renameFields

Utility to rename all fields in a structure (or character array) using several different naming conventions.

% renameFields Utility to rename fields in a structure (or character array)
%
% OUTPUT = renameFields(INPUT,OPERATION) modifies the fields in INPUT using
% the requested operation(s) (valid operations listed below). INPUT can be a
% structure, in which case the OUTPUT is a structure whos fields have been
% renamed according to the specified operation(s). Field order is respected
% and retained. INPUT can also be a character array or cell array of
% character arrays, in which case the OUTPUT is a modified array of the same
% size/form as the INPUT, but with the arrays modified according to the
% requested operation(s).
%
% renameFields(STRUCT,OLDNAMES,NEWNAMES) will return a structure where the
% OLDNAMES have been replaced with NEWNAMES. The nth element of OLDNAMES
% corresponds to the nth element of NEWNAMES, which means that OLDNAMES and
% NEWNAMES must have the same number of elements. Calling renameFields with
% three arguments is limited to STRUCT inputs, unlike calling it with two
% arguments, which permits character strings or cell arrays of character
% strings.
%
%
% Example: Make all fields upper-case
% data = struct('variable_one',1,'VariableTwo',2,'variable_Three',3,...
% 'VARIABLE_four',4,'variableFive_',5,'variable6',6,...
% 'variableSEVEN',7,'Variable8and9',[8 9]);
% newData = renameFields(data,'upper');
%
%
% Example: Make all fields use Pascal convention, then trim trailing '_'
% data = struct('variable_one',1,'VariableTwo',2,'variable_Three',3,...
% 'VARIABLE_four',4,'variableFive_',5,'variable6',6,...
% 'variableSEVEN',7,'Variable8and9',[8 9]);
% newData = renameFields(data,{'pascal' 'trim'});
%
%
% Example: Remove spaces/punc., apply underscore and capitalize each word .
% myString = 'You know, a sentence could also be provided… now that would be cool!';
% newString = renameFields(myString,{'underscore' 'no punc' 'first upper'})
%
% Note that the order of operations matters in the above example. Punctuation
% cleansing is done last because having punctuation is useful in identifying
% words/chunks for the other operations.
%
%
% Programmed and Copyright by Paul Shoemaker: www.matlabinvesting.com