I ran into a couple of interesting things who are interested in Java and
have to work within a Microsoft environment:
First, for those with Java in their integration/migration plans, Microsoft
has released a Type 4 JDBC 2.0 driver for SQL Server 2000:
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/02/05/02/020502hnjdbc.xml
MICROSOFT THIS WEEK released a JDBC driver enabling Java developers to
utilize Microsoft's SQL Sever 2000 database as a data management system for
Java applications.
<snip />
Microsoft has tested the driver to work with JDBC 2.0 and JDK (Java
Development Kit) 1.3 and plans to continue testing it to verify that it will
work with subsequent versions of the Java software.
The driver supports the JNDI (Java Naming Directory Interface) for naming
data sources as well as pooling of database connections. Operating platforms
supported include Windows XP, Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2 or higher,
Sun Solaris, Hewlett-Packard HP-UX, IBM AIX, and Linux.
Download and details at (watch the wrap):
http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/default.asp?URL=/downloads/sample.asp?ur
l=/MSDN-FILES/027/001/779/msdncompositedoc.xml
Second, our friends at apache.org has developed a project called POI. Here
is the description:
The POI project consists of APIs for manipulating various file formats based
upon Microsoft's OLE 2 Compound Document format using pure Java. OLE 2
Compound Document Format based files include most Microsoft Office files
such as XLS and DOC.
POI stands for Poor Obfuscation Implementation. Why would we name our
project such a derogatory name? Well, Microsoft's OLE 2 Compound Document
Format is a poorly conceived thing. It is essentially an archive structured
much like the old DOS FAT filesystem. Redmond chose, instead of using tar,
gzip, zip or arc, to invent their own archive format that does not provide
any standard encryption or compression, is not very appendable and is prone
to fragmentation. Poi is also a Hawaiian delicacy that Merriam Webster's
dictionary defines as: "A Hawaiian food of taro root cooked, pounded, and
kneaded to a paste and often allowed to ferment." This seemed strangely
descriptive of the file format.
Components To Date
A common misconception is that POI writes Excel files. POI is the name of
the project. POI contains several components, one of which, HSSF, writes
Excel files. The following are components of the entire POI project and a
brief summary of their purpose.
POIFS (POI Filesystem)
POIFS is the oldest and most stable part of the project. It is our port of
the OLE 2 Compound Document Format to pure Java. It supports both read and
write functionality. All of our components ultimately rely on it by
definition. Please see the POIFS project page for more information.
HSSF (Horrible Spreadsheet Format)
HSSF is our port of the Microsoft Excel 97(-2002) file format (BIFF8) to
pure Java. It supports read and write capability. Please see the HSSF
project page for more information.
HDF (Horrible Document Format)
HDF is our port of the Microsoft Word 97 file format to pure Java. It
supports read and write capability. Please see the HDF project page for more
information. This component is in the early stages of design. Jump in!
HPSF (Horrible Property Set Format)
HPSF is our port of the OLE 2 property set format to pure Java. Property
sets are mostly use to store a document's properties (title, author, date of
last modification etc.), but they can be used for application-specific
purposes as well. Currently HPSF supports read functionality only. Please
see the HPSF project page for more information.
For more information see:
http://jakarta.apache.org/poi/index.html
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