Why are newline format specifiers not interpreted as one would expect in MATLAB when using the FPRINTF function?

The FPRINTF function should yield the same results in the following two examples, but does not do so in MATLAB:

Case 1: When '%f' tag is not used

     str= '1\n2\n3\n4\n';

     fprintf(str);

The output is:

 1

 2

 3

 4

Case 2: When '%f' tag is used

       fprintf('%s',str);

The output is:

 1\n2\n3\n4\n

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

This is expected behavior in MATLAB.

In the first case, 'str' variable is interpreted as a format string, and the special syntax '\n' is interpreted as a format specifier, i.e. a newline. In the second case, 'str' variable is an argument into the format, and is printed literally.