🚀 go-pugleaf

Hi,

I'm crossposting this question to several newsgroups since this
one covers the several (possible) platforms...

We take real-time data using some UNIX workstaions and/or VAX/VMS.
Most of the data will be stored and analyzed afterwards, but we
would like to review some part of data repeatedly using ready-made
spreadsheet application(s) like Microsoft Excel.

We know how to port data from UNIX/VAX to Mac/IBM-PC -- by
means of "copy/paste" or sevefal types of file transfer/sharing
mechanism.  But we would like to automate the procedure of porting the
data from UNIX to Mac/PC, creating cell macros, and generating a plot.
It would even be nicer if one could make use of publish & subscribe
feature of the Mac System 7.

Now the question is, does anyone know how to achieve such an automated
real-time spreadsheet analysis?  Requirements/constraints are as
follows:

  1. Spreadsheet has to be a commercial-quality.  (Excel 4.0 or
     equivalents.)

  2. Price of the spreadsheet license has to be an order of the
     Excel on a Mac or a PC, or less.

  3. Data is on UNIX (SUN/DECstation) or on VAX/VMS.

  4. Data is updated every 10 seconds or so.

  5. Size of the data to be analyzed on the spreadsheet will be
     several tens or hundreds of KByte.

  6. A few series of plots have to be generated every 1 minutes
     based on the data using cell macros, hopefully by a single
     key-stroke or a mouse-click.

  7. Spreadsheet analysis (worksheet) must be changed easily and
     interactively.  (ie, should not be hardwired into the
     application).

Possible solution(s) and my (yet another) request for pointers.

  1. Write/update an Excel format file on a UNIX file system, and
     share it with Mac or PC.

     --> Is the format of the Excel file publicly available?
         (How about Wingz?)

  2. Write/update a SYLK format file on a UNIX file system, and
     share it with Mac or PC.

     --> Where should I get the information on the detail of SYLK
         format?  What SYLK can, and cannot do?  How do you achieve
         automatic spreadsheet analysis under this environment?

  3. Run SoftPC-like emulation on UNIX, and run Excel-like
     applications on it.

     --> Does anyone use SoftPC under the requirements given
         above?  What are your experiences/impressions?

  4. Run Excel-like spreadsheet application on UNIX.

     --> Is there any good, powerfull and *cheap* spreadsheet
         applications for SUN/DECstation?  Any experiences/comments?

Please e-mail me directly and I will summerize to the net.

$!+++
$! Youhei Morita              National Laboratory for High Energy Physics (KEK)
$! SMTP:   morita@kek.ac.jp                  Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305, JAPAN
$! HEPnet: KEKVAX::MORITA        Phone: 0298-64-1171 x3435   FAX: 0298-64-4402
$!---