Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback

#1

Post by smortaz » Thu, Dec 14, 2017, 9:16 PM UTC

Folks, Microsoft is officially considering providing Python support in Excel (finally). If you are interested in this, please visit their uservoice page and let them know what you think. Thank you!

https://excel.uservoice.com/forums/304921-excel-for-windows-desktop-application/suggestions/10549005-python-as-an-excel-scripting-language

Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback

#2

Post by smortaz » Thu, Dec 14, 2017, 9:21 PM UTC

Clickable Link:

https://excel.uservoice.com/forums/304921-excel-for-windows-...

[disclaimer+bias: on Python team @ msft & would love to see this happen!]

Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback

#3

Post by odonnellryan » Thu, Dec 14, 2017, 9:30 PM UTC

smortaz wrote: post #2

Clickable Link: https://excel.uservoice.com/forums/304921-excel-for-windows-... [disclaimer+bias: on Python team @ msft & would love to see this happen!]

So what's the strategy here re: security? I assume it'd be a fairly stripped-down version of Python ... or will you just design the UI to say "you probably shouldn't execute files from people you don't know" etc?

Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback

#4

Post by Nullabillity » Thu, Dec 14, 2017, 9:32 PM UTC

smortaz wrote: post #2

Clickable Link: https://excel.uservoice.com/forums/304921-excel-for-windows-... [disclaimer+bias: on Python team @ msft & would love to see this happen!]

> @ msft

Well, I guess that explains why you care about Office in 2017.

Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback

#5

Post by _e » Thu, Dec 14, 2017, 9:36 PM UTC

Dear Excel team,

Take a look at the top three results for "excel python" on bing.com for some great ideas on how to incorporate python into excel.

---

1.) https://www.python-excel.org

2.) https://www.pyxll.com/

3.) https://www.xlwings.org/

Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback

#6

Post by smortaz » Thu, Dec 14, 2017, 9:38 PM UTC

odonnellryan wrote: post #3

smortaz wrote: post #2

Clickable Link: https://excel.uservoice.com/forums/304921-excel-for-windows-... [disclaimer+bias: on Python team @ msft & would love to see this happen!]

So what's the strategy here re: security? I assume it'd be a fairly stripped-down version of Python ... or will you just design the UI to say "you probably shouldn't execute files from people you don't know" etc?

Challenges exist & will have to be looked at for sure. Incidentally, one of the guys on our team just a gave talk on his PEP for "Secure" Python:

https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0551/

There's a YT talk as well.

Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback

#7

Post by davb » Thu, Dec 14, 2017, 9:39 PM UTC

odonnellryan wrote: post #3

smortaz wrote: post #2

Clickable Link: https://excel.uservoice.com/forums/304921-excel-for-windows-... [disclaimer+bias: on Python team @ msft & would love to see this happen!]

So what's the strategy here re: security? I assume it'd be a fairly stripped-down version of Python ... or will you just design the UI to say "you probably shouldn't execute files from people you don't know" etc?

I’d rather full fat Python but heavily sandboxed with some form of firewall. “Do you want to allow 2018_Stock_Report_Q1.xlsp to connect to api.erp.corp.mycompany.com?”. Codesigning with my something under my corp CA, manage permissions via Group Policy and let users, on a per-endpoint or per-permission basis, authorise things like filesystem access, network connections, etc.

Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback

#8

Post by esmi » Thu, Dec 14, 2017, 9:40 PM UTC

odonnellryan wrote: post #3

smortaz wrote: post #2

Clickable Link: https://excel.uservoice.com/forums/304921-excel-for-windows-... [disclaimer+bias: on Python team @ msft & would love to see this happen!]

So what's the strategy here re: security? I assume it'd be a fairly stripped-down version of Python ... or will you just design the UI to say "you probably shouldn't execute files from people you don't know" etc?

From a security point of view how is embedding python different from embedding Visual Basic? This is not my area of expertise so I’m genuinely curious.

Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback

#9

Post by smortaz » Thu, Dec 14, 2017, 9:41 PM UTC

_e wrote: post #5

Dear Excel team, Take a look at the top three results for "excel python" on bing.com for some great ideas on how to incorporate python into excel. --- 1.) https://www.python-excel.org 2.) https://www.pyxll.com/ 3.) https://www.xlwings.org/

Thank you - all awesome tools. Kudos to the devs behind these bridges. We did one ourselves, but better ones have come along since then:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu31s7kXPOg

Re: Excel team considering Python as scripting language: asking for feedback

#10

Post by mschwaig » Thu, Dec 14, 2017, 9:41 PM UTC

So when I google how to do something in Python I will have to comb through solutions specific to v2, v3 and now also Excel? ;)

Aside from that it sounds like a cool idea.