Export & import ODS files in Appengine app

Question

I am developing an application in java using gwt and Appengine. One feature my app should have is to import data from .ods files and also to export data in .ods format. I know about the jOpenDocument jar but it cannot work with Appengine apps as it is using some Appengine restricted classes . Any suggestions please for alternative approaches to get this done??

Answer 1

You could use Google Docs. Stream your ODS file to Google Docs while converting to Google Docs native format, use the Google Docs API to manipulate the data and export from Google Docs in ODS format.

This might not work if you have too complex items in your ODS like charts, macros etc, because the conversions will cause problems there. But for plain data in columns, this could work.