What function would you use to read data from a text file in MATLAB?

In MATLAB, to read data from a text file, the fopen() function is essential as it opens the specified file and returns a file identifier. This file identifier is then used in subsequent functions to read the actual data. When you first need to access a file, you must open it to establish a connection, which is the role of fopen().

Once the file is opened, you can use additional functions like fgetl() or fread() to read the content of the file. After you are finished processing the data, it is good practice to close the file using the fclose() function to free the associated resources.

The other options do not serve as primary methods for opening and reading files in MATLAB. While importdata() can be used for loading data from various file formats, it is more of a higher-level function that handles the loading internally and requires a file to be opened first. The presence of readtext() and loadtext() suggests specific intended functionalities, but these are not valid built-in MATLAB functions for reading text files. Thus, using fopen() as the first step in file handling is the correct approach, which is why it is the right choice in this context