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Re: using xlswrite csvwrite


From: fork
Subject: Re: using xlswrite csvwrite
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2011 22:19:53 +0000 (UTC)
User-agent: Loom/3.14 (http://gmane.org/)

Philip Nienhuis <pr.nienhuis <at> hccnet.nl> writes:

> Just to set the record straight:
> 
> xls format *is* supported outside Windows environment: gnumeric,
> OpenOffice.org, , can read & write xls files. Yep, even Octave can
> read/write xls / xlsx files on any platform where Java runs. Ironically,
> Matlab can't ...  

Fair enough, though Java is deal-breaker for me (no offense, but ...).  Is there
a C library for reading xls binaries directly?
 
> Not completely true.
> Octave can neither import nor write csv files with mixed text and numerical
> "cells". 
> (For that matter, ML can't either.)

True, sort of.  With the latest dlmread, you can retain the structure of a
numeric matrix and have an arbitrary value for unreadable cells (default is zero
in ML, but that is stupid, so we can set to NaN.)  And we can read anything into
a cell-array, though what you do with THAT afterward is another question.

> But it is useful as it gives an opportunity to clarify on misperceptions
> like "xls is poorly supported outside M$" etc.
> Au contraire, it *is* widely supported. 

Let me rephrase: while xls is (sort of) widely supported, there are lots of
better, more open, and likely more sustainable options... ;)

And thanks for an interesting discussion.  My feeling is that the OP just wants
to get some work done, but he might find this an interesting introduction to
some of the discussions around data formats and dependencies.



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