Re: Tools to generate XLS files with sql: Beware of data beginning with an equal sign

On Fri, Mar 17, 2017 at 7:48 AM, Rob Berendt <rob@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I am reasonably sure that it wasn't trying to do a plain CSV
file as a plain CSV file would not have hurled and tried to make something
beginning with an equal sign into a formula.

I think I get what you're trying to say, but it's an awkward way to
say it. No *file* (CSV or otherwise) will hurl, because it's just a
sequence of bytes. There's no right or wrong. Just bytes.

Something that is trying to *interpret* the file could hurl. And that
something could hurl on a CSV if it doesn't get what it's expecting.

I'm also reasonably sure it didn't
make it a CSV file on the server and then pass that off to another utility
to make it into a spreadsheet before attaching it to an email.

SQL2XLS
copyright('Giuseppe Costagliola - beppecosta@xxxxxxxx - 2004')

Right. So that one utility is interpreting the equals sign in a way
you don't want. It's also probably doing it deliberately:

* CTS01 01/19/10 Allow formulas =...

I'm sure the idea was to give folks a way to set up Excel formulas via
entering the formula into a text column in a database table.
Personally I think this is misguided (due to the inherent nature of
database tables), but I can understand the motivation.

Also, how sure are you about the "no intermediate CSV" given

* CTS 01/25/16 Allow CNVTYPE(*JAVA) for using SQL2CSV and CSV2XLS.

John Y.