How Can I Read Excel Files Directly in C# Using Free and Open Source Libraries?

Directly Reading Excel Files in C# with Open-Source Tools

C# developers frequently need to read data directly from Excel files within their applications. This guide demonstrates how to achieve this efficiently using free and open-source libraries.

A popular method utilizes OLEDB. The following code snippet illustrates connecting to an Excel file, selecting a worksheet, and retrieving data as strings:

<code class="language-csharp">var fileName = string.Format("{0}\fileNameHere", Directory.GetCurrentDirectory());
var connectionString = string.Format("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0; data source={0}; Extended Properties=Excel 8.0;", fileName);

var adapter = new OleDbDataAdapter("SELECT * FROM [workSheetNameHere$]", connectionString);
var ds = new DataSet();

adapter.Fill(ds, "anyNameHere");

DataTable data = ds.Tables["anyNameHere"];</code>

For streamlined data manipulation, leverage LINQ:

<code class="language-csharp">var data = ds.Tables["anyNameHere"].AsEnumerable();
var query = data.Where(x => x.Field<string>("phoneNumber") != string.Empty).Select(x =>
                new MyContact
                    {
                        firstName= x.Field<string>("First Name"),
                        lastName = x.Field<string>("Last Name"),
                        phoneNumber =x.Field<string>("Phone Number"),
                    });</code>

This approach offers a simple and effective way to access Excel data, eliminating the need for manual export and subsequent parsing.

The above is the detailed content of How Can I Read Excel Files Directly in C# Using Free and Open Source Libraries?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!