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  <header>
    <title>Jakarta POI - Java API To Access Microsoft Format Files</title>
    <authors>
      <person id="AO" name="Andrew C. Oliver" email="acoliver@apache.org"/>
      <person id="GJS" name="Glen Stampoultzis" email="poi-user@jakarta.apache.org"/>
      <person id="AS" name="Avik Sengupta" email="poi-user@jakarta.apache.org"/>
    </authors>
  </header>

  <body>
    <section><title>POI News</title>
        <p>All POI news can now be found at the <link href="http://nagoya.apache.org/poi/news/">poi news weblog</link>.</p>

    </section>
    <section><title>Purpose</title>
      <p>
      The POI project consists of APIs for manipulating various file formats
      based upon Microsoft's OLE 2 Compound Document format using pure Java.  In short, you can
      read and write MS Excel files using Java.  Soon, you'll be able to read and write 
      Word files using Java.  POI is your Java Excel solution as well as your Java Word solution.
      However, we have a complete API for porting other OLE 2 Compound Document formats and welcome
      others to participate.
      </p>
      <p>
      OLE 2 Compound Document Format based files include most Microsoft Office
      files such as XLS and DOC as well as MFC serialization API based file formats.
      </p>
      <p>
         As a general policy we try to collaborate as much as possible with other projects to
         provide this functionality.  Examples include: <link href="http://xml.apache.org/cocoon">Cocoon</link> for
         which there are serializers for HSSF;
         <link href="http://www.openoffice.org">Open Office.org</link> with whom we collaborate in documenting the
         XLS format; and <link href="http://jakarta.apache.org/lucene">Lucene</link> for which we'll soon have file
         format interpretors.  When practical, we donate components directly to those projects for POI-enabling them.
      </p>
      <section><title>Why/when would I use POI?</title>
        <p>
 		We'll tackle this on a component level. POI refers to the whole project.
        </p>
        <p>
		So why should you use POIFS or HSSF?
        </p>
        <p>
		You'd use POIFS if you had a document written in OLE 2 Compound Document Format, probably written using
		MFC, that you needed to read in Java. Alternatively, you'd use POIFS to write OLE 2 Compound Document Format
		if you needed to inter-operate with software running on the Windows platform. We are not just bragging when
		we say that POIFS is the most complete and correct implementation of this file format to date!
        </p>
        <p>
		You'd use HSSF if you needed to read or write an Excel file using Java (XLS). You can also read and modify
		spreadsheets using this API, although right now writing is more mature.
        </p>
      </section>
    </section>


    <section><title>Components To Date</title>
        <section><title>Overview</title>
	     <p>A common misconception is that POI writes Excel files.  POI is the name of the project.  POI contains several
             components, one of which, HSSF, writes Excel files.  The following are components of the entire POI project
             and a brief summary of their purpose.</p>
        </section>
        <section><title>POIFS</title>
             <p>POIFS is the oldest and most stable part of the project.  It is our port of the OLE 2 Compound Document Format to
             pure Java.  It supports both read and write functionality.  All of our components ultimately rely on it by
             definition.  Please see <link href="./poifs/index.html">the POIFS project page</link> for more information.</p>
        </section>
        <section><title>HSSF</title>
             <p>HSSF is our port of the Microsoft Excel 97(-2002) file format (BIFF8) to pure Java.  It supports read and write
             capability.  Please see <link href="./hssf/index.html">the HSSF project page</link> for more information.</p>
        </section>
        <section><title>HWPF</title>
             <p>HWPF is our port of the Microsoft Word 97 file format to pure Java.  It supports read and write capability.
             Please see <link href="./hwpf/index.html">the HWPF project page for more information</link>.  This component is
             in the early stages of development.It can already read and write simple files.  Jump in!</p>
        </section>
        <section><title>HPSF</title>
	<p>HPSF is our port of the OLE 2 property set format to pure
	  Java. Property sets are mostly use to store a document's properties
	  (title, author, date of last modification etc.), but they can be used
	  for application-specific purposes as well. Currently HPSF supports
	  read functionality only. Please see <link
	    href="./hpsf/index.html">the HPSF project page</link> for more
	  information.</p>
        </section>

     </section>

    <section><title>Contributing </title>
        <p>
		So you'd like to contribute to the project? Great! We need enthusiastic, hard-working, talented folks to help
		us on the project in several areas. The first is bug reports and feature requests! The second is documentation -
		we'll be at your every beck and call if you've got a critique or you'd like to contribute or otherwise improve
		the documentation. We could especially use some help documenting the HSSF file format! Last, but not least, we
		could use some binary crunching Java coders to chew through the complexity that characterizes Microsoft's file
		formats and help us port new ones to a superior Java platform!
        </p>
        <p>So if you're motivated, ready, and have the time, join the mail lists and we'll be happy to help you get started on the
           project!
        </p>


    </section>
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      Copyright (c) @year@ The Apache Software Foundation All rights reserved.
      $Revision$ $Date$
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