acoliver 2003/07/19 18:15:14
Modified: src/documentation/content/xdocs index.xml
Log:
no PR bunnies were hurt in the making of this commit
Revision Changes Path
1.8 +10 -42 jakarta-poi/src/documentation/content/xdocs/index.xml
Index: index.xml
===================================================================
RCS file: /home/cvs/jakarta-poi/src/documentation/content/xdocs/index.xml,v
retrieving revision 1.7
retrieving revision 1.8
diff -u -r1.7 -r1.8
--- index.xml 20 Jul 2003 00:53:47 -0000 1.7
+++ index.xml 20 Jul 2003 01:15:14 -0000 1.8
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
The POI project consists of APIs for manipulating various file formats
based upon Microsoft's OLE 2 Compound Document format using pure Java. In
short, you can
read and write MS Excel files using Java. Soon, you'll be able to read and
write
- Word files using Java. POI is your Java Excel solution as well as your Word
Excel solution.
+ Word files using Java. POI is your Java Excel solution as well as your Java
Word solution.
However, we have a complete API for porting other OLE 2 Compound Document
formats and welcome
others to participate.
</p>
@@ -47,38 +47,13 @@
You'd use POIFS if you had a document written in OLE 2 Compound
Document Format, probably written using
MFC, that you needed to read in Java. Alternatively, you'd use POI to
write OLE 2 Compound Document Format
if you needed to inter-operate with software running on the Windows
platform. We are not just bragging when
- we say that POIFS is the most complete and correct port of this file
format to date!
+ we say that POIFS is the most complete and correct implementation of
this file format to date!
</p>
<p>
You'd use HSSF if you needed to read or write an Excel file using Java
(XLS). You can also read and modify
spreadsheets using this API, although right now writing is more mature.
</p>
</section>
-
- <section><title>What does POI stand for?</title>
- <p>
- POI stands for Poor Obfuscation Implementation. Why would we name our
project such a derogatory name? Well,
- Microsoft's OLE 2 Compound Document Format is a poorly conceived
thing. It is essentially an archive structured
- much like the old DOS FAT filesystem. Microsoft Corporation chose,
instead of using tar, gzip, zip or arc, to invent their own
- archive format that does not provide any standard encryption or
compression, is not very appendable and is prone
- to fragmentation.
- </p>
- <p>
- Poi is also a Hawaiian delicacy that <link
href="http://www.m-w.com";>Merriam Webster's dictionary</link> defines as:
- "A Hawaiian food of taro root cooked, pounded, and kneaded to a paste
and often allowed to ferment." This seemed
- strangely descriptive of the file format.
- Poi -- paste of taro root -- is well-nourished and most of the
Hawaiians eat it as baby
- food and therefore they will become BIG and HEAVY as grown-up
- --- we think the naming of 'Poi' might be sure to fit to
-the project from this point of view
- and hope that our 'Poi' project to become BIGGER and more famous.
- </p>
- <p>
- So if you like acronyms, then POI is an acronym. If you hate them,
then we just used the name of the food for our
- project. If you wish to signify your love or hate for acronyms, use
POI or Poi to refer to the project respectively.
- </p>
- </section>
-
</section>
@@ -88,21 +63,21 @@
components, one of which, HSSF, writes Excel files. The following are
components of the entire POI project
and a brief summary of their purpose.</p>
</section>
- <section><title>POIFS (POI Filesystem)</title>
+ <section><title>POIFS</title>
<p>POIFS is the oldest and most stable part of the project. It is our
port of the OLE 2 Compound Document Format to
pure Java. It supports both read and write functionality. All of our
components ultimately rely on it by
definition. Please see <link href="./poifs/index.html">the POIFS
project page</link> for more information.</p>
</section>
- <section><title>HSSF (Horrible Spreadsheet Format)</title>
+ <section><title>HSSF</title>
<p>HSSF is our port of the Microsoft Excel 97(-2002) file format
(BIFF8) to pure Java. It supports read and write
capability. Please see <link href="./hssf/index.html">the HSSF
project page</link> for more information.</p>
</section>
- <section><title>HDF (Horrible Document Format)</title>
- <p>HDF is our port of the Microsoft Word 97 file format to pure Java.
It supports read and write capability.
- Please see <link href="./hdf/index.html">the HDF project page for more
information</link>. This component is
+ <section><title>HWPF</title>
+ <p>HWPF is our port of the Microsoft Word 97 file format to pure Java.
It supports read and write capability.
+ Please see <link href="./hdf/index.html">the HWPF project page for
more information</link>. This component is
in the early stages of design. Jump in!</p>
</section>
- <section><title>HPSF (Horrible Property Set Format)</title>
+ <section><title>HPSF</title>
<p>HPSF is our port of the OLE 2 property set format to pure
Java. Property sets are mostly use to store a document's properties
(title, author, date of last modification etc.), but they can be used
@@ -114,20 +89,13 @@
</section>
- <section><title>What happened to the HSSF Serializer?</title>
- <p>The HSSF Serializer, which was part of our 1.0 release and last builds on
- <link href="http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/poi";>Sourceforge</link>,
has been donated to the
- <link href="http://xml.apache.org/cocoon/";>Cocoon</link> project, and is
available starting from version
- 2.0.2.</p>
- </section>
-
<section><title>Contributing </title>
<p>
So you'd like to contribute to the project? Great! We need
enthusiastic, hard-working, talented folks to help
us on the project in several areas. The first is bug reports and
feature requests! The second is documentation -
we'll be at your every beck and call if you've got a critique or you'd
like to contribute or otherwise improve
the documentation. We could especially use some help documenting the
HSSF file format! Last, but not least, we
- could use some binary crunching Java coders to chew through the
convolution that characterizes Microsoft's file
+ could use some binary crunching Java coders to chew through the
complexity that characterizes Microsoft's file
formats and help us port new ones to a superior Java platform!
</p>
<p>So if you're motivated, ready, and have the time, join the mail lists
and we'll be happy to help you get started on the
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
