JavOO

JavOO : Java Odbc for Office.

Introduction

JavOO is a small multithread secure server written in Java and working on Windows platform.

It allows you to share MSAccess and MSExcel resources, which will be accessed through the native ODBC driver of Windows.

 For example:
 a laboratory in Madrid has an PC running on Windows and wants to make accessible its Access database to a collaborator in Strasbourg. 
 For that, install JavOO on the PC in Madrid, configure the path and access rights to the Access file and open the port 18000 (or 18001 for secure connection).
 The computer in Strasbourg can now do SQL queries on the remote Access database in Madrid.

Download

The actual version is beta 1.0 .

To get Windows installer of JavOO, please send an email to Guillaume.Berthommier@igbmc.u-strasbg.fr

Installation

Double-click on the file JavOOsetup.exe and follow the instructions.

By default the program will be installed in the directory C:\Program Files\JavOO\ .

Here is the content of the installation directory:

• JavOO
  • lib
    • jaxen-1.1-beta-5.jar
    • jdom.jar
    • log4j-1.2.13.jar
    • microba-0.4.4.jar
    • swing-layout-1.0.jar
  • client_keystore
  • JavOO.ico
  • JavOO.jar
  • javoo.log: this is the application log, you can delete it if it takes too much space
  • javooconfig.xml
  • README.TXT
  • server_keystore
  • testAccess.mdb
  • testExcel.xls
  • unins000.dat
  • unins000.exe

Configuration

Now that you've installed JavOO, you need to add your Excel and/or Access resources.

In the install directory you'll find a file named javooconfig.xml. This file is in XML format. It defines a root element serverconfig in which an element resources is defined. That is in this latest element where you will define your own resources. Some example resources are already defined to show you how the resources should be declared in order to be accessible through the server.

You can edit this file with you favorite text editor.

Excel file

  <excel_resource name="testExcel" 
                   filepath="C:/path/to/the/file.xls" 
                   sheet="sheet" 
                   selection="selection" 
                   user="username" 
                   password="userpassword" 
                   readonly="true" />

• Usually people do not define username and password for Excel files, so if your file doesn't have this kind of protection you can leave them blank.
• The declaration of an Excel resource is a bit specific, let's see:
  • An Excel file has one or many sheets, each one has a specific name, depending on the localisation of your computer, ie "Feuil1" in french, "Sheet1" in english, "Tabelle1" in german, etc. These names can be edited. Because many sheets can be accessible, you will have to define the proper name in the sheet attribute of the Excel resource.
  • Now the tricky part: the selection is a specific zone of you sheet, containing the header line of the table and it's content. Here is an example of a selection:

Name	Age	Gender
Bob	30	Male
Jane	28	Female
Cindy	45	Female

The nice part here is that you can define one or many selections in the same sheet, but you will have to declare as many Excel resources as the number of selections you want to be accessible.

How to create a selection in Excel

1. First select a zone of your sheet containing the header and the data of your table.
2. Then, in the menu, choose Insert -> Name -> Define.
3. A new window should appear, enter the name you want for the selection, press OK then Close.
4. Do not forget to save the file.

Access file

  <access_resource name="testAccess" 
                    filepath="C:/path/to/the/file.mdb" 
                    user="username" 
                    password="userpassword" 
                    readonly="true" />

Usage

Here is a screenshot of the JavOO application:

Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination

1. STOP button: Stop the server, disconnecting all clients.
2. START button: Start the server, the server is ready to accept connections from clients.
3. Server Log Area: Some actions executed by the server are logged in this text area.
4. Clear button: This button clears the Server Log Area (3).
5. Save button: This button will be used for further development.
6. Config button: This button will be used for further development.
7. Test Client button: This button is used to test the server, the result output of the test will be shown in the Server Log Area (3).

Troubleshooting

If you any problem, please send me an email at <Guillaume.Berthommier@igbmc.u-strasbg.fr> .