from what you think they are. This can be examined using the debugger: Set a breakpoint in the line
if strcmp(PSymbol, symbol)
and check the variables:
class(PSymbol)
class(symbol)
Bother are cells as expected. But do they contain strings?
class(PSymbol{1})
class(symbol{1})
ans =
  cell
ans =
  cell
No, they contain cells. Therefore strcmp does not get strings or cell strings, but cells containing cell strings. This cannot work. An error message would be nice, but unfortunately strcmp replies false. Solution:
   PSymbol = P.symbol{i};  % Curly braces
   ...
   if strcmp(PSymbol, symbol{1})
Now both inputs are cell strings and strcmp replies true.
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