From bug-request at octave dot org Wed Jun  1 12:48:38 2005
Subject: Re: general load/save (in)compatibility
From: Ben Barrowes <barrowes at alum dot mit dot edu>
To: bug at octave dot org
CC: David dot Bateman at motorola dot com
Date: Wed, 01 Jun 2005 11:47:30 -0600

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
--------------070406020607010303070504
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Here is a proposed small patch that appends a ".mat" onto the filename 
to be save under the following conditions:
1 - the save filename has no file extension
2 - no filetype switch is given
3 - default_save_options points to a matfile type (those filetypes which 
get mapped to LS_MAT_BINARY, LS_MAT5_BINARY, or LS_MAT7_BINARY in 
load-save.h)


For example:
octave:1> aa=magic(4)
aa =

  16   2   3  13
   5  11  10   8
   9   7   6  12
   4  14  15   1

octave:2> save zz1 aa
octave:3> save -text zz1 
aa                                                   
octave:4> save zz1.dat aa
octave:5> default_save_options
default_save_options = -V6
octave:6>

".mat' is appended to the filename only in the case of command 2, and 
only because default_save_options=-V6 is a matfile type. If 
default_save_options=-text or some other filetype, no ".mat" would have 
been appended.



Here is a ChangeLog entry:

2005-06-01  Ben Barrowes  <barrowes at alum dot mit dot edu>

    * load-save.cc: Save now appends ".mat"
        under the following circumstances:
      1 - the save filename has no file extension
      2 - no filetype switch is given
      3 - default_save_options points to a matfile type
          (those filetypes which get mapped to
          LS_MAT_BINARY, LS_MAT5_BINARY, or LS_MAT7_BINARY
          in load-save.h)



*** ../octave-2.9.3/src/load-save.cc    2005-05-18 06:20:53.000000000 -0600
--- load-save.cc        2005-06-01 11:15:53.000000000 -0600
*************** the file  at file{data} in Octave's binary
*** 1629,1634 ****
--- 1629,1643 ----
    else
      {
        std::string fname = file_ops::tilde_expand (argv[i]);
+      
+       if (user_file_format == LS_UNKNOWN
+           && (format == LS_MAT_BINARY
+               || format == LS_MAT5_BINARY
+               || format == LS_MAT7_BINARY)
+           && fname.find(".",0) == std::string::npos)
+         {
+           fname.append(".mat");
+         }
 
        i++;
 


Ben


David Bateman wrote:

> Ben Barrowes wrote:
>
>>>>    - matlab appends a ".mat" onto saved files if there is no 
>>>> extension on the save filename and no filetype switch is given. 
>>>> Fix=> make octave add ".mat" in cases where the save filename has 
>>>> no file extension and no filetype switch is given *and* if 
>>>> default_save_options points to a matfile type. This extra test is 
>>>> required because matlab currently has no way to default to saving 
>>>> as ascii files.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Third option the user explictly adds the ".mat" extension when they 
>>> want it... Ok, it probably makes sense to add ".mat" to filenames 
>>> when we are talking about matlab formats. Supply a patch and I'm 
>>> sure JWE would accept it, though not if it does it for all file types.
>>>
>> What file would I patch... load-save.cc ?
>
>
> Yes it would be in this file that the patch is needed. The problem is 
> that you'd have to strip the filename of any extension, see if it is 
> the same as the original filename and then add the ".mat" only if a 
> matlab file format is used..
>
>>
>>>>    - octave's -text and -ascii (are these different?) save in a 
>>>> format incompatible with matlab. I think it would be compatible if 
>>>> the # comment character in octave's save format was changed to %. 
>>>> Then both matlab and octave could load the file.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -ascii is on its way out and being replaced by "-text" exactly for 
>>> this reason. Wait till 3.0 and this will be address. Till then use 
>>> -mat-ascii...
>>>
>> I don't see the -mat-ascii switch available in the load/save helps. 
>> Also, it doesn't seem to be recognized in 2.9.3:
>> octave:13> save -mat-ascii test1 aa
>> warning: save: no such variable `test1'
>> octave:14>
>>
>> will this be in 3.0?
>>
> Err, true... I was working from memory think that this had already 
> been implemented. It hasn't yet, and you can only read matlab ascii 
> files... So when the meaning of "-ascii" changes you'll get the matlab 
> ascii file writing support. You could probably get something similar 
> using fprintf till then if it is a strict requirement.
>
>
>>>
>>>
>>>> octave:59> a1=load('test2')
>>>> error: value on right hand side of assignment is undefined
>>>> error: evaluating assignment expression near line 59, column 3
>>>> octave:59>
>>>> fails.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> See Dmitri's response...
>>>
>>> D.
>>>
>> I read Dmitri's response, but he only reported that the above worked 
>> in 2.1.71. Have you tried to load a file like test2 in 2.9.3?
>
>
>
> Just did... It worked fine with me... Are you sure there wasn't a 
> hidden character in your file? To be sure I include as an attachement 
> the version of the test file I used...
>
> regards
> David
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>  8.0000000e+00   1.0000000e+00   6.0000000e+00
>  3.0000000e+00   5.0000000e+00   7.0000000e+00
>  4.0000000e+00   9.0000000e+00   2.0000000e+00 
>  
>


