Convert a cell column of strings to doubles

I have a cell column of strings which looks like the attached file. How can I convert the column to double-precision values?

[Stephen23]

Please try attaching your data again. Press then parperclip button, then both the Choose file and Attach file buttons.

Answer 1

[Star Strider]

See if this does what you want:

D = load('string_column.mat');
data = D.owner;

out = cellfun(@(x) str2num(char(x)), data);

[Eli Dim]

Thank you very much, I understand now what the problem was!

[Star Strider]

As always, my pleasure!

Answer 2

[Stephen23]

If the data is a cell array of strings, then try using str2double:

>> A = {'1.2';'2.3';45.6789';'Inf'};
>> B = str2double(A);
B =
    1.2000
    2.3000
   45.6789
  Inf

[Eli Dim]

I tried already, but it outputs NaN and only for the 4 zeros in the end it outputs the actual number 0. The column consists only of numeric values.

[Guillaume]

The column consists only of numeric values.

No! All but the last four cells of your cell arrays are actually cell arrays themselves.

[Stephen23]

The problem is that data is not a cell array of strings, as you think it is, but actually mostly it is a cell array of cells containing strings, except for the last four cells (which are strings):

>> iscellstr(owner)
ans =
     0
>> owner(1:5)
ans = 
    {1x1 cell}
    {1x1 cell}
    {1x1 cell}
    {1x1 cell}
    {1x1 cell}
>> owner(end-6:end)
ans = 
    {1x1 cell}
    {1x1 cell}
    {1x1 cell}
    '0'       
    '0'       
    '0'       
    '0'

You can solve this as follows:

>> idx = cellfun('isclass',owner,'cell');
>> owner(idx) = [owner{idx}];
>> out = str2double(owner);
>> out(1:5)
ans =
     1
     2
     3
     4
     5
>> out(end-6:end)
ans =
        2300
        2301
        2302
           0
           0
           0
           0

This is the data file that I used:

Answer 3

[Guillaume]

 str2double(vertcat(owner{:}))

works, because your each cell of your cell array (except for the last four) is actually itself a cell array which in turn contain the string.

The vertcat above convert your cell array of single cell arrays of strings into a cell array of strings.