--- title: Modern Spreadsheets in Maple sidebar_label: Maple pagination_prev: demos/cloud/index pagination_next: demos/bigdata/index sidebar_custom_props: summary: Generate Maple-compatible XLSX workbooks from incompatible files --- import current from '/version.js'; import Tabs from '@theme/Tabs'; import TabItem from '@theme/TabItem'; import CodeBlock from '@theme/CodeBlock'; [Maple](https://www.maplesoft.com/products/Maple/) is a numeric computing platform. It offers a robust C-based extension system. [SheetJS](https://sheetjs.com) is a JavaScript library for reading and writing data from spreadsheets. This demo uses SheetJS to pull data from a spreadsheet for further analysis within Maple. We'll create a Maple native extension that loads the [Duktape](/docs/demos/engines/duktape) JavaScript engine and uses the SheetJS library to read data from spreadsheets and converts to a Maple-friendly format. ```mermaid flowchart LR ofile[(generic\nworkbook)] nfile[(clean file\nXLSX)] data[[Maple\nTable]] ofile --> |Maple Extension\nSheetJS + Duktape| nfile nfile --> |ExcelTools\nImport|data ``` :::note Tested Deployments This demo was tested by SheetJS users in the following deployments: | Architecture | Version | Date | |:-------------|:---------|:-----------| | `darwin-x64` | `2025.1` | 2025-06-20 | | `win11-x64` | `2025.1` | 2025-07-17 | ::: :::info pass Maple has limited support for processing spreadsheets through the `ExcelTools` package[^1]. At the time of writing, it lacked support for XLSB, NUMBERS, and other common spreadsheet formats. SheetJS libraries help fill the gap by normalizing spreadsheets to a form that Maple can understand. ::: ## Integration Details The current recommendation involves a native plugin that reads arbitrary files and generates clean XLSX files that Maple can import. The extension function ultimately pairs the SheetJS `read`[^2] and `write`[^3] methods to read data from the old file and write a new file: ```js title="Script that will be run by Maple extension" var workbook = XLSX.read(original_file_data, { type: "buffer" }); var new_file_data = XLSX.write(workbook, { type: "array", bookType: "xlsx" }); ``` The extension function will receive a file name and perform the following steps: ```mermaid flowchart LR ofile{{File\nName}} subgraph JS Operations ojbuf[(Buffer\nFile Bytes)] wb(((SheetJS\nWorkbook))) njbuf[(Buffer\nXLSX bytes)] end obuf[(File\nbytes)] nbuf[(New file\nbytes)] nfile[(XLSX\nFile)] ofile --> |C\nRead File| obuf obuf --> |Duktape\nBuffer Ops| ojbuf ojbuf --> |SheetJS\n`read`| wb wb --> |SheetJS\n`write`| njbuf njbuf --> |Duktape\nBuffer Ops| nbuf nbuf --> |C\nWrite File| nfile linkStyle 2,3 color:blue,stroke:blue; ``` ### C Extensions Maple extensions are shared libraries or DLLs that use special Maple methods for parsing arguments and returning values. They are typically written in the C programming language. To simplify the flow, the new function will take one argument (the original file name) and return one value (the new file name). The official documentation has a comprehensive list[^4] of methods. For this demo, the following methods are used: - `MapleNumArgs` and `IsMapleString` are used in argument validation. The demo function will raise a Maple exception if no file name is specified. - `MapleRaiseError` and `MapleRaiseError2` programmatically raise errors. - `MapleToString` and `ToMapleString` convert between Maple and C strings. ### Duktape JS Engine This demo uses the [Duktape JavaScript engine](/docs/demos/engines/duktape). The SheetJS + Duktape demo covers engine integration details in more detail. The [SheetJS Standalone scripts](/docs/getting-started/installation/standalone) can be loaded in Duktape by reading the source from the filesystem. ## Complete Demo :::info pass This demo was tested in Windows x64. The path names and build commands will differ in other platforms and