A client of mine is looking to convert a critical ‘application’ based on multiple (very complex) spreadsheets into a web app. As part of this they’d like some of the web pages they use to enter/model data to resemble a spreadsheet as much as possible.
I’d be interested to know if anyone has any experience/recommendations for embeddable controls that could do this better than standard html/javascript/ajax code – although suggestions for Javascript frameworks that could do this are welcome too. I’m thinking mainly of ActiveX, Flex, Java or similar controls, commercial or open source are fine.
The coding languages to be used and platform is still open to debate, so ASP.NET against IE or PHP/Flex against Firefox, or some other combination is fine – this will be driven by the business requirement not the platform.
Functionality is of course the main driving force, but it’s always useful to have nice looking eye candy so skinable and cool is a plus. With reference to Javascript frameworks I”ve previously used Dojo and Mootools, but I’d prefer something with a bit more snap.
Answers:
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Method 1
I’d say this comes down to data grids.
For Javascript frameworks: Jquery has ‘plugins’ like this.
Serverside: Telerik has asp.net controls like this.
It really comes down to what platform mix you want to use.
Also, why do you want to bind an asp.net page to IE instead of Firefox?
For a web application, my recommendation would be a mix of asp.net mvc and jquery. JQuery is in my view the best and most stable JavaScript framework out there. The problem is that asp.net mvc is still in ctp phase and it’s probably not ‘supported’ and ‘stable’ enough in some eyes. I already finished a mid-scale commercial web app based on the mixture and was pleased with it.
Method 2
Check out ZK Spreadsheet its cool.
Method 3
It sounds like EASA might meet your needs. It’s a codeless app development tool in use at companies like Zurich, GE, HP. You may like to have a look at http://www.easasoftware.com/spreadsheets. Hope this helps.
Method 4
Check out SpreadsheetGear, as is a .Net component that will allow you to read / write Excel files and execute macros. You can preserve the logic of the spreadsheets and use them to power you web site.
For a front end you may want to check out Telerik as people have created a spreadsheet like interface with the Telerik grid control.
Method 5
I would consider a solution based on google docs/apps or similar and background web services.
Method 6
Here you can download GelSheet an opensource web based spreadsheet.
It is written on PHP/MySql/Javascript
You can contact the developers at sourceforege project page for any customizations
It’s the best solution I found and I’m using it as a part of a personal project.
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