How do I determine if a column header exists in a table?

I am performing a readtable() command. Sometimes the table contains a column called "x"; sometimes it is called "y". How would you determine if one column exists or not. I looked through the is* functions but did not see anything that I could use in an if statement.

Answer 1

[Cris LaPierre]

I would access the table varaible names and check if 'x' is a member or not.

T = readtable('patients.xls')

T = 100x10 table
      LastName        Gender      Age              Location               Height    Weight    Smoker    Systolic    Diastolic    SelfAssessedHealthStatus
    ____________    __________    ___    _____________________________    ______    ______    ______    ________    _________    ________________________

    {'Smith'   }    {'Male'  }    38     {'County General Hospital'  }      71       176      true        124          93             {'Excellent'}      
    {'Johnson' }    {'Male'  }    43     {'VA Hospital'              }      69       163      false       109          77             {'Fair'     }      
    {'Williams'}    {'Female'}    38     {'St. Mary's Medical Center'}      64       131      false       125          83             {'Good'     }      
    {'Jones'   }    {'Female'}    40     {'VA Hospital'              }      67       133      false       117          75             {'Fair'     }      
    {'Brown'   }    {'Female'}    49     {'County General Hospital'  }      64       119      false       122          80             {'Good'     }      
    {'Davis'   }    {'Female'}    46     {'St. Mary's Medical Center'}      68       142      false       121          70             {'Good'     }      
    {'Miller'  }    {'Female'}    33     {'VA Hospital'              }      64       142      true        130          88             {'Good'     }      
    {'Wilson'  }    {'Male'  }    40     {'VA Hospital'              }      68       180      false       115          82             {'Good'     }      
    {'Moore'   }    {'Male'  }    28     {'St. Mary's Medical Center'}      68       183      false       115          78             {'Excellent'}      
    {'Taylor'  }    {'Female'}    31     {'County General Hospital'  }      66       132      false       118          86             {'Excellent'}      
    {'Anderson'}    {'Female'}    45     {'County General Hospital'  }      68       128      false       114          77             {'Excellent'}      
    {'Thomas'  }    {'Female'}    42     {'St. Mary's Medical Center'}      66       137      false       115          68             {'Poor'     }      
    {'Jackson' }    {'Male'  }    25     {'VA Hospital'              }      71       174      false       127          74             {'Poor'     }      
    {'White'   }    {'Male'  }    39     {'VA Hospital'              }      72       202      true        130          95             {'Excellent'}      
    {'Harris'  }    {'Female'}    36     {'St. Mary's Medical Center'}      65       129      false       114          79             {'Good'     }      
    {'Martin'  }    {'Male'  }    48     {'VA Hospital'              }      71       181      true        130          92             {'Good'     }      

varNm = T.Properties.VariableNames

varNm = 1x10 cell array
    {'LastName'}    {'Gender'}    {'Age'}    {'Location'}    {'Height'}    {'Weight'}    {'Smoker'}    {'Systolic'}    {'Diastolic'}    {'SelfAssessedHe...'}

any(ismember('X',varNm))

ans = logical
   0