In general terms it is probably possible to link a Perl program into Pascal but it probably isn't worth doing it just to get at Spreadsheet::WriteExcel.

If you need to create an Excel file with formatting and formulas then there are easier alternatives such as creating a HTML file or an XML file.

Excel can read HTML tables and it preserves the cell formatting and interpolates any formulas in the text. It will read anything from a very simple <table> structures to its own HTML format.

See Two-dimensional array to "Excel" format for an example.

The XML format used by Excel 2002 and later is called SpreadsheetML and the specification and schemas are available here. The XML format is relatively easy to handle. The Spreadsheet::WriteExcelXML module uses this approach.

As an aside, I wrote Spreadsheet::WriteExcel and as it happens I wrote one of its simpler precursors in Pascal. :-)

--
John.

In reply to Re: Linking to Perl from Pascal by jmcnamara
in thread Linking to Perl from Pascal by Anonymous Monk

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.