How to install SPAMS toolbox in Matlab 2014b under windows 8.1

Question

I am trying to learn how to successfully compile "Sparse Modeling Software" (SPAMS) in my machine which uses a Windows 8.1 OS and MATLAB R2014b.

The steps I have taken are as followed (some parts might have been unnecessary or missing)

Step 1. Installed "Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Professional".

Step 2. Installed "Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK)".

Step 3. Download "spams-matlab-v2.4-svn2014-02-18.tar" from http://spams-devel.gforge.inria.fr/

Step 4. Unzip it in Windows using 7-zip. Only 1 error I received but all he other data were uncompressed. The error is this :

ERROR: Can not set reparse data: C:\Users\Yashar\Desktop\spams-matlab\cpp_library\spams.h

Step5: In MATLAB, I set the compiler:

>> mex -setup C++

message I recieve:

MEX configured to use 'Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Professional' for C++  language compilation.
Warning: The MATLAB C and Fortran API has changed to support MATLAB
 variables with more than 2^32-1 elements. In the near future
 you will be required to update your code to utilize the
 new API. You can find more information about this at:
 http://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_external/upgrading-   mex-files-to-use-64-bit-api.html.

Step 6. Open compile.m in SPAMS (as recommended) and run it. The error I get looks like this:

compilation of: -I./linalg/ -I./decomp/ -I./prox/ -I./dictLearn/ dictLearn/mex/mexTrainDL.cpp
Error using mex
C:\Users\Yashar\Desktop\spams-matlab\Files not found; check that you are in the
correct current folder, and check the spelling of
'C:\Users\Yashar\Desktop\spams-matlab\Files'.
Error in compile (line 391)
mex(args{:});

Question : What I am doing to me looks pretty standard but I know it takes a while learning how to cope with issues with regard to interfacing codes with MATLAB, etc. Can you please help me with getting around the problems I have and managing to compile SPAMS toolbox in my machine? FYI, I am interested in using mexLasso function in this toolbox.

Answer 1

Hmm. Compiling this toolbox is a bit tricky.

Here is how I do it in Windows 7 + MATLAB 2013a. Hope it works for you.

(I don't have the issue of unzip)

First, you want to make sure that 'mex' works properly, I have compiled some smaller packages and they worked in general.

Second, change the line

compiler='gcc';

to

compiler='mex';

Third, you can find a lot of lines look like

-I./linalg/ -I./decomp/ -I./prox/ -I./spams/dictLearn/ dictLearn/mex/mexArchetypalAnalysis.cpp

Here 'I./lib_name/' is Linux style path, and you need to change it into something that Windows can understand.

Here is an example:

-I./linalg/       --->       -IC:\Users\XXX\Downloads\SPAMS\linalg

There are totally six pieces that you need to change as following,

1. -I./linalg/
2. -I./decomp/
3. -I./prox/
4. -I./dictLearn/
5. -I./dags/
6. -I./image/

After replacing these strings, just run compile.m, then it should work.

Answer 2

Select 2.5 version the SPAMS software you are running for Windows version. Set the compiler to VS in compile.m and execute the code. This generates the required files. Finally run start_spams.m, which in turn creates the source folders. Now you can run the respective code.