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Microsoft is bringing Python to Excel

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Re: Microsoft is bringing Python to Excel

#351

Post by nitwit005 »

Sylamore wrote: post #310
nitwit005 wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're probably asking for something impossible. It's common for the raw data to not fit in excel. You have to do some sort of aggregation or filtering, which means having that app where you aggregate and filter. Almost all these tools support exporting to Excel or CSV, so they can do whatever they want in Excel after that.

In multiple orgs now I've had raw access to data warehouses (DB2 and SQL Server based) that had aggregates of petabytes of data from ETL that I was free to access via Excel PowerQuery, direct SQL tools, Python or R, or even PowerBI.

If you're getting aggregates, it's not the raw data by definition. Someone set up aggregation for you to use, much like I described.

Re: Microsoft is bringing Python to Excel

#352

Post by depereo »

giaour wrote: post #319
pseudalopex wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Making software available for download perpetually is less complex than making software available for cloud execution perpetually.

Under the model you're proposing, would I potentially need to download an old copy of Excel because the sheet I'm trying to load relies on an older python runtime?

Isn't that already an issue? I've definitely needed specific versions of excel to open particular workbooks before.

Re: Microsoft is bringing Python to Excel

#353

Post by mrits »

csdvrx wrote: post #152
mrits wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't used a non-cloud spreadsheet in probably 7 years. I also wouldn't use excel for anything that has a combination of high importance and long lifetime though. It's mostly for some brainstorming or thrown in a presentation as a screenshot.

> I haven't used a non-cloud spreadsheet in probably 7 years. Last time I use a cloud spreasheet was a month ago, to download the content into Excel > I also wouldn't use excel for anything that has a combination of high importance and long lifetime though. It's mostly for some brainstorming or thrown in a presentation as a screenshot. It's funny but that's exactly how I see online spreadsheet: for unimportant things…

If I had to download content locally I would tell them to resend a csv. I hope you are doing this on a VM

Re: Microsoft is bringing Python to Excel

#354

Post by kasajian »

fzumstein wrote: post #337
ripley12 wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The problem with Office.js is that it’s just simply too hard to get started with all the npm bloat for the average Excel user (even more professional devs struggle) IMO deployment is an even harder problem. The Office team makes it incredibly difficult to deploy web add-ins (presumably for business reasons) and accordingly most companies I'm familiar with are still using the ancient, barely-supported COM+VSTO add-i…

Which part do you find difficult? The web backend or the deployment of the Manifest.xml via the app store / office admin?

The part that makes it a non-starter is that it has to be in some kind of a store (whether it's on prem via SharePoint) or the Internet. What is needed is that you can install something on the user's computer (xcopy install, msi, w/e), but without requiring any other Microsoft end-point. And then, the bits installed either run completely on-node (similar to COM/VSTO) or it would require that access to remote web-server be required. If a remote web-server is required (which is a bit of a limitation), it should be something that can be pointed to without Microsoft's involvement. Just like I can create a web-site, give you a URL to it, and you can go it using your WebBrowser. No app-stores.

That doesn't mean app-store shouldn't be an option. I would love to also publish my add-in in the Microsoft AppStore, but it should be my choice, not a hard-requirement.

That's why people are still using VSTO, not because we have a problem with JavaScript vs. C# or COM.

Re: Microsoft is bringing Python to Excel

#356

Post by jll29 »

bubblebobble wrote: post #346
vba wrote: post #249

This was a nice surprise to see today as an Ex-Excel developer who worked on trying to bring Python to Excel (and, I guess, failing ;)). 7+ years ago I had the option of leaving the Excel team. My then boss’s boss knew I had an interest in bringing Python to Excel and offered me a chance to tackle it if I chose to stay. What was meant to be a 6 month project turned into a ~3 year project, the Python part faded away a…

This is so weird. I built a working "python within excel" a few years back. (it also did sql and matlab&r remotely) Abandoned now: https://alphawolfxl.com/ I abandoned this when some people I asked to beta test it said "their company wouldn't pay for it" and gave me the impression I'd wasted my time.... ....Not sure how to feel about this.....

You were just ahead of your time!

Re: Microsoft is bringing Python to Excel

#357

Post by fzumstein »

kosolam wrote: post #350
bubblebobble wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is so weird. I built a working "python within excel" a few years back. (it also did sql and matlab&r remotely) Abandoned now: https://alphawolfxl.com/ I abandoned this when some people I asked to beta test it said "their company wouldn't pay for it" and gave me the impression I'd wasted my time.... ....Not sure how to feel about this.....

Don’t feel too bad because if you would have created a product from it, today this product would be deprecated..

I don't think that's necessarily true. They built VSTO for C#, but everybody was using ExcelDNA instead, an Open Source solution that was much better!

Re: Microsoft is bringing Python to Excel

#358

Post by fzumstein »

kasajian wrote: post #354
fzumstein wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which part do you find difficult? The web backend or the deployment of the Manifest.xml via the app store / office admin?

The part that makes it a non-starter is that it has to be in some kind of a store (whether it's on prem via SharePoint) or the Internet. What is needed is that you can install something on the user's computer (xcopy install, msi, w/e), but without requiring any other Microsoft end-point. And then, the bits installed either run completely on-node (similar to COM/VSTO) or it would require that access to remote web-serv…

Totally agree on the part of the add-in: Just give us a dead-simple method to load the manifest locally and be done with it!
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