Retrieve information from a .h5 file

Hello,

During an experiment, the data acquisition system unexpectedly failed, resulting in a *.h5 file instead of the usual *.mat file for heat flux data. I'm seeking assistance to retrieve the data, even if it's only partial, from this file. I used commands like:

data = h5read("Data.h5")

but I cannot see anything meaningful (attached photo).

This link has the h5 file.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[Walter Roberson]

It looks like the file is corrupted: hdf5info() shows no hierarchy underneath /

[Tala]

That might be the case as the data aquzition sytem was running over night and eventually lost power. I thought there might be a way to retrive the data.

[Walter Roberson]

I don't want too say that there is definitely no way to get data out of it. I can see some structure, and possibly data could be retrieved through appropriate fseek() and binary reads. But it would not be easy.

[Tala]

I apreciate your input as always

Answer 1

[Aditya]

Hi Tala,

I understand that you're facing issues retrieving meaningful data from an unexpected '.h5 file' instead of the usual '.mat file' for your heat flux data. Since I can't directly open files or access links, let's try a general approach to help you navigate through this.

First, ensure you're familiar with the structure of your '.h5 file' by using:

info = h5info('Data.h5');
disp(info);

This will give you an overview, helping you identify the correct dataset path to use.

Then, to read data from a specific dataset within your '.h5 file', use:

data = h5read('Data.h5', '/your_dataset_path_here');

Make sure to replace '/your_dataset_path_here' with the actual path to your dataset, which you can find from the info structure.

If the data still doesn't seem meaningful, it might be due to complex structures or specific attributes within the dataset. In such cases, further processing or reading of attributes using 'h5readatt' might be necessary.

For more detailed analysis or if you're still facing issues, consider attaching the file directly in your post, if possible, for community support.

For more information on 'h5info' and 'h5readatt' function, refer to the below MATLAB documentation:

• https://www.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2023b/matlab/ref/h5info.html
• https://www.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2023b/matlab/ref/h5readatt.html

Hope this helps!