strcmp — Compare text inputs for exact case-sensitive equality with MATLAB-compatible implicit expansion.

strcmp(a, b) returns logical true when corresponding text values match exactly and false otherwise. It supports MATLAB-compatible string, char, and cellstr-style inputs with implicit expansion.

Syntax

tf = strcmp(A, B)

Inputs

Returns

Errors

How strcmp works

• Accepted text types: Works with string scalars/arrays, character vectors or matrices created with char, and cell arrays of character vectors. Mixed combinations are converted automatically, matching MATLAB.
• Implicit expansion: Scalar inputs expand to the shape of the other operand, producing element-wise comparisons for higher-dimensional arrays.
• Character arrays: Rows are compared individually. The result is a column vector whose length equals the number of rows in the character array.
• Cell arrays: Each cell is treated as a text scalar. Scalar cell arrays expand across the other operand before comparison.
• Missing strings: String elements equal to missing compare unequal to everything, including other missing values.
• Result form: A single logical scalar is returned for scalar comparisons; otherwise you receive a logical array using column-major MATLAB layout.
• Case sensitivity: Matching is case-sensitive. Use strcmpi for case-insensitive comparisons.

Does RunMat run strcmp on the GPU?

strcmp is registered as an acceleration sink. When either input resides on the GPU, RunMat gathers both operands back to host memory before comparing them so the results match MATLAB exactly. Providers do not need to implement custom kernels, and the logical result is always returned on the CPU.

GPU memory and residency

You normally do not need to call gpuArray. If you do, RunMat gathers the operands before computing strcmp so the output matches MATLAB. The result always lives on the host because this builtin inspects text data.

Examples

Compare Two Equal Strings

tf = strcmp("RunMat", "RunMat")

Expected output:

tf = logical
   1

Compare String Array With Scalar Text

names = ["red" "green" "blue"];
tf = strcmp(names, "green")

Expected output:

tf = 1×3 logical array
   0   1   0

Compare Character Array Rows

labels = char("cat", "dog", "cat");
tf = strcmp(labels, "cat")

Expected output:

tf = 3×1 logical array
   1
   0
   1

Compare Two Cell Arrays Of Character Vectors

C1 = {'apple', 'pear', 'grape'};
C2 = {'apple', 'peach', 'grape'};
tf = strcmp(C1, C2)

Expected output:

tf = 1×3 logical array
   1   0   1

Handle Missing Strings

vals = ["alpha" missing];
tf = strcmp(vals, "alpha")

Expected output:

tf = 1×2 logical array
   1   0

Implicit Expansion With Column Vector Text

patterns = char("north", "south");
tf = strcmp(patterns, ["north" "east"])

Expected output:

tf = 2×2 logical array
   1   0
   0   0

Using strcmp with coding agents

Open a RunMat example with live inputs, then ask the agent to explain how strcmp changes the result.

FAQ

Related Strings functions

Open-source implementation

Unlike proprietary runtimes, every RunMat function is open-source. Read exactly how strcmp is executed, line by line, in Rust.

• View the source for strcmp in Rust on GitHub
• Learn how the RunMat runtime works
• Found a bug? Open an issue with a minimal reproduction.

About RunMat

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