Excel::Template - request for comment

This weekend, I released Excel::Template v0.01 to CPAN. It's a module with the same API as HTML::Template, but creates Excel spreadsheets (using jmcnamara's Spreadsheet::WriteExcel as the renderer). Right now, only a few features are supported, but more are on the way. I wanted to release a basic version so that I could get comments/suggestions quicker.

Features supported:

Creation of a basic workbook, including multiple named sheets
Usage of bold formatting
Variables (both as the var tag and within parameters, like <cell text="$some_var"/>)
Loops (both within and around the worksheet tag)

Features on the way:

More formatting (including color, italics, etc)
Ability to choose how to write the cell (string, URL, number, etc)
Formulas, including the ability to reference cells already written
Catching overflow within a sheet (the 65k rows limit)
Pane freezing
Anything else Spreadsheet::WriteExcel allows me to do
Documentation on how to easily write the code for your own nodes. (This is currently supported, just not documented.)

Since this is my first CPAN module, I'd also love to have comments regarding how I did the packaging and POD. (I know I forgot to change the README ... that's first on the list to do.)

I also was at a loss as to how to write the tests. In my rewrite of PDF::Template, I wrote a mockup of pdflib_pl and tested my calls to that module, but there were only some 15 functions used. I'm using more in Spreadsheet::WriteExcel ... can the same method apply? Or, am I missing something really simple?

------
We are the carpenters and bricklayers of the Information Age.

The idea is a little like C++ templates, except not quite so brain-meltingly complicated. -- TheDamian, Exegesis 6

... strings and arrays will suffice. As they are easily available as native data types in any sane language, ... - blokhead, speaking on evolutionary algorithms

Please remember that I'm crufty and crochety. All opinions are purely mine and all code is untested, unless otherwise specified.

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Re: Excel::Template - request for comment by adrianh (Chancellor) on Nov 24, 2003 at 14:14 UTC
Hmm... I have it a once over when it hit CPAN. Read the POD for the main Excel::Template module. Couldn't get a firm idea of what it's function was. Discarded into my "look at in a few versions time" pile. So my first suggestion would be a more complete example of what I would be using the darn thing for ;-) It might be there in the other docs - but as a reader I'm just too darn lazy. It needs pointers from the main POD file if they're elsewhere. I also was at a loss as to how to write the tests. In my rewrite of PDF::Template, I wrote a mockup of pdflib_pl and tested my calls to that module, but there were only some 15 functions used. I'm using more in Spreadsheet::WriteExcel ... can the same method apply? This may well be me being dim - but can you describe what the difficulty with the tests is? Can you give an example of a piece of behaviour that you're not sure how to test?	[reply]
Re: Re: Excel::Template - request for comment by dragonchild (Archbishop) on Nov 24, 2003 at 14:20 UTC
I have a given template behavior I want to test. The result of the execution is an XLS file. How do I automate verification that the XLS create is correct? If I use Spreadsheet::ParseExcel, then I'm now requiring another three modules to be installed on your system. If I don't, then what do I do? ------ We are the carpenters and bricklayers of the Information Age. The idea is a little like C++ templates, except not quite so brain-meltingly complicated. -- TheDamian, Exegesis 6 ... strings and arrays will suffice. As they are easily available as native data types in any sane language, ... - blokhead, speaking on evolutionary algorithms Please remember that I'm crufty and crochety. All opinions are purely mine and all code is untested, unless otherwise specified.	[reply]
Re^3: Excel::Template - request for comment by christopheM (Beadle) on Nov 24, 2003 at 21:55 UTC
If I dare, I would suggest you reduce a little bit your "signature", as it seems larger than the reply.... But may be I should not dare as I am only a simple and humble accolyte.	[reply]
Re: Re: Re: Excel::Template - request for comment by barbie (Deacon) on Nov 28, 2003 at 14:54 UTC
Would it be possible to create the test files locally and obtain a checksum (MD5 for example) for each? Then when you create them via your tests you need only check whether the checksums match. Digest::MD5 is a core module, so you could use that quite safely, and not have to worry about unnecessarily adding to the download/install burden. That's the way I would go at least. -- Barbie \| Birmingham Perl Mongers \| http://birmingham.pm.org/	[reply]
Re: Excel::Template - request for comment by jmcnamara (Monsignor) on Dec 13, 2003 at 13:49 UTC
People often post pre-releases of modules for comment and invariably the only comment is "I don't like the name".* Anyway, I don't like the name. When I first wrote Spreadsheet::WriteExcel I wanted to call it Excel::Writer but there was a Spreadsheet namespace in CPAN so I felt obliged to use that. I think that you could have followed suite. Other than that I think that it is a useful module. Update: In retrospect I see that the name is following the example of HTML::Template. -- John. * Your::Momma. ;-)	[reply]