So you want to write your own CSV code (2014)

Re:So you want to write your own CSV code (2014) by throwaway_pdp09 on Friday May 15, 2020 @09:47AM (#23192090)

I don't know about XPM/PBM/XBM lost but AIUI PDF is just a subset of postscript with compression. If you think MS's binary excel file format is all that secret, I suggest you try unzipping it - it is no more than compressed XML. I have rescued parts of corrupt excel and word files by doing just that.

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Re:So you want to write your own CSV code (2014) by mark-r on Friday May 15, 2020 @11:50AM (#23193598)

MS completely redesigned their binary formats a few years ago. You're right about the current format, but the earlier one was completely undecipherable. Even the current XML has quirks in it to be compatible with the older format.

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Re:So you want to write your own CSV code (2014) by mike22 on Sunday May 17, 2020 @03:07PM (#23214414)

It was reversible enough to write the Apache POI library. I maintain code that uses the HSSF streaming API portion of the library, which mainly gives you low-level access to the structures in XLS files. The OO.org folks made some very nice documentation: http://www.openoffice.org/sc/excelfileformat.pdf

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Re:So you want to write your own CSV code (2014) by ken on Friday May 15, 2020 @03:32PM (#23196382)

PDF diverged from Postscript years ago.

Microsoft’s binary Excel format is not XML -- you’re thinking of its replacement. It was COM/OLE or some such.

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