in reply to automatic thank you!

If it is an Excel spreadsheet, I would think of opening it as a database-file through DBI and DBD::Excel.

If you want to get to the "bottom" of the spreadsheet, Spreadsheet::ParseExcel is there for you as well.

IMHO, the "DBI-way" is to be preferred as you can use standard SQL to get at your data so you don't have to code that logic into your script.

To make the interface with the spreadsheet, perhaps DBIx::HTMLinterface is a good bet and to make the final (printable) webpage some sort of HTML-templating system will surely help you.

CountZero

"If you have four groups working on a compiler, you'll get a 4-pass compiler." - Conway's Law

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Re: Re: automatic thank you!
by csuhockey3 (Curate) on Aug 28, 2003 at 06:19 UTC
    The spreadsheet is not Excel, but in Star Office. I was going to extract to a flat file, like I have done once before (read in the spreadsheet, tab delimited). DBIx::HTML looks cool though, I will look into playing with that a little. I used Star Office because I run a Linux box and my buddy has a Mac G4. Do you think I could 'print to file' from SO to an Excel spreadsheet and read it that way with Spreadsheet::ParseExcel? I have Never tried that before.
    Great input, thanks!

    csuhockey3
[reply]

      Well I've never used Star Office and I don't know if it has an Excel compatible output format.

      But as it has the possibility to output a flat tab-delimited file, you can use DBD::CSV to read that.

      CountZero

      "If you have four groups working on a compiler, you'll get a 4-pass compiler." - Conway's Law

[reply]
        Yes, indeed! It has 'specially' Excel output format.

        Besides, I would suggest a special font that might look exactly like a handwritten text (quite big and in italics). It is visually evident that it is not handwritten, but when you asociate the heartly content of the letter with that font you end thinking in the human handwritting.

        You could also help that impression if you choose a normal paper context (that is, no dark background with a clear foreground).

        Choose photographs with big faces in it and little background.

        Use wooden combination of colours that are more more home suggesting themes. At least, colours from the nature!

        A nice frame for the photograph also suggest some craftmade thing!

        You could even scan the signature!

        Enjoy your ilusion!

[reply]
      I've been using Spreadsheet::ParseExcel with OpenOffice on my Linux box with great results. In Open/StarOffice, save the spreadsheet as Excel, then fire up Spreadsheet::ParseExcel and have fun. The version of Excel that you save as doesn't seem to matter, be it Excel5, 95, or 97/2000/xp unless you have cells that have > ~ 254 characters of text, in which case saving it as Excel5 will truncate the contents of those cells.

      When I started doing this I was rather amused to be writing Excel spreadsheets on a Linux box using perl to be read/edited using OpenOffice with the results being read using perl-- the only thing Microsoft was the format. That said, it would be nice to have a Spreadsheet::ParseOpenOffice and Spreadsheet::WriteOpenOffice module...

[reply]
Re: Re: automatic thank you!
by CountZero (Bishop) on Aug 29, 2003 at 06:16 UTC

    I now had the time to take a better look at DBIx::HTMLinterface.

    The idea behind it is very good but it has some serious bugs in its implementation (mainly where it uses the interface to CGI). So if you are strapped for time, it does not seem to be such a good bet after all.

    CountZero

    "If you have four groups working on a compiler, you'll get a 4-pass compiler." - Conway's Law

[reply]

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