RE: Importing Excel files in GemStone

Stephan,

I do not have a solution yet. Exploring different options I have not found
any simple architecture solution. The following systems seem to be the most
mature ones but they all require a lot of moving parts:

Assuming access to Microsoft Office suite on the server (Windows Server 2008
does not let you install Office 2010 so this will have to be Windows
XP/Vista/7/2003) and using OLE to access the spreadsheets:

1- Using Ruby + OLE + some communication with GemStone (see below).
<a href="http://www.codeodor.com/index.cfm/2009/6/9/Automating-Excel-with-Ruby-A-Simp le-Example/3030" target="_blank">http://www.codeodor.com/index.cfm/2009/6/9/Automating-Excel-with-Ruby-A-Simp
le-Example/3030
2- Using VisualWorks + OLE + GB/S:
http://www.cincomsmalltalk.com/blog/blogView?entry=3446175682

There is also a non Windows system:

3- Apache POI http://poi.apache.org/ It seems to read xls and xslx. To
communicate with GemStone we would need GB/J or other means of
communication.



In a previous project I used the first option to convert some Word
documents. The Windows server accepts requests through a Ruby WSO2 layer,
called OLE, returns the needed data. On the (Unix) GemStone server side, a
wrapper calling a ruby script is used to communicate with the Windows
server. This has been working fine for two years now. The volume for Office
documents moved backed and forth is low, at worse 10 a day.  Our new Excel
application needs will be in the same range and no real time requirements.
In other words, this WSO2 communication could work. But I wished it was
simpler and more integrated.

Maybe Apache POI could simplify the architecture but I do not know if this
will cover all the wicked Microsoft formats.


Thierry








-----Original Message-----
From: Stephan Eggermont [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: June 15, 2010 1:57 PM
To: Thierry Thelliez
Subject: Re: [gemstone-smalltalk] Importing Excel files in GemStone

Hello Thierry,

Did you find a solution yet? I would be interested in having an open
source solution available,
and can probably find a few others willing to put some time/money into
it.

Regards,
  Stephan Eggermont

On 27 mei 2010, at 22:35, Thierry Thelliez wrote:

> Hello All,
>
> We are considering an application in which data will come from many
> Excel (2000) spreadsheets. There will be 20 to 50 different types of
> these files representing probably thousands files to load. But only
> few ones a day will be created (coming out for an upstream approval
> workflow system).
>
> As an additional issue, there are formulas in these files. We need
> to store the resulting data in GemStone.
>
> Before I reinvent the wheel? Has someone already faced a similar
> problem? How did you solve it? What components did you use?
>
>
> Thanks,
> Thierry Thelliez