strtod convert string to double d = strtod(str [,decimalseparator]) [d, endstr] = strtod(str [,decimalseparator]) str a character string or matrix of character strings. decimalseparator the decimal separator chosen: "." (by default) or ",". d a real or matrix of reals. endstr a character string or matrix of character strings (next character in str after the numerical value). [d, endstr] = strtod(str) parses strings str interpreting its content as a floating point number and returns its value as a real. If str does not contain any numerical value then d equals Nan. This function is based on the strtod C function which causes different behaviors on Windows and Linux. In fact, on Windows, it is possible to use d or D for exponents, but it is not possible to use hexadecimal numbers. Note that strtod("%inf") returns Nan. 5.5.0 New optional input: decimalseparator (SEP 97). 5.4.1 If str does not contain any numerical value then d equals Nan instead of 0 in previous versions.