Read in matrix for multiple steps while changing string

Hi, I want to read in multiple temperature files at different time steps. For instance I have array:

time = [0, 10, 20];

And I need to read in:

temp0 = "temperature_0.txt"

temp1 = "temperature_10.txt"

temp2 = "temperature_20.txt"

So I can compile them all into:

temp = [temp0;temp1;temp2]

How can I handle changing the string names "temp0" and "temperature_0.txt" based on the value in time? I know I will have a for loop such as follows, but I am unsure of how to make the variable input into the name as a string

for k = 1:length(time)

...

end

[Stephen23]

https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/import_export/process-a-sequence-of-files.html

From what you explain in the comment, probably DIR is the easiest approach.

Answer 1

[Steven Lord]

time = [0, 10, 20];
files = "temperature_" + time + ".txt"

files = 1×3 string array
    "temperature_0.txt"    "temperature_10.txt"    "temperature_20.txt"

Now you could iterate over the elements of the files string array.

[Alexandra Vest]

Amazing! Thank you!

[Alexandra Vest]

A follow-up question, if I have a bunch of file, let's say "log_0.txt", "log_10.txt" "log_20.txt" and I wanted to read in the numbers on the latter end of the file name to create the array time=[0,10,20] is there a way to do that? I don't need to read in those files, just take the number following log_. Thank you!

[Steven Lord]

If the only digits in the names are in the numbers you want to extract, use digitsPattern to extract that data from the string array.

time = [0, 10, 20];
files = "temperature_" + time + ".txt"

files = 1×3 string array
    "temperature_0.txt"    "temperature_10.txt"    "temperature_20.txt"

numbersAsText = extract(files, digitsPattern)

numbersAsText = 1×3 string array
    "0"    "10"    "20"

numbers = double(numbersAsText)

numbers = 1×3

0 10 20

isequal(time, numbers)

ans = logical
   1