How can I import ordered pairs of data from a text file?

I'm a beginner with Matlab and I have file that looks like the following (but with more data points eventually):

(1,2) (3,4) 
(5,6) (7,8)

How can I important this data into matlab?

Answer 1

[dpb]

Alternatively to Per's "most excellent" answer and perhaps a little easier for the neophyte to see on the format string--

dat=cell2mat(textscan(fid,'(%f,%f) (%f,%f)','collectoutput',1));
a=dat(:,1:2);
b=dat(:,3:4);

cell2mat goes ahead and removes the cell array so don't need the {} addressing for the cells and the format string matches the embedded characters in the file excluding the data fields.

[per isakson]

This is better because it is easier to read.

[dpb]

@per -- don't know about "better", just the "dead-ahead" solution instead of the more general. No idea if one would have any advantage over the other on parsing speed in a large file, for example.

I DO very much wish there was, however, a 'matrixoutput','true'|'false' named parameter pair, however, to let one return the data results as ordinary array instead of only cell arrays being possible, however.