[R] Excel *.xls files, RODBC

[Rolf Turner]

I gather from reading the back-issues of r-help that it should be
possible (modulo a number of caveats) to read an excel (yuck!) file
into R using RODBC.  I have obtained and installed ODBC and the RODBC
package, but cannot for the life of me figure out how to go about
it.  Can anyone give me a simple recipe?

I have an excel file on cdrom, say:

	/mnt/cdrom/melvin.xls

I have started R and loaded the RODBC package.  I want to create
a data frame ``melvin'' by reading in /mnt/cdrom/melvin.xls.
What (in monosyllables --- step by step) do I do next?

					cheers,

						Rolf Turner
						rolf at math.unb.ca