> The standard solution is to use use GetArrayToVBA("dim(object)") to retrieve
> the size information into VBA from R.
Ok.
> The idea here is to bring together Excel's data lists and R dataframes.
> In Excel, data lists always have to have column names.
> If what you transfer is all numeric, as.matrix(dataframe) will allow you to
> avoid transferring the column names.
> But I still think that if you get a dataframe in Excel, it should and as a
> data list, and if you want something different, you can do it, but you are
> responsible in your code.
Ok, I see the logic. Just for you to understand my use-case scenario, the
problem arises when I'm building an Excel-based application, where data has
fixed positions (as if it was a form). In many of these cases, I need to
transform the R column names into friendly names that are understandable to
final users, and also translate them at times. In these cases the column names
are already "hardcoded" on the excel sheet. The obvious workaround is to make
the column headers row hidden, but this may affect other parts of the
worksheet.
> I do not check for merged cells.
> But R does not have a concept of merged cells, therefore the target range in
> Excel should not have merged cells.
> I do no explicit chech here because I do not think it is worth the effort.
Same as previous point, if I'm building an excel-based application where users
know nothing about R, I must format the sheets carefully to have a friendly
user interface, and in Excel this unavoidably forces me to merge some cells.
It seems to me that RExcel interface is more oriented to the "scratchpad" mode
of "free" R data transfer than to an application-type scenario.
I'll continue to use my own wrappers for this and some other functionallity.
They're available if anyone is interested.
Thanks again Erich for your answers and such an splendid tool.
Best,
Enrique
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Erich Neuwirth
Sent: jueves, 02 de octubre de 2008 0:03
To: R (D)COM and RExcel server related issues
Subject: Re: [Rcom-l] Suggestions for RExcel
Bengoechea Bartolomé Enrique (SIES 73) wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I've been using RExcel 3.0.1 from VBA a lot lately, using the
> RInterface API. A great tool. I have a number of suggestions and
> issues. I'm not sure whether the right procedure is to post them here,
> submit them directly to Erich, modify the Wiki....
>
> I have source code patches available for all these suggestions except
> the last one.
>
> 1) I find no way to directly determine the excel range modified by
> GetDataframe and GetArray. This range is built from the upper-left
> cell of the argument SheetRange, but the number of rows and cells
> depends on the data, and is not returned to the client code, as far as
> I've been able to determine (but I may be missing something!!).
> Without this information, it's not possible to safely post-process the
> returned data from VBA.
The standard solution is to use use GetArrayToVBA("dim(object)") to retrieve
the size information into VBA from R.
>
> One solution could be to make GetDataframe and GetArray be functions
> instead of subroutines. They could return a reference to the whole
> range where the data is written. This would not break the existing API
> as VBA allows invoking functions without assignment of the return object.
This is not the kind of programming style I want to use. See my earlier
suggestion.
>
> 2) GetDataframe does not have a WithColnames argument like GetArray. I
> find this argument would be very useful, as I often need to transfer
> data frames into Excel without the column names. If it is added as a
> new optional argument with default value True, the current API would
> not be broken.
The idea here is to bring together Excel's data lists and R dataframes.
In Excel, data lists always have to have column names.
If what you transfer is all numeric, as.matrix(dataframe) will allow you to
avoid transferring the column names.
But I still think that if you get a dataframe in Excel, it should and as a data
list, and if you want something different, you can do it, but you are
responsible in your code.
>
> 3) While GetArray properly handles Date objects, GetArrayToVBA and
> GetRExpressionValueToVBA do not, returning numbers instead of VBA Date
> objects. A few changes to RInterfaceSupport.REvalReturn can solve this
> issue and make the functions behave similarly.
The whole transfer mechanism currently is totally rewritten, this problem will
disappear soon.
>
> 4) A minor bug in GetArray: Excel application calculation state is
> stored at the beginning of the procedure in variable oldCalcState.
> Nevertheless, this state is not restored at the end of the procedure
> as I would expect. Instead, automatic recalculation is forced.
>
Fixed. Thanks for spotting this.
> 5) The line at the end of GetArray that pastes the format
> (a.PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteFormats) has as side effect unmerging
> the cells in the target range, if they are merged. This is the only
> issue I have no patch for as I'm not completely sure of all the
> implications of this pasting.
>
I do not check for merged cells.
But R does not have a concept of merged cells, therefore the target range in
Excel should not have merged cells.
I do no explicit chech here because I do not think it is worth the effort.
Thanks for the remarks, as you will see in the next release I fixed things
where easily possible already.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Enrique
>
>
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--
Erich Neuwirth, University of Vienna
Faculty of Computer Science
Computer Supported Didactics Working Group Visit our SunSITE at
http://sunsite.univie.ac.at
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