open excel file..?

harcharn has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

I am very new to perl and using version 5.16.3; do I need to install a module to open a excel spreadsheet..? I am currently using this test code

#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;

use Spreadsheet::Read;

my $workbook = ReadData ("test.xls");
print $workbook->[1]{A3} . "\n";
[download]

I'm getting an error at line 5...?

Comment on open excel file..? Download Code

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Re: open excel file..? by Corion (Patriarch) on Nov 11, 2013 at 15:03 UTC
What is the exact error message you get? What is line 5? Yes, usually you need to install modules. The `cpan` tool is distributed with your version of Perl and can be used to install missing modules: `cpan Spreadsheet::Read` [download] This should be all you need to get the module installed. ~~You might want to consider that 5.6.3 is a very old version of Perl which is not readily supported by some modules. Consider using a more recent version of Perl.~~ The post says 5.16.3, not 5.6.3.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: open excel file..? by harcharn (Initiate) on Nov 12, 2013 at 10:30 UTC
Can’t locate Spreadsheet/Read.pm in @INC (@INC contains: C:/Perl164/site/lib C:/Perl164/lib .) at C:\perl_scripts\read.pl line 5. BEGIN failed—compilation aborted at C:\perl_scripts\read.pl line 5.	[reply]
Re^3: open excel file..? by Corion (Patriarch) on Nov 12, 2013 at 11:28 UTC
Did you install Spreadsheet::Read?	[reply]
Re^4: open excel file..? by harcharn (Initiate) on Nov 14, 2013 at 13:20 UTC
Re^5: open excel file..? by marto (Cardinal) on Nov 14, 2013 at 13:22 UTC
Re: open excel file..? by technojosh (Priest) on Nov 11, 2013 at 19:37 UTC
Short answer - Yes, you will probably want to install a module or two... I interact with Excel using Win32::OLE Take a look at: Win32::OLE - Examples -TJ	[reply]
Re^2: open excel file..? by dasgar (Priest) on Nov 12, 2013 at 06:33 UTC
Although I personally would prefer to use Win32:OLE, that might not be an option for the OP based on the first line of code (`#!/usr/bin/perl`), which would seem to indicate that he/she is on a *nix like OS instead of Windows. If that's true, then Win32::OLE can't be used.	[reply] [d/l]
Re: open excel file..? by Jer2911 (Acolyte) on Nov 12, 2013 at 14:22 UTC
Spreadsheet:ParseExcel is your best bet. It is straightforward and has good documentation. You can install it using ppm, which makes installation easy.	[reply]