I need a program to send and receive data (with real time updates) to an open Excel spreadsheet that would receive data via DDE links from other servers (Excel is too stupid to do what I want).

It seems that Perl can do anything, so I thought I would examine its suitability first. :)

I found a module called Win32::OLE, but it appears to only make Perl function as a DDE client (if I understood the documentation - certainly a dubious assumption).

Random questions:

1. Do modules exist to do this, and if so, which ones?

2. Does anyone have or know of any example code I could use as a starting point?

3. I have written a few (small and simple) Perl programs on Linux, but I would do this on Windows (I have Cygwin installed). Any thoughts or caveats specific to Cygwin?

4. (separate, but related, even if a little theoretical) - Can I write a DDE client in Perl to grab ANY data that I could get in Excel? 4a. Would a DDE server restrict its data to Excel only, or could any program receive it (with the right syntax)?

Thank you for your wisdom.

In reply to DDE Server? Client? by Anonymous Monk

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