Which Module to use?

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

Hello All

I'm trying to parse an excel to get data out of it.

http://search.cpan.org/~hmbrand/Spreadsheet-Read-0.37/Read.pm
[download]

http://search.cpan.org/~jmcnamara/Spreadsheet-ParseExcel-0.55/lib/Spre
+adsheet/ParseExcel.pm
[download]

Spreadsheet::ParseExcel is the ultimate choice for any one. Please suggest me which one to pick up

Comment on Which Module to use? Select or Download Code

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Re: Which Module to use? by Corion (Patriarch) on Dec 08, 2009 at 11:56 UTC
Spreadsheet::Read uses Spreadsheet::ParseExcel to read Excel files. If all you ever need are Excel files, likely, Spreadsheet::ParseExcel is better. If you also want to read CSV, TSV or other files in the same program, Spreadsheet::Read might be more convenient.	[reply]
Re: Which Module to use? by Ratazong (Monsignor) on Dec 08, 2009 at 12:04 UTC
If you are working in a Windows environment (with Excel installed) you should also consider using `Win32::OLE`. See Using Win32::OLE and Excel - Tips and Tricks	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: Which Module to use? by roboticus (Chancellor) on Dec 08, 2009 at 15:49 UTC
Ratazong: I gave you a ++ for your suggestion, but you might want to mention that it's not always a good solution. Some cases where it's not so good: You're on UNIX, Linux or other non-windows server. You don't want to worry about spending an Excel license on a server. Then, of course, some people don't trust "automation" so much. Since most applications are written for a human to "drive", there isn't much demand to make them all "automation friendly". So an unexpected dialog box can pop up and hang your application until someone logs into the console to dismiss it. In the early years, automating Excel was a pain, so I opted for Spreadsheet::ParseExcel. I imagine that automating Excel is probably a lot nicer. But I haven't had any reasons to change yet... ...roboticus	[reply]
Re^2: Which Module to use? by locked_user americanfridge (Initiate) on Dec 08, 2009 at 14:45 UTC
Thanks for this. I have also tried this last time I got this kind of problem :) Thanks!
Re: Which Module to use? by rpnoble419 (Pilgrim) on Dec 08, 2009 at 19:17 UTC
I'd use Spreadsheet::ParseExcel. John has taken over the support for this module and his support is always on the Mark.	[reply]