Reading Excel Files in Perl

Perl, a versatile scripting language, can be used to read Excel files using various CPAN modules. One of the popular modules to achieve this is Spreadsheet::ParseExcel.

Here's a basic tutorial to read Excel files in Perl using Spreadsheet::ParseExcel.

1. Installation:

First, you need to install the necessary module. Using CPAN:

cpan install Spreadsheet::ParseExcel

2. Basic Usage:

The following script reads an Excel file (example.xls) and prints the content of each cell:

#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;

use Spreadsheet::ParseExcel;

my $parser   = Spreadsheet::ParseExcel->new();
my $workbook = $parser->parse('example.xls');

if ( !defined $workbook ) {
    die $parser->error(), ".\n";
}

for my $worksheet ( $workbook->worksheets() ) {
    my ( $row_min, $row_max ) = $worksheet->row_range();
    my ( $col_min, $col_max ) = $worksheet->col_range();

    for my $row ( $row_min .. $row_max ) {
        for my $col ( $col_min .. $col_max ) {
            my $cell = $worksheet->get_cell( $row, $col );
            next unless $cell;

            print "Row, Col    = ($row, $col)\n";
            print "Value       = ", $cell->value(), "\n";
            print "Unformatted = ", $cell->unformatted(), "\n";
            print "\n";
        }
    }
}

Explanation:

Spreadsheet::ParseExcel->new(): Creates a new parser instance.
$parser->parse('example.xls'): Parses the Excel file. Replace 'example.xls' with your filename.
$workbook->worksheets(): Iterates through all the worksheets in the Excel file.
$worksheet->row_range() and $worksheet->col_range(): Determine the range of rows and columns that have data in the worksheet.
$worksheet->get_cell($row, $col): Retrieves the cell object for the specified row and column, if it exists.
$cell->value(): Returns the formatted value of the cell.
$cell->unformatted(): Returns the raw value of the cell.

This script can be expanded upon based on the specifics of what you wish to extract or manipulate from the Excel file.

Note: Spreadsheet::ParseExcel only supports Excel files up to Excel 2003 (.xls). For .xlsx (Excel 2007 and newer) files, you'd want to look into the Spreadsheet::XLSX or Spreadsheet::ParseXLSX modules.

Excel file parsing in Perl example:

Description: Parsing Excel files involves extracting and processing data from spreadsheet files.

Code Example:

use Spreadsheet::Read;

my $workbook = ReadData('example.xlsx');

for my $sheet (1 .. $workbook->[0]{sheets}) {
    for my $row (1 .. $workbook->[$sheet]{maxrow}) {
        my @data = Spreadsheet::Read::cellrow($workbook->[$sheet], $row);
        # Process @data for each row
        print join(', ', @data), "\n";
    }
}

Using Spreadsheet::Read module in Perl:
- Description: The Spreadsheet::Read module in Perl provides a convenient way to read data from various spreadsheet formats, including Excel.
- Code Example:
```
use Spreadsheet::Read;
```
Reading and extracting data from Excel in Perl:
- Description: Reading and extracting data from an Excel file involves using the Spreadsheet::Read module to access and process spreadsheet content.
- Code Example (combining with #1):
```
# ... (same as Excel file parsing example)
```

Perl Excel reader script:

Description: A Perl Excel reader script is designed to read and process data from Excel files.

Code Example (a simplified script):

use Spreadsheet::Read;

my $workbook = ReadData('example.xlsx');

for my $sheet (1 .. $workbook->[0]{sheets}) {
    for my $row (1 .. $workbook->[$sheet]{maxrow}) {
        my @data = Spreadsheet::Read::cellrow($workbook->[$sheet], $row);
        # Process @data for each row
        print join(', ', @data), "\n";
    }
}

Excel file processing with Perl:
- Description: Excel file processing in Perl involves opening an Excel file, reading its content, and performing operations on the data.
- Code Example (similar to #4):
```
# ... (same as Perl Excel reader script)
```

Handling different Excel file formats in Perl:

Description: The Spreadsheet::Read module supports various Excel file formats, such as XLSX, XLS, and others.

Code Example:

use Spreadsheet::Read;

my $workbook = ReadData('example.xlsx');  # Works with XLSX

# or for XLS files
# my $workbook = ReadData('example.xls');

# ... (rest of the code remains the same)

Importing Excel data into Perl arrays or hashes:
- Description: You can import Excel data into arrays or hashes for further manipulation.
- Code Example (building on #3):
```
# ... (same as Reading and extracting data from Excel in Perl)
```

Excel file I/O with Perl:

Description: Excel file I/O involves reading from and writing to Excel files. The Spreadsheet::Read module handles both input and output operations.

Code Example (writing to an Excel file):

use Spreadsheet::Write;

my $workbook = Spreadsheet::Write->new('output.xlsx');

my $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet();

$worksheet->write('A1', 'Name');
$worksheet->write('B1', 'Age');

$worksheet->write('A2', 'Alice');
$worksheet->write('B2', 25);

$workbook->close();