Re: xlsread in Octave 3.6.4

[PhilipNienhuis]

am304 wrote
> Hi,
> 
> I have just installed the MinGW version of Octave 3.6.4. I have all the
> relevant packages installed and loaded:
> 
>>> pkg list
> Package Name         | Version | Installation directory
> ---------------------+---------+-----------------------
> <snip>
>                  io *|   1.2.1 |
> D:\Octave-3.6.4\Octave3.6.4_gcc4.6.2\share\octave\packages\io-1.2.1
> <snip>
>                java *|   1.2.9 |
> D:\Octave-3.6.4\Octave3.6.4_gcc4.6.2\share\octave\packages\java-1.2.9
> <snip>
> D:\Octave-3.6.4\Octave3.6.4_gcc4.6.2\share\octave\packages\vrml-1.0.13
>             windows *|   1.2.1 |
> <snip>

There's no need to have all the packages loaded. Some devs will tell you
that loading all packages may even be disadvantageous. You have been warned
:-)


> Java seems to be working OK:
> 
>>> s = javaObject('java.lang.String', 'Hello OctaveString')
> s = Hello OctaveString

AFAIK you should have run "pkg rebuild -auto java" as final installation
step to make sure that the Java package will be loaded before the io
package. Otherwise the relevant Java class libs (.jar files) won't be loaded
automatically. Did you do that?
This is outlined in the README included with MinGW Octave 3.6.4..

Anyway you also have the Windows package loaded. That'll help trying to
invoke ActiveX before any of the Java interfaces will be tried.


> However, when I try to use xlsread, it tells me there are no detected XLS
> interfaces:
> 
>>> [numarr, txtarr, rawarr, limits] = xlsread('warm-up from cold to
> 190C.csv');
> Detected XLS interfaces: None.
> warning: xlsopen.m: no support for Excel .xls I/O
> warning: xlsread: some elements in list of return values are undefined
> 
>>> chk_spreadsheet_support
> ans = 0

Yeah, 0 means no support....


>>> app = actxserver ("Excel.application")
> error: actxserver: unable to create server instance for
> `Excel.application'

This means ActiveX cannot start the hidden MS-Excel invocation needed for
.xls I/O.
That could be due to a plethora of reasons.

Now, IIRC the windows package has received some updates after version 1.2.1
was released. It had to do with the functions in
<OCTAVE_HOME>/share/octave/packages/windows-1.2.1/@octave_com_object/, i.e.
delete.m and release.m.
You can download the proper versions from svn:
https://svn.code.sf.net/p/octave/code/trunk/octave-forge/extra/Windows/inst/@octave_com_object/

AFAIK these fixes were needed for the development version, but they should
work wih the stable version (now 3.6.4) as well.
(Nitzan usually includes the latest fixes so if these weren't included he
must have had a bad hair day when he made the 3.6.4 MinGW binary....)

If that doesn't help, read on:


> I have MS Office (2003) installed, and am running on Windows XP Pro SP2.
> Any suggestions on how to get xlsread to work?

You can also use the Java interface. That will completely bypass MS-Office
but will be a little bit slower.
First try: 

chk_spreadsheet_support ([ OCTAVE_HOME "/lib/java" ], 3)

and note if the relevant jars will be found and loaded.

If it doesn't work come back here for further advice.

Philip




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