strip

Remove leading and trailing characters from strings

Syntax

newStr = strip(str)

newStr = strip(str,side)

newStr = strip(___,stripCharacter)

Description

newStr = strip(str) removes all consecutive whitespace characters from the beginning and end of str, and returns the result as newStr.

newStr = strip(str,side) removes all consecutive whitespace characters from the side specified by side. The side argument can be 'left', 'right', or 'both'.

newStr = strip(___,stripCharacter) strips the character specified by stripCharacter, instead of whitespace characters. You can use any of the input arguments in the previous syntaxes.

Examples

Strip Leading and Trailing Spaces from Strings

Create a string array.

str = ["Ann Marie      ";
       "          James";
       "Pauline        "]

str = 3x1 string
    "Ann Marie      "
    "          James"
    "Pauline        "

Delete the leading and trailing space characters in each string.

newStr = strip(str)

newStr = 3x1 string
    "Ann Marie"
    "James"
    "Pauline"

Strip Spaces from Side of String

Create a string array.

str = ["   Ann Marie   ";
       "   James       ";
       "   Pauline     "]

str = 3x1 string
    "   Ann Marie   "
    "   James       "
    "   Pauline     "

Delete space characters from the right side only.

newStr = strip(str,'right')

newStr = 3x1 string
    "   Ann Marie"
    "   James"
    "   Pauline"

Strip Different Character from String Array

Create a string array with elements that represent numbers. The strings include leading zeroes that make them all the same length.

str = ["0095.36";
       "0003.44";
       "0007.82"]

str = 3x1 string
    "0095.36"
    "0003.44"
    "0007.82"

Delete the leading zeroes.

newStr = strip(str,'left','0')

newStr = 3x1 string
    "95.36"
    "3.44"
    "7.82"

Input Arguments

str — Input text

string array | character vector | cell array of character vectors

Input text, specified as a string array, a character vector, or a cell array of character vectors.

Data Types: string | char | cell

side — Side of string to strip

'both' (default) | 'left' | 'right'

Side of string to strip, specified as 'left', 'right', or 'both'. The default behavior of strip is to strip characters from both the left and the right side of the input text.

Data Types: char | string

stripCharacter — Character to strip from input text

' ' (default) | character | string

Character to strip from input text, specified as a character or as a string that contains one character.

Data Types: char | string

Output Arguments

newStr — Output text

string array | character vector | cell array of character vectors

Output text, returned as a string array, a character vector, or a cell array of character vectors. str and newStr are the same data type.

Data Types: string | char | cell

Algorithms

strip does not remove significant whitespace characters.

This table shows the most common characters that are significant whitespace characters and their descriptions. For more information, see Whitespace character.

Significant Whitespace Character	Description
char(133)	Next line
char(160)	Nonbreaking space
char(8199)	Figure space
char(8239)	Narrow no-break space

Extended Capabilities

Tall Arrays

Calculate with arrays that have more rows than fit in memory.

The strip function fully supports tall arrays. For more information, see Tall Arrays.

C/C++ Code Generation

Generate C and C++ code using MATLAB® Coder™.

Usage notes and limitations:

• str must be a string scalar, a character vector, or a cell array containing not more than one character vector.

Thread-Based Environment

Run code in the background using MATLAB® backgroundPool or accelerate code with Parallel Computing Toolbox™ ThreadPool.

This function fully supports thread-based environments. For more information, see Run MATLAB Functions in Thread-Based Environment.

Distributed Arrays

Partition large arrays across the combined memory of your cluster using Parallel Computing Toolbox™.

This function fully supports distributed arrays. For more information, see Run MATLAB Functions with Distributed Arrays (Parallel Computing Toolbox).

Version History

Introduced in R2016b