confusing error while using Table

I am trying to make a simple table so that I can access some data by using names instead of a numeric index of a cell.

locationsTable = table(splitLocations, 'VariableNames', headerNames);

headerNames = {'rawData', 'testConfig', 'efiData', 'bonusData'};

splitLocations = {2, 49, 74, 142};

However, when I try to run this, I get the error

Error using setVarNames (line 35) The VariableNames property must contain one name for each variable in the table.

Error in table (line 304) t = setVarNames(t,vnames); % error if invalid, duplicate, or empty

This is confusing me, since I have a name for each variable, and none of them are invalid, duplicate or empty. I am unsure what I am doing wrong and what I need to change so that it works. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

[Sean de Wolski]

locationsTable = table(splitLocations{:}, 'VariableNames', headerNames);

It's seeing splitLocations as one variable, not four. Two have it see each scalar as a separate value, use comma-separated list expansion to pass in all four inputs as scalars.

[Peter Perkins]

Or use cell2table:

>> cell2table(splitLocations,'VariableNames',headerNames)
ans = 
    rawData    testConfig    efiData    bonusData
    _______    __________    _______    _________
    2          49            74         142

A cell array is (in this context) just like any other MATLAB variable: if you pass one variable into table, you get a table with one variable (although in your case of course you got an error because you had four names). And what's more, because splitLocations was 1x4, you would have gotten a table containing one variable that itself had four columns. In other words, this

>> table(splitLocations)
ans = 
    splitLocations
    ______________
    [1x4 cell]

is perfectly legal, it just probably isn't what you wanted.