cellfun usage trouble

I am having trouble using cellfun in a specific case.

For example I have the following code:

prefix={'IS','MI'};
IS_max = 5;
MI_max = 6;

If I run

eval([prefix{1},'_max'])

I get the expected result, 5.

If I run

cellfun(@(x) eval([x,'_max']),prefix)

I get an error that IS_max is undefined.

Any suggestions for how I can get the cellfun command to work? My desired output would be [5,6];

thanks very much,

-Brian

[Oleg Komarov]

You cannot do that. http://www.mathworks.co.uk/support/tech-notes/1100/1103.html

Answer 1

[Kelly Kearney]

Try evalin instead, which forces the function to reference the base workspace (rather than the local one):

cellfun(@(x) evalin('base', [x,'_max']),prefix)

Answer 2

[Jan]

Using eval or evalin to access variables is prone to errors, hard to debug and in reduces the speed substantially. This topic has been discussed repeatedly in this forum and a search is recommended.