5.37.1 What can I use the ExcelReadService for?
The service provides support for multiple worksheets in a workbook. An application can interrogate the service to find the names of the worksheets in a workbook and then individually process the data in all or selected worksheets. Data can be read from or written to a worksheet in specified row/column ranges using LANSA RDML working lists or 3GL data structures.
The following paragraph provides an example of how ExcelReadService could be used:
Processing Monthly Timesheets
Employees record their billable information in a preformatted Excel spreadsheet. At the end of the month each employee emails a copy of their timesheet to the Head Office to facilitate the billing of clients.
An application at Head Office is used to pick up and process the emails from the agreed mailbox – this could potentially use the POP3MailService. The Excel document associated with each email is processed using the ExcelReadService into a database file. When all timesheets have been received, an internal application generates the appropriate invoices for each client.