[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message]

Spreadsheet Markup Language?

• From: Bob Lyons <blyons@v...>
• To: "'xml-dev@x...'" <xml-dev@x...>
• Date: Tue, 9 May 2000 12:02:27 -0400

Has anyone invented a Spreadsheet Markup Language (SSML)?
I need such a language, and I don't want to develop it myself
if it's already been done.

An SSML document would be an XML document that contains a spreadsheet.

For example:

<spreadsheet>
    <row>
        <cell>1</cell>
        <cell>2</cell>
        <cell>3</cell>
    </row>
    <row>
        <cell>4</cell>
        <cell>5</cell>
        <cell>6</cell>
    </row>
</spreadsheet>

Ideally, the SSML language would support formulas, formatted text,
merged cells, wrapped text within a cell, borders, etc.

In theory, it would be easy to write a VB program that converts
an Excel spreadsheet into an SSML document (and vice versa).

With such a VB program, one could import an XML document into
Excel as follows:
- Convert the XML document into SSML using an XSLT stylesheet.
- Use the VB program to convert the SSML doc into an Excel spreadsheet file.

I've written an XSLT stylesheet that converts an XML document
into SYLK, which is an ASCII-based spreadsheet interchange format.
Unfortunately, SYLK does not support merged cells, wrapped text within
a cell, and other features. Also, SYLK is cryptic and poorly documented.

I'd much rather convert an XML document into an SSML document.

Thanks in advance.

Bob

------------
Bob Lyons
XML Consultant
blyons@v...


***************************************************************************
This is xml-dev, the mailing list for XML developers.
To unsubscribe, mailto:majordomo@x...&BODY=unsubscribe%20xml-dev
List archives are available at http://xml.org/archives/xml-dev/
***************************************************************************

• Follow-Ups:
  • RE: Spreadsheet Markup Language?
    • From: "David Galbraith" <david@m...>
  • Re: Spreadsheet Markup Language?
    • From: "Anders W. Tell" <anderst@t...>
  • Re: Spreadsheet Markup Language?
    • From: Matt Sergeant <matt@s...>
  • Re: Spreadsheet Markup Language?
    • From: David DS Barnes <d.d.barnes@i...>
  • Re: Spreadsheet Markup Language?
    • From: "Dave Winer" <dave@u...>

• Prev by Date: FYI: Announcement of a new I-D for XML media types
• Next by Date: Bug report: Archives page
• Previous by thread: FYI: Announcement of a new I-D for XML media types
• Next by thread: Re: Spreadsheet Markup Language?
• Index(es):
  • Date
  • Thread