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PSExcel: Excel automation without Excel Overview (2015)

25 points by leonry 2y ago

basemi 2y ago
Pro/cons over python pandas?
- LikesPwsh 2y ago
  If you're already using python or powershell, you're not going to switch for one library (I.e. pandas or ImportExcel). For this library in particular, powershell is already installed on the computers of 95%+ of non-dev admin workers. It fills the niche that VBA used to of shadow-IT automation.
  - jodrellblank 2y ago
    > It fills the niche that VBA used to of shadow-IT automation. As far as I'm concerned, nothing does. People who haven't used it just won't know :-( The full Visual Basic with GUI drag-drop forms designer[1] mash-up with Microsoft Excel, so the spreadsheet is the form and you can drag-drop the standard components like buttons and textboxes onto the spreadsheet[2], doubleclick them and be inside the full VBA IDE in a button handler subroutine with syntax highlighting and autocomplete and classic on-device full language help and everything[3]. Sure you can't easily version control the code, audit the code, and all that, but it was beautifully hacky and convenient in the way that only "automating a GUI program" can be, and PowerShell and Python can never be, and smartphone apps never are, and web apps never are[4], and nothing I know of has replaced it. [1] https://devclass.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/vb6-768x565.jpg https://devclass.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/vb6-768x565.... [2] https://www.homeandlearn.org/images/user_forms/launch_form_button.gif https://www.homeandlearn.org/images/user_forms/launch_form_b... and https://analystcave.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/excel-vba-listbox.png https://analystcave.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/excel-vba... [3] https://process.filestackapi.com/cache=expiry:max/XJdCsULaRUuihNrpRFlP https://process.filestackapi.com/cache=expiry:max/XJdCsULaRU... [4] Userscripts and Greasemonkey and the like make it somewhat possible, but it is not convenient or beautiful or properly supported.
jodrellblank 2y ago
Doug Finke's module became ImportExcel (which can also export): https://github.com/dfinke/ImportExcel https://github.com/dfinke/ImportExcel
- da_chicken 2y ago
  The only problem is that the EPPlus library is no longer open source, so features may stall. It's still a very good module, though.
HPsquared 2y ago
openpyxl is also handy (Python library for working with Excel files)
- notpushkin 2y ago
  Used it with Pydantic to parse some Excel sheets. Works pretty well!
fsdfsfasd 2y ago
[flagged]

25 points by leonry 2y ago

basemi 2y ago

Pro/cons over python pandas?

LikesPwsh 2y ago
If you're already using python or powershell, you're not going to switch for one library (I.e. pandas or ImportExcel). For this library in particular, powershell is already installed on the computers of 95%+ of non-dev admin workers. It fills the niche that VBA used to of shadow-IT automation.
- jodrellblank 2y ago
  > It fills the niche that VBA used to of shadow-IT automation. As far as I'm concerned, nothing does. People who haven't used it just won't know :-( The full Visual Basic with GUI drag-drop forms designer[1] mash-up with Microsoft Excel, so the spreadsheet is the form and you can drag-drop the standard components like buttons and textboxes onto the spreadsheet[2], doubleclick them and be inside the full VBA IDE in a button handler subroutine with syntax highlighting and autocomplete and classic on-device full language help and everything[3]. Sure you can't easily version control the code, audit the code, and all that, but it was beautifully hacky and convenient in the way that only "automating a GUI program" can be, and PowerShell and Python can never be, and smartphone apps never are, and web apps never are[4], and nothing I know of has replaced it. [1] https://devclass.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/vb6-768x565.jpg https://devclass.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/vb6-768x565.... [2] https://www.homeandlearn.org/images/user_forms/launch_form_button.gif https://www.homeandlearn.org/images/user_forms/launch_form_b... and https://analystcave.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/excel-vba-listbox.png https://analystcave.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/excel-vba... [3] https://process.filestackapi.com/cache=expiry:max/XJdCsULaRUuihNrpRFlP https://process.filestackapi.com/cache=expiry:max/XJdCsULaRU... [4] Userscripts and Greasemonkey and the like make it somewhat possible, but it is not convenient or beautiful or properly supported.

jodrellblank 2y ago

Doug Finke's module became ImportExcel (which can also export): https://github.com/dfinke/ImportExcel https://github.com/dfinke/ImportExcel

da_chicken 2y ago
The only problem is that the EPPlus library is no longer open source, so features may stall. It's still a very good module, though.

HPsquared 2y ago

openpyxl is also handy (Python library for working with Excel files)

notpushkin 2y ago
Used it with Pydantic to parse some Excel sheets. Works pretty well!

fsdfsfasd 2y ago

[flagged]