--------------070406020607010303070504
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
  <meta content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type">
  <title></title>
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
Here is a proposed small patch that appends a ".mat" onto the filename
to be save under the following conditions:<br>
1 - the save filename has no file extension <br>
2 - no filetype switch is given<br>
3 - default_save_options points to a matfile type (those filetypes
which get mapped to LS_MAT_BINARY, LS_MAT5_BINARY, or LS_MAT7_BINARY in
load-save.h)<br>
<br>
<br>
For example:<br>
octave:1&gt; aa=magic(4)<br>
aa =<br>
<br>
&nbsp; 16&nbsp;&nbsp; 2&nbsp;&nbsp; 3&nbsp; 13<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp; 5&nbsp; 11&nbsp; 10&nbsp;&nbsp; 8<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp; 9&nbsp;&nbsp; 7&nbsp;&nbsp; 6&nbsp; 12<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp; 4&nbsp; 14&nbsp; 15&nbsp;&nbsp; 1<br>
<br>
octave:2&gt; save zz1 aa<br>
octave:3&gt; save -text zz1
aa&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br>
octave:4&gt; save zz1.dat aa<br>
octave:5&gt; default_save_options <br>
default_save_options = -V6<br>
octave:6&gt; <br>
<br>
".mat' is appended to the filename only in the case of command 2, and
only because default_save_options=-V6 is a matfile type. If
default_save_options=-text or some other filetype, no ".mat" would have
been appended.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Here is a ChangeLog entry:<br>
<br>
2005-06-01&nbsp; Ben Barrowes&nbsp; <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
 href="mailto:barrowes at alum dot mit dot edu">&lt;barrowes@alum dot mit dot edu&gt;</a><br>
<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * load-save.cc: Save now appends ".mat" <br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; under the following circumstances:<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1 - the save filename has no file extension <br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2 - no filetype switch is given<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
3 - default_save_options points to a matfile type <br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (those filetypes
which get mapped to <br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; LS_MAT_BINARY, LS_MAT5_BINARY, or LS_MAT7_BINARY<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; in load-save.h)<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
*** ../octave-2.9.3/src/load-save.cc&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2005-05-18 06:20:53.000000000
-0600<br>
--- load-save.cc&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2005-06-01 11:15:53.000000000 -0600<br>
*************** the file  at file{data} in Octave's binary <br>
*** 1629,1634 ****<br>
--- 1629,1643 ----<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; else<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; {<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; std::string fname = file_ops::tilde_expand (argv[i]);<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; if (user_file_format == LS_UNKNOWN <br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &amp;&amp; (format == LS_MAT_BINARY <br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; || format == LS_MAT5_BINARY <br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; || format == LS_MAT7_BINARY)<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &amp;&amp; fname.find(".",0) == std::string::npos)<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; {<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; fname.append(".mat");<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; }<br>
&nbsp; <br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; i++;<br>
&nbsp; <br>
<br>
<br>
Ben<br>
<br>
<br>
David Bateman wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid42972B52 dot 4020504 at motorola dot com" type="cite">Ben
Barrowes wrote:
