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Python and Excel

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 10:25:19 +0100

Have you ever tried to process Excel files with Python? If you're working on a Windows machine you can simply use COM which provides all flexibility you need. You can read and write existing files or newly created ones. However, it is a bit slow because Excel runs in the background in order to enable direct communication. For small sets of data this isn't really an issue but trust me, if you have to process a large amount of data (>30k) you can go shopping until the job is finished.
If you want to create complete new Excel files I can recommend pyExcelerator. Unfortunately there's no documentation available and hence using it is more of a bumpy ride. It comes with a suite of example scripts though and once you explored the code you should be able to start off. PyExcelerator is pretty fast and outruns COM by far if you deal with large sets of data. Another advantage is that you don't require a Windows machine or even Excel. The disadvantage however is you that can't modify already existing Excel files. At least I wasn't able to accomplish it. The shipped examples don't mention how and the non-existing documentation doesn't help either. I spent quite some hours to get it working but alas, to no avail.
Last week I read about Simplistix' xlutils. They rely on xlrd and xlwt. At the time of writing the webserver is down so that I cannot browse the documentation to see whether those packages are the Swiss Army knife of processing Excel files. So you might want to keep it in mind if you are in the unfortunate situation to having process Excel files.

Lame Duck Challenge Free Offer

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:17:23 +0100

Perhaps you heard about The CodeWeavers Great American Lame Duck Presidential Challenge. Bottom line of the challenge is, that you can download today (28 October) CodeWeaver's CrossOver for free. Apply for a registration key here.

OOo 3.0 pdfimport

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:31:38 +0200

Maybe you heard about OpenOffice's capability to import PDF files. This feature comes with the pdfimport extension of SUN. It's still in beta status and frankly that's exactly what I thought when I tried it out. I imported two arbitrary documents. OpenOffice crashed while attempting to import the first one. I had more luck with the second. Most of the text and even figures of control flow graphs were displayed correctly. But don't expect it to be able to import formulas. You need to post process all of them. Nevertheless it's a good start and will probably be improved in the future.

OpenOffice 3.0

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:33:49 +0200

In case you haven't got the news yet: OpenOffice 3.0 is out! Go to www.openoffice.org to download it.

iPhone development

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:34:26 +0200

If you're tinkering with the idea to develop applications for you iPhone but haven't the faintest idea how to get started this screen cast is interesting for you: Writing Your First iPhone Application. Bill Dudney of the pragmatic programmers demonstrates how to build a Hello World! app with Xcode and the Interface Builder. Once he whetted your appetite you can buy follow-up screen casts which detail:

Creating a Table View
Linking Table Views with a Navigation Controller
Adding Text Fields and Buttons
Editing On a Table View
Persisting Data and Reordering Table Rows

Fring available in the AppStore

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 16:37:58 +0200

Fring is now available in the AppStore. What it does for you? It's a multi-messenger supporting: Skype, MSN, ICQ, Google Talk, SIP, Twitter, AIM and Yahoo! Visit fring's website to learn more.

GNU Toolchain

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 23:03:27 +0200

Nick Clifton works at Red Hat. He's in charge of merging the developments of GNU toolchain (gcc, binutils, gdb and the like) into Red Hat's own repository. His reports are published in his weblog.

Linux Audio

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 13:02:56 +0200

Whether you're a developer or a system administrator linux audio is confusing due to the plethora of different APIs. Lennart wrote a Guide Through the Linux Sound API Jungle which clarifies things.

Present like Steve Jobs

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:10:56 +0200

Communications coach Carmine Gallo analyzed Steve Job's presentation of this year's Macworld conference & Expo. Read his findings in the column Deliver a Presentation like Steve Jobs.

C++0x

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:55:20 +0200

DevX published an interview with Bjarne Stroustrup about the state of the C++ language whose new standard C++0x will be finalized next year.