operating systems. ::: The [`sheetjs-maple.c`](pathname:///maple/sheetjs-maple.c) extension exports the `SheetToXLSX` Maple method. It takes a file name argument, parses the specified file, exports data to `sheetjsw.xlsx` and returns the string `"sheetjsw.xlsx"`. This can be chained with `Import` from `ExcelTools`: ```maple title="Sample usage of SheetToXLSX extension" with(ExcelTools); Import(SheetToXLSX("pres.numbers")) ``` 1) Open a new Terminal window and create the `/tmp/sheetjs-maple` folder: ```bash cd /tmp mkdir sheetjs-maple cd sheetjs-maple ``` 0) Install "Windows Subsystem for Linux" (WSL)[^5] and Visual Studio[^6]. 1) Open a new "x64 Native Tools Command Prompt" window and create a project folder `c:\sheetjs-maple`: ```powershell cd c:\ mkdir sheetjs-maple cd sheetjs-maple ``` 2) Copy the headers and `lib` files from the Maple folder to the project folder. The headers will be placed in the `extern/include/` folder in the Maple folder. The `lib` files are placed in a platform-specific `bin` folder. In macOS, the "Maple folder" is located in `/Library/Frameworks`: ```bash cp /Library/Frameworks/Maple.framework/Versions/2025/extern/include/*.h . cp /Library/Frameworks/Maple.framework/Versions/2025/bin.APPLE_UNIVERSAL_OSX/*.so . cp /Library/Frameworks/Maple.framework/Versions/2025/bin.APPLE_UNIVERSAL_OSX/*.dylib . ``` 3) Observe that macOS does not need a "Linux Subsystem" and move to Step 4. ```powershell copy "C:\Program Files\Maple 2025\extern\include\"*.h . copy "C:\Program Files\Maple 2025\bin.x86_64_WINDOWS"\*.lib . ``` 3) Run `bash` to enter WSL 4) Install Duktape: ```bash curl -LO https://duktape.org/duktape-2.7.0.tar.xz tar -xJf duktape-2.7.0.tar.xz mv duktape-2.7.0/src/*.{c,h} . ``` 5) Download SheetJS scripts and the test file. {`\ curl -LO https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/package/dist/shim.min.js curl -LO https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/package/dist/xlsx.full.min.js curl -LO https://docs.sheetjs.com/pres.numbers`} 6) Download the extension C code ```bash curl -LO https://docs.sheetjs.com/maple/sheetjs-maple.c ``` 7) Observe that macOS does not need a "Linux Subsystem" and move to Step 8. 8) Build the extension library: ```powershell gcc -shared -fPIC duktape.c sheetjs-maple.c -lm -std=c99 -Wall -o libsheetjs-maple.so -L. -lmaplec ``` 7) Exit WSL by running `exit`. The window will return to the command prompt. 8) Build the extension DLL: ```powershell cl -Gz sheetjs-maple.c duktape.c /EHsc -link -dll -out:sheetjs-maple.dll maplec.lib ``` 9) Close and re-open Maple, then create a new Maple Worksheet or Document 10) Run the following command in Maple to change the working directory: ```maple currentdir("/tmp/sheetjs-maple"); ``` ```maple currentdir("c:\\sheetjs-maple"); ``` 11) Load the `SheetToXLSX` method from the extension: ```maple with(ExternalCalling): dll:=ExternalLibraryName("sheetjs-maple"): SheetToXLSX:=DefineExternal("SheetToXLSX",dll): ``` 12) Read the `pres.numbers` test file: ```maple with(ExcelTools); Import(SheetToXLSX("pres.numbers")) ``` The result will show the data from `pres.numbers` ![Maple Screenshot](pathname:///maple/maple.png) [^1]: See ["ExcelTools"](https://www.maplesoft.com/support/help/Maple/view.aspx?path=ExcelTools) in the Maple documentation. [^2]: See [`read` in "Reading Files"](/docs/api/parse-options) [^3]: See [`write` in "Writing Files"](/docs/api/write-options) [^4]: See ["C `OpenMaple` and `ExternalCalling` Application Program Interface (API)"](https://www.maplesoft.com/support/help/maple/view.aspx?path=OpenMaple%2FC%2FAPI) in the Maple documentation. [^5]: In a PowerShell terminal window, run `wsl --install Ubuntu` [^6]: See [the Visual Studio website](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/#vs-section) for download links. In the Visual Studio Installer, install the "Desktop development with C++" workflow.