Cart
[Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries]
> -----Original Message----- > From: Razvan MIHAIU [mailto:mihaiu@m...] > Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2005 12:00 PM > To: xml-dev@l... > Subject: Quiz: XML flexibility > > > ...What I am really trying to understand is "what is flexibility" ? Here is an example. In the last week a client made a request to us based upon a request to them made by a large insurance company. The request from the insurance company was to provide monthly sales summaries in Excel format. Well it turns out that such a thing is a major pain for this particular organisation. Mainly because they run a CRM system written in dBase (yes, dBase IV!). With a bit of quick twiddling, we were able to a) learn dbase enough to output a text file and b) learn the microsoft xml excel format thing enough to be able to produce the required spreadsheet. Actually, we made and saved the spreadsheet from excel. And then made dBase produce the exact same output (oops - hope we didn't break somebodies patent - probably did - sorry). Anyway, going from dBase to XML to Excel, is in my opinion a pretty good example of flexibility. Any die-hard old-school programmer really should be aware that such things are possible. Maybe I'll be told that it's old hat - fair enough. But that's what I call flexibility - using a 1980's programming language to produce 'cutting-edge' sales-summary spreadsheets... Good question Razvan, David -- Computergrid : The ones with the most connections win.
|
