How to write repeating string with variables in for loop

I'm trying to write a script for another program using MATLAB. I want to repeat these 7 lines 75 times, but after VideoA in line2 and after VideoA in line 4 I want number 1 to 75. I've tried the sprintf function, but can't get it to work. I hope this is clear, if not please ask! Can anybody help me?

line1 = '      new ScreenItem(ScreenVideoComponent,';
line2 = '        ''VideoA'',';
line3 = '        {';
line4 = '          video: ''assets/VideoA.mp4'',';
line5 = '          mime: ''video/mp4'',';
line6 = '        }';
line7 = '      ),';

[Stephen23]

"I've tried the sprintf function, but can't get it to work."

Please show us what you tried.

Answer 1

[Dennis]

Check if this works for you.

for i=1:75
line1 = '      new ScreenItem(ScreenVideoComponent,';
line2 = sprintf('        VideoA%02d,',i);
line3 = '        {';
line4 = sprintf('          video: assets/VideoA%02d.mp4,',i);
line5 = '          mime: ','video/mp4'','; %i think this should be line5 = ['          mime: ','video/mp4'','];
line6 = '        }';
line7 = '      ),';
end

Please notice that the above code overwrites all variables in each loop iteration. I also don't think that you need 7 different variables for your strings, you might want to have a look at Stephen's tutorial about dynamically named variables. Here is the slightly changed version of your code:

line=cell(7,75);

for i=1:75
line{1,i} = '      new ScreenItem(ScreenVideoComponent,';
line{2,i} = sprintf('        VideoA%02d,',i);
line{3,i} = '        {';
line{4,i} = sprintf('          video: assets/VideoA%02d.mp4,',i);
line{5,i} = ['          mime: ','video/mp4'','] ;
line{6,i} = '        }';
line{7,i} = '      ),';
end
 

[Piet Jonker]

This is really helpful!! It works for me. Thanks for introducing me to indexing. I see now that my original idea is very cluttered and inefficient.

[Guillaume]

@Dennis, I assume you meant to use %02d as a format (to generate 01, 02, ... 10, ... 75). %01d is the same as %d and generates 1,2, ...10, ... 75.

[Dennis]

You are right, i corrected it.

Answer 2

[Guillaume]

Well, if you really want uncluttered:

line = cell(7, 75);
line([1 3 5 6 7], :) = repmat({'      new ScreenItem(ScreenVideoComponent,';
                               '        {';
                               '          mime: ''video/mp4'',';
                               '        }';
                               '      ),'}, 1, 75);
line(2, :) = compose('        VideoA%02d,',1:75);
line(4, :) = compose('          video: assets/VideoA%02d.mp4,', 1:75);

No need for a loop.

If all you want to do is just create a long string where the above is repeated 75 times, then:

lines = compose(strjoin({'      new ScreenItem(ScreenVideoComponent,';
                         '        ''VideoA%02d'',';
                         '        {';
                         '          video: ''assets/VideoA%02d.mp4'',';
                         '          mime: ''video/mp4'',';
                         '        }';
                         '      ),'}, '\n'), ...
                repelem(1:75, 2));
lines = strjoin(lines, '\n');

[Piet Jonker]

Thanks a lot. I don't really have problems with processing so the loop works pretty well and is easy for me to edit and to use for other strings. The formatting is important (with line breaks), so the long string isn't useful for me. Thanks a lot for the additions and showing me the even more efficient ways of coding the string, it gives me a lot of insight.