How to sort an array by row based on the the first column

I am trying to organize data that I am trying to work with. It is in a cell array with 9 columns.

I have also defined a structure for this array and the different variables. Each row begins with a string (the name of a certain station), and is followed by several numbers that the station measured. I want to be able to organize the data by station so that I can work with data from each station by itself.

I am new to MATLAB and not all too familiar with many commands, so any help would be much appreciated.

Answer 1

[Image Analyst]

Try this:

% Define sample data.
ca = {'row1', 1,2,3; 'row2', 14,15,16; 'row3', 7,8,9}
% Convert columns 2 through the end to a regular numerical matrix.
measurements = cell2mat(ca(:, 2:end))
% Sort based on ascending first column
sortedMeasurements = sortrows(measurements, 1)

In the command window:

ca = 
    'row1'    [ 1]    [ 2]    [ 3]
    'row2'    [14]    [15]    [16]
    'row3'    [ 7]    [ 8]    [ 9]
measurements =
     1     2     3
    14    15    16
     7     8     9
sortedMeasurements =
     1     2     3
     7     8     9
    14    15    16