Re: Excel Converter

[Jorge Lehner gmx net]

Hello!

On Thu, Aug 01, 2002 at 12:55:04PM -0400, Jody Goldberg wrote:
> On Sun, Jul 21, 2002 at 09:25:47PM -0600, Jorge Lehner gmx net wrote:
> > Exiting!  I'll wait (won't be to years vacation?! ;-)
>
> Ok, I'm back and the machines are running again.

Hope you enjoyed a lot!

> While I'm catching up on email can you write up an initial proposal
> on a set of cmd  line flags to configure the text import/export

Simplest solution:

read on standard input or from file (files? - maybe not) on
commandline.
Write to standard output or to file specified with -o name
or --output-file=name.

Conversion by default is from gnumeric standard format (whichever this is
right now) to gnumeric standard format (= cat + consistency check).

Two additional commandline options:

--import=type, -i type
--export=type, -e type

where type is any of the allowable formats for the respective
operation.

De'Luxe version features:

* automatic format pre-detection on input by filename extension

* if that fails, format detection per "file" utility and/or gnumeric
  detection capabilities.

* if type = "help", print out currently built in converters for the
  respective action (--import help)

* if second filename is given on commandline, use it as output file
  name, dont send to standard output (conflicts with 

* in this case, automatic format selection by output filename
  extension.

* if -o --output-file= is given without parameter, construct the
  output filename from the input filename stem.

* in this case, if constructed output filename exists yet, don't
  overwrite unless --force-overwrite, -f option is given.

* cascading of conversion.  Several --export=type
  --output-filename=name can be given, each conversion is done in
  turn.

* extension of the above, omit --export=type, than use automatic
  output format selection.

* other extension. We assume one input filename on commandline,
  several output filenames.  Each output file is created in turn by
  applying automatic output format selection, or sequence of
  --export=type options, or --export=type,type,type,... where type can
  be the empty string, in which case automatic output format selection
  of the corresponding output file used.

* of course, --output-file=file,file,file,... should also work.

Printing:  either a  "type" specification for output format
("postscript", "ps"), or an extra commandline flag -p --print (or
  --postscript).


I'm done, Uffah! ;-) 



Really! Just the "simplest solution" would be groovy yet!
=======

> process ?  My basic goal is to have an app sothing like
>     ssconvert file <args>
...

I would like to see it named "gnumeric" still.  This would be so much
easier to remember, although maybe you would make it a stub which
calls either one or the other binary...  However, keeping it one thing
wuold have advantages with respect to consistency of the conversion
process between the grafical programm and the commandline-version
converter.

> Thanks
>     Jody

Thanks to you for your prompt reply, and

Best Regards,

     Jorge-León