Apache POI

Apache POI
Developer(s) Apache Software Foundation
Stable release 3.14 / March 15, 2016 (2016-03-15)[1]
Operating system Cross-platform
Type API to access Microsoft Office formats
License Apache License 2.0
Website http://poi.apache.org

Apache POI, a project run by the Apache Software Foundation, and previously a sub-project of the Jakarta Project, provides pure Java libraries for reading and writing files in Microsoft Office formats, such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

History and roadmap

The name was originally an acronym for "Poor Obfuscation Implementation",[2] referring humorously to the fact that the file formats seemed to be deliberately obfuscated, but poorly, since they were successfully reverse-engineered. This explanation – and those of the similar names for the various sub-projects – were removed from the official web pages in order to better market the tools to businesses who would not consider such humor appropriate. The original authors (Andrew C. Oliver and Marc Johnson) also noted the existence of the Hawaiian poi dish, made of mashed taro root, which had similarly derogatory connotations.[3]

Office Open XML support

POI supports the ISO/IEC 29500:2008 Office Open XML file formats since version 3.5. A significant contribution for OOXML support came from Sourcesense,[4] an open source company which was commissioned by Microsoft to develop this contribution.[5] This link spurred controversy, some POI contributors questioning POI OOXML patent protection regarding Microsoft's Open Specification Promise patent license.[6]

Architecture

The Apache POI project contains the following subcomponents (meaning of acronyms is taken from old documentation):

The HSSF component is the most advanced feature of the library.[9] Other components (HPSF, HWPF, and HSLF) are usable, but less full-featured.[10][11]

The POI library is also provided as a Ruby[12] or ColdFusion extension.

Version history

Legend: Old version Older version, still supported Current version Latest preview version Future release

Version number

Date of release
Current stable version: 3.14 2. March 2016
Older version, yet still supported: 3.13 29. September 2015
Older version, yet still supported: 3.12 11. May 2015
Older version, yet still supported: 3.11 21. December 2014
Older version, yet still supported: 3.10.1 18. August 2014
Old version, no longer supported: 3.10 8. February 2014
Old version, no longer supported: 3.9 3. December 2012
Old version, no longer supported: 3.8 26. March 2012
Old version, no longer supported: 3.7 29. October 2010
Old version, no longer supported: 3.6 14. December 2009
Old version, no longer supported: 3.5 28. September 2009
Old version, no longer supported: 3.2 19. October 2008
Old version, no longer supported: 3.1 29. June 2008
Old version, no longer supported: 3.0.2 4. February 2008
Old version, no longer supported: 3.0.1 5. July 2007
Old version, no longer supported: 3.0 18. May 2007
Old version, no longer supported: 2.5.1 29. February 2004
Old version, no longer supported: 2.5 29. February 2004
Old version, no longer supported: 2.0 26. January 2004
Old version, no longer supported: 1.5.1 16. June 2002
Old version, no longer supported: 1.5 6. May 2002
Old version, no longer supported: 1.2.0 19. January 2002
Old version, no longer supported: 1.1.0 4. January 2002
Old version, no longer supported: 1.0.2 11. January 2002
Old version, no longer supported: 1.0.1 4. January 2002
Old version, no longer supported: 1.0.0 30. December 2001

See also

References

  1. "Apache POI 3.14 released". 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  2. Sundaram, Elango (2004-03-22), Excelling in Excel with Java, Java World
  3. POI homepage from October 2004, Coyote Song, archived from the original on 2004-10-15, showing original explanations for naming.
  4. SourceSense
  5. "Microsoft Eyes Open Source Components for Office 2007". Information Week. 26 March 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  6. POI development mailing list archives, March 2008
  7. Codeplex NPOI, Microsoft
  8. POI-HSMF, Apache
  9. POI-HSSF, Apache
  10. POI-HWPF, Apache
  11. POI-HSLF, Apache
  12. POI-Ruby, Apache

External links

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