error on installling matlab-gdf in debian with apt

Hello all,

I have a Debian bookworm system on my computer. I encountered an error when I tried installing matlab-gdf on Linux terminal using apt. It gives the following error:

Setting up matlab-gdf (0.1.3-11) ...

Building Matlab extensions (logfile at /tmp/gdf-mexbuild-1671961944.j0OkP0P)

sh: 1: mex: not found

sh: 1: mex: not found

dpkg: error processing package matlab-gdf (--configure):

installed matlab-gdf package post-installation script subprocess returned error exit status 127

Errors were encountered while processing:

matlab-gdf

I can not see any other error codes or file references. Trying sudo dpkg --configure -a and sudo apt --fix-broken install only shows this. This is the display of the log file shown:

debian-matlab-mexhelper 0.0.21.1

Copyright (C) 2010-2011 Michael Hanke <[e-mail]>

Licensed under GNU General Public License version 3 or later.

This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO

warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Written by Michael Hanke.

Attempt to build Matlab extensions

Package name: gdf

Source directory: /usr/src/matlab/gdf

MEX dir: /usr/lib/matlab/site/gdf

M dir: /usr/share/matlab/site/m/gdf

Build user (if any):

Build command: for f in *.cpp; do mex $f -lGDF; done

Install command: mv -t /usr/share/matlab/site/m/gdf *.mex?*

Clean command: rm -f *.o *.a *.mex*

Attempt to build Matlab extensions:

for f in *.cpp; do mex $f -lGDF; done

Due to failed installation, directory /usr/lib/matlab/site/gdf did not exist. I tried to copy /usr/src/matlab/gdf to /usr/lib/matlab/site/gdf, but it didn't work. In Matlab, mex command works normally and gives correct outputs. Hence, I couldn't understand how to resolve this issue.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

[Yash]

The error message indicates that the mex command is not found, which is necessary for building MATLAB extensions. The mex command is typically provided by the MATLAB software itself and should be available in the MATLAB installation directory.

To resolve this issue, you can try the following steps:

1. Make sure MATLAB is properly installed on your system and the mex command is accessible. You can test this by running mex in a terminal outside of MATLAB. If the command is not found, it suggests that MATLAB might not be properly installed or its binary directory is not included in the system's PATH variable.
2. If MATLAB is installed correctly, you may need to add its binary directory to the system's PATH variable. Open a terminal and run the following command to add the MATLAB binary directory to the PATH:bash

export PATH="/path/to/matlab/bin:$PATH"

Replace /path/to/matlab with the actual path to your MATLAB installation directory.

• After setting the PATH variable, try installing the matlab-gdf package again using apt. Run the following command:bash

sudo apt install matlab-gdf

This should trigger the installation process again and hopefully find the mex command from the MATLAB installation.

If a terminal window prompts asking for the location of matlab installation : please enter the same.

An image file has been attached to assist you with the same.

1st Approach : /usr/local/MATLAB/R2023a

2nd Approach : /usr/local/MATLAB/R2023a/bin

Note : Only if the first approach doesn't work try the second one also this is the matlab installation location on my system your's might not be the same

Please note that the information provided is based on the assumption that MATLAB is correctly installed on your system. If you encounter any difficulties or require more specific guidance, it is recommended to consult the official MATLAB documentation or seek support from MathWorks, the company behind MATLAB.

I hope this helps :)