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regexmatlabregexp-replace

MATLAB regexprep with parentheses

Given a cell array of strings:

CellArray={'(first)';'second';'x(third)';'four)'; '(...)'};

I would like the following result:

newCellArray={'first';'second';'x(third)';'four)';'...'};

i.e. I would like to remove the parentheses only if they are at the start and end of the word...

I would like to use something like:

newCellArray = regexprep(CellArray,expression,replace);

But sadly, I did not succeed despite many attempts...

Solution

  • You can use the beginning and end anchors with a token capture and a back-replace:

    >> expr = '^\((.+)\)$';
>> CellArray = {'(first)';'second';'x(third)';'four)'; '(...)'};
>> newCellArray = regexprep(CellArray,expr,'$1')

newCellArray = 

    'first'
    'second'
    'x(third)'
    'four)'
    '...'