  <br>
  <br>
  <blockquote type="cite">
    <blockquote type="cite">
      <blockquote type="cite">&nbsp;&nbsp; - matlab appends a ".mat" onto saved
files if there is no extension on the save filename and no filetype
switch is given. Fix=&gt; make octave add ".mat" in cases where the
save filename has no file extension and no filetype switch is given
*and* if default_save_options points to a matfile type. This extra test
is required because matlab currently has no way to default to saving as
ascii files.
        <br>
      </blockquote>
      <br>
      <br>
      <br>
Third option the user explictly adds the ".mat" extension when they
want it... Ok, it probably makes sense to add ".mat" to filenames when
we are talking about matlab formats. Supply a patch and I'm sure JWE
would accept it, though not if it does it for all file types.
      <br>
      <br>
    </blockquote>
What file would I patch... load-save.cc ?
    <br>
  </blockquote>
  <br>
Yes it would be in this file that the patch is needed. The problem is
that you'd have to strip the filename of any extension, see if it is
the same as the original filename and then add the ".mat" only if a
matlab file format is used..
  <br>
  <br>
  <blockquote type="cite"><br>
    <blockquote type="cite">
      <blockquote type="cite">&nbsp;&nbsp; - octave's -text and -ascii (are these
different?) save in a format incompatible with matlab. I think it would
be compatible if the # comment character in octave's save format was
changed to %. Then both matlab and octave could load the file.
        <br>
      </blockquote>
      <br>
      <br>
      <br>
-ascii is on its way out and being replaced by "-text" exactly for this
reason. Wait till 3.0 and this will be address. Till then use
-mat-ascii...
      <br>
      <br>
    </blockquote>
I don't see the -mat-ascii switch available in the load/save helps.
Also, it doesn't seem to be recognized in 2.9.3:
    <br>
octave:13&gt; save -mat-ascii test1 aa
    <br>
warning: save: no such variable `test1'
    <br>
octave:14&gt;
    <br>
    <br>
will this be in 3.0?
    <br>
    <br>
  </blockquote>
Err, true... I was working from memory think that this had already been
implemented. It hasn't yet, and you can only read matlab ascii files...
So when the meaning of "-ascii" changes you'll get the matlab ascii
file writing support. You could probably get something similar using
fprintf till then if it is a strict requirement.
  <br>
  <br>
  <br>
  <blockquote type="cite">
    <blockquote type="cite"><br>
      <br>
      <blockquote type="cite">octave:59&gt; a1=load('test2')
        <br>
error: value on right hand side of assignment is undefined
        <br>
error: evaluating assignment expression near line 59, column 3
        <br>
octave:59&gt;
        <br>
fails.
        <br>
      </blockquote>
      <br>
      <br>
      <br>
See Dmitri's response...
      <br>
      <br>
D.
      <br>
      <br>
    </blockquote>
I read Dmitri's response, but he only reported that the above worked in
2.1.71. Have you tried to load a file like test2 in 2.9.3?
    <br>
  </blockquote>
  <br>
  <br>
Just did... It worked fine with me... Are you sure there wasn't a
hidden character in your file? To be sure I include as an attachement
the version of the test file I used...
  <br>
  <br>
regards
  <br>
David
  <br>
  <br>
  <pre wrap="">
<hr size="4" width="90%">
  8.0000000e+00   1.0000000e+00   6.0000000e+00
  3.0000000e+00   5.0000000e+00   7.0000000e+00
  4.0000000e+00   9.0000000e+00   2.0000000e+00 
  </pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">
</pre>
</body>
</html>

--------------070406020607010303070504--



-------------------------------------------------------------
Octave is freely available under the terms of the GNU GPL.

Octave's home on the web:  http://www.octave.org
How to fund new projects:  http://www.octave.org/funding.html
Subscription information:  http://www.octave.org/archive.html
-------------------------------------------------------------