Using regexp in matlab

Question

I am trying to use the following code to count the number of the whole word "the" in a file. It keeps returning zero for the number of "the". How would I make this work?

totalthe=length(regexp(strcat(lines{:}),'\bthe\b'))

Check \s instead of '\b': totalthe=length(regexp(strcat(lines{:}),'\sthe\s')) — Marcin
– Marcin, Commented Dec 4, 2013 at 3:53
Other than using the proper MATLAB word boundary escape sequences (\< and \>), consider using regexpi instead of regexp for case insensitive matching (you probably don't want to miss The at the beginning of sentences!) — Eitan T
– Eitan T, Commented Dec 4, 2013 at 7:36

MrAzzaman · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-04 03:54:47Z

1

Sorry, turns out I may have led you astray in a previous answer. Turns out the word boundaries for MATLAB are \< and \> (for the start and ending word boundaries respectively) instead of \b. I learnt something new today too.

Note that this is preferable to using \s (whitespace), as otherwise you might miss matches at the start and end of the line.

answered Dec 4, 2013 at 3:54

MrAzzaman

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user2987828 · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-04 09:05:02Z

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Summarizing all comments:

totalthe=length(regexpi(strvcat(lines{:}),'\<the\>'))

strvcat instead of strcat to prevent a leading The will not be stuck to a word at end of previous line.

answered Dec 4, 2013 at 9:05

user2987828

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1 Comment

Dennis Jaheruddin Over a year ago

Fails for lines = {'In the'; 'hat'}

Dennis Jaheruddin · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-04 13:34:50Z

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Here we go, based on the other answers, comments and some trial and error:

Suppose these are your lines:

lines = {'In the cell on the island'; 'there is the man.';'The end'}

Then this will count the occurance of 'the', case insensitive:

x = regexpi(lines,'\<the\>')
numel([x{:}])

answered Dec 4, 2013 at 13:34

Dennis Jaheruddin

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