Problem 362. Find matching string from a list of strings

Created by Jiro Doke
Appears in Strings I

Difficulty:Rate

Solve Later
Add To GroupÃ‚

Write a function that returns a string that is a unique match (if it exists) of the string inStr from a list of strings strList.
When there are no matches, return an empty string.
Match is case-insensitive.
Partial match is allowed. (anywhere in the string)
Exact match wins over partial matches.
When there are multiple partial matches, return an empty string.
Example 1:
   >> inStr = 'ball';
   >> strList = {'ball', 'bell', 'barn'};
   >> outStr = findMatch(inStr, strList)
   outStr =
      ball
Example 2:
   >> inStr = 'EMBER';
   >> strList = {'May', 'June', 'July', 'August', 'September'};
   >> outStr = findMatch(inStr, strList)
   outStr =
      September
Example 3:
   >> inStr = 'Ju';
   >> strList = {'May', 'June', 'July', 'August', 'September'};
   >> outStr = findMatch(inStr, strList)
   outStr =
      ''

Solve

Solution Stats

1129 Solutions
258 Solvers

Last Solution submitted on Apr 03, 2025

Last 200 Solutions

Problem Comments

2 Comments

2 Comments

bainhome on 27 May 2015

Tricky one.

Brandon on 29 Mar 2023

This problems needed more test cases. :/

Solution Comments

Show comments

ANNOUNCEMENT

Registration Now Open for MathWorks AUTOMOTIVE CONFERENCE 2025

Hello Community, We're excited to announce that registration is now open for the...

Problem Recent Solvers258

Problem Tags

Community Treasure Hunt

Find the treasures in MATLAB Central and discover how the community can help you!

Start Hunting!