| Q: |
How do I purchase the Java version of OfficeWriter? |
| A: |
Effective mid-November 2005, the OfficeWriter for the Java™ platform is no longer available for purchase. However, it is still possible offer native Excel and Word reports from your front-end Java™ Web application through a Web Service. Check out our OfficeWriter Web Service Sample. Current OfficeWriter-for-Java customers will be supported for the life of their support subscriptions.
|
| Q: |
Is OfficeWriter
a pure Java™ solution? |
| A: |
Yes.
OfficeWriter consists of 100-percent pure Java™ class libraries
used from J2EE™ servlets to produce interactive spreadsheets
and documents. The reports can be rendered from your application
server directly in a Web browser, Microsoft Office and
StarOffice. |
| Q: |
What
are the differences between OfficeWriter and Jakarta’s
POI project? |
| A: |
At
this time, POI has very limited support the Word document
file format and does not
have a template (row-insertion) ability with Excel
files. In addition, POI does not allow the parsing of existing
charts and images into the Object Model. OfficeWriter supports
ALL formatting features within native Excel AND Word and
offers an easy-to-use template-based development approach.
With OfficeWriter, there's no need to understand the inner
details of Microsoft file formats. |
| Q: |
What
are OfficeWriter’s application server requirements? |
| A: |
OfficeWriter
requires an application server that complies with the J2EE™
specifications. Supported platforms include BEA WebLogic,
IBM WebSphere, and Apache Tomcat. |
| Q: |
Are
there any platform restrictions with OfficeWriter? |
| A: |
OfficeWriter
does not have any restrictions on the server's operating
system or other applications beyond the application server.
Supported platforms include Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Solaris™,
and Windows 2000, XP, 2003. |
| Q: |
What
data sources can be used with OfficeWriter? |
| A: |
OfficeWriter
can be used with many types of data sources, including
JDBC ResultSets from popular databases (MSSQL, Oracle,
MySQL, DB2, etc) or any data that can be contained in a
Java™ object. Note that OfficeWriter requires a JDBC 2.0
or later database driver to access JDBC data sources. Contact
your database vendor for JDBC drivers. |
| Q: |
Should
OfficeWriter be used from JSP Pages? |
| A: |
No.
Although it's possible to output binary content such as
native Excel and Word files from a Java™ Server Page, it
is not recommended. JSP pages are primarily designed for
*text* output. Binary data should be served from a Servlet,
which can be called from a JSP page to integrate better
with your code. |
| Q: |
Does
OfficeWriter support the latest Java™ Virtual Machines? |
| A: |
OfficeWriter
is compatible with 1.2 and later Sun JVMs, including 1.3
and 1.5. The Blackdown JVM and Jikes JVM have not yet been
tested with OfficeWriter. |
| Q: |
Are
there any requirements to use Java™ applets with OfficeWriter? |
| A: |
OfficeWriter
does not use Java™ Applet technology. Rather, OfficeWriter
renders Excel and Word reports from an application server
directly in a browser. There is no need for a Java™ applet
with OfficeWriter. |
| Q: |
Can
OfficeWriter be used outside of a Web application? |
| A: |
Yes,
but there may be restrictions. You'll need to have j2ee.jar
from the Sun Java 2 Enterprise Edition™ SDK in your classpath
(or at least the jar containing javax.servlet.http). However,
this configuration could result in a violation of the OfficeWriter
license agreement. Contact SoftAtisans Sales for more information. |
| Q: |
Why
do I get a ClassNotFoundException when I copy the OfficeWriter.jar
file to my application server’s lib directory? |
| A: |
The
OfficeWriter.jar file packaged in the OfficeWriter.zip
is an installation package, not the class library itself.
You will need to execute that jar file as per the instructions
in the readme.html contained in the zip file. |
OfficeWriter
for Java™ FAQ
