--- title: Perl + JE pagination_prev: demos/bigdata/index pagination_next: solutions/input --- import current from '/version.js'; :::warning In a production application, it is strongly recommended to use a binding for a C engine like [`JavaScript::Duktape`](/docs/demos/engines/duktape) ::: JE is a pure-Perl JavaScript engine. The [ExtendScript build](/docs/getting-started/installation/extendscript) can be parsed and evaluated in a JE context. ## Integration Details The engine deviates from ES3. Modifying prototypes can fix some behavior: ```js /* String#charCodeAt is missing */ var string = ""; for(var i = 0; i < 256; ++i) string += String.fromCharCode(i); String.prototype.charCodeAt = function(n) { var result = string.indexOf(this.charAt(n)); if(result == -1) throw this.charAt(n); return result; }; /* workaround for String split bug */ Number.prototype.charCodeAt = function(n) { return this + 48; }; /* String#match bug with empty results */ String.prototype.old_match = String.prototype.match; String.prototype.match = function(p) { var result = this.old_match(p); return (Array.isArray(result) && result.length == 0) ? null : result; }; ``` When loading the ExtendScript build, the BOM must be removed: ```perl ## Load SheetJS source my $src = read_file('xlsx.extendscript.js', { binmode => ':raw' }); $src =~ s/^\xEF\xBB\xBF//; ## remove UTF8 BOM my $XLSX = $je->eval($src); ``` ### Reading Files Data should be passed as Base64 strings: ```perl use File::Slurp; use MIME::Base64 qw( encode_base64 ); ## Set up conversion method $je->eval(<<'EOF'); function sheetjsparse(data) { try { return XLSX.read(String(data), {type: "base64", WTF:1}); } catch(e) { return String(e); } } EOF ## Read file my $raw_data = encode_base64(read_file($ARGV[0], { binmode => ':raw' }), ""); ## Call method with data $return_val = $je->method(sheetjsparse => $raw_data); ``` ### Writing Files Due to bugs in data interchange, it is strongly recommended to use a simple format like `.fods`: ```perl use File::Slurp; ## Set up conversion method $je->eval(<<'EOF'); function sheetjswrite(wb) { try { return XLSX.write(wb, { WTF:1, bookType: "fods", type: "string" }); } catch(e) { return String(e); } } EOF ## Generate file my $fods = $je->method(sheetjswrite => $workbook); ## Write to filesystem write_file("SheetJE.fods", $fods); ``` ## Complete Example :::note This demo was tested on 2023 February 12 against JE 0.066 ::: 1) Install `JE` through CPAN: ```bash cpan install JE ``` 2) Download the [ExtendScript build](/docs/getting-started/installation/extendscript):
{`\
curl -LO https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/package/dist/xlsx.extendscript.js`}
3) Download the demo [`SheetJE.pl`](pathname:///perl/SheetJE.pl): ```bash curl -LO https://docs.sheetjs.com/perl/SheetJE.pl ``` 4) Download a test file and run: ```bash curl -LO https://sheetjs.com/data/cd.xls perl SheetJE.pl cd.xls ``` After a short wait, the contents will be displayed in CSV form. It will also write a file `SheetJE.fods` that can be opened in LibreOffice.