Hi all,

I just spend two hours evaluating an MS-Excel export/import (and more) library:

http://xlsgen.arstdesign.com/

What am looking for? A way to fully drop the MS-Excel automation that our product is still relying on (for both import and export).

The first impression after minimal testing is quite positive:
- installation is easy,
- IT IS OF COURSE FREE OF MS-OFFICE dependencies,
- deployment is just the old-style one with one SINGLE dll (and a .Iic file)
- the functions I tried are definitely quite speedy (code below) and memory consumption quite reduced, a low profile resource,
- it is compatible with COM à la VB, fox and, via provided bridges to java and Net, should such interfaces be necessary,
- a lot of functionality is available and all Excel file formats from 97 seem to be available (I am not up to it in this respect and be glad to hear that this is the case)

Has anyone here on the UT tried it, or even better, deployed it? In case anyone has evaluated other lean (not .Net dependencies) alternatives to MS-Excel automation on the Fox, I'd be glad to hear....

Regards to you all

PS: my test code (the xlsgen library help file is not up to the mark but you find your way easily for simple scenarii):

iSec = SECONDS()
oExcelParser = CREATEOBJECT("ExcelGenerator.ARsTDesign")
? SECONDS() - iSec
oExcelParser.Open("c:\hroffice\Sample data.xls","") 
? SECONDS() - iSec
oSheet 	= oExcelParser.Workbooks.Item(1).WorksheetByIndex(1)
FOR M.iLine = 1 TO 7500
	FOR M.iCol = 1 TO 6
	&& among cell retrieval functions available: Label, Date, FormattedLabel, Float, Number, ContainsFormula, CellType, StyleFromLocation...
	cCellString =  M.oSheet.FormattedLabel(1+M.iLine,M.iCol)
	ENDFOR
ENDFOR
RELEASE oMemory,oSheet,oExcelParser
? SECONDS() - iSec