Parsing Excel files in Java

Hi Friends,

Recently i worked on parsing the Microsoft Excel Files in java and want to share some useful info with you.

I found two good API's for this purpose.

1. Apache POI(free)
2. Smart XLS(free for non commercial use)

Apache POI:
Its a free API made by apache. You can parse the following things
No of Physical rows, Sheets Count, Cell Values, Cell formula,Styles(not full colors),But No Chart Support. It can read both xls and xlsx formats.

Smart XLS:
It is a good API as compared to POI.It parses almost all the values and have additional chart support as well. We can get Chart basic attributes like Series Count, Series Formula, Series Names, Series Category Formula etc etc. It also support the styling of each cell.


Regards,
Vajahat Ali Niazi
Lahore, Pakistan