How to load a specially formatted data file into matlab?

I need to load a data file, test.dat, into Matlab. The contents of data file are like

*a682 1233~0.2
*a2345 233~0.8 345~0.2 4567~0.3
*a3457 345~0.9 34557~1.2 34578~0.2 9809~0.1 2345~2.9 23452~0.9 334557~1.2 234578~0.2 19809~0.1 23452~2.9 3452~0.9 4557~1.2 3578~0.2 92809~0.1 12345~2.9 232452~0.9 33557~1.6 23478~0.6 198099~2.1 234532~2.9 …

How to read this type of file into matlab, and use the terms, such as *2345 to identify a row, which links to corresponding terms, including 233~0.8 345~0.2 4567~0.3

Thanks.

Answer 1

[Walter Roberson]

Please expand on this. For example, the first line:

*a682 1233~0.2

How would you like that to be stored in MATLAB?

Is the character in-between always the tilde character? Do the numbers always occur in pairs with the ~ between them? Do negative numbers ever occur? Do you want the pairs stored as a string or as a vector of two numeric values with the ~ left out? Is there ever a decimal point in the number before the ~ or is always an integer?

Should

*a2345 233~0.8 345~0.2

become {'*a2345' [233 0.8] [345 0.2]} or should it become {'*a2345' [233] [0.8] [345] [0.2]} or should it become {'*a2345' [233 0.8 345 0.2]} or something else?