譯者說明：《Programming Microsoft Office 2000 Web Components》是我從網(wǎng)上下載的一本講述OWC技術(shù)的英文電子書，之所以要翻譯這本書，是基于以下幾個(gè)想法：
1、閱讀英文資料時(shí)常常會不求甚解，忽略很多細(xì)節(jié)和不容易閱讀的句子，如果強(qiáng)迫自己逐句的翻譯出來，則會對原來的英文資料有更加全面、詳細(xì)和深刻的了解。
2、可以鍛煉自己在英語方面的能力。
3、能夠給其他需要這方面的資料的朋友提供一定的幫助。
這是本人初次進(jìn)行這方面的工作，本人的技術(shù)和英文能力都很一般，所以希望朋友們能夠?qū)ξ业奈恼轮械腻e(cuò)誤和缺陷提出寶貴的意見和建議，謝謝大家！

歡迎大家訪問我的Blog: http://daidaoke.donews.net/daidaoke/



第一章Office Web Components 介紹



微軟Office 2000中包含了一組名為Office Web Components(OWC) 的新控件。使用這些組件，你能在web瀏覽器環(huán)境和傳統(tǒng)的編程環(huán)境中開發(fā)許多有用的數(shù)據(jù)分析和報(bào)表解決方案。

在這一章，我將解釋為什么Office Web Components會被開發(fā)出來，它們是什么，以及您可以在什么地方使用它們。我也將會向您提供關(guān)于在商業(yè)解決方案中使用這些組件的一些初步的意見，本書第二部分會提供這些組件的一些常用的，基于實(shí)踐的使用方法，并帶您一步一步地了解在這些解決方案中所使用的各種技術(shù)。

如果您一點(diǎn)兒也不了解這些控件，請繼續(xù)閱讀吧，因?yàn)楸菊聲�提供本書其它部分所需要的基礎(chǔ)知識。如果您已經(jīng)熟悉這些控件了，只是希望了解如何在商業(yè)解決方案中使用它們，那么請直接跳到第六章吧。

第一節(jié) 為什么Office Web Components會被創(chuàng)建出來？

面向World Wide Web所開發(fā)的技術(shù)象一場風(fēng)暴一樣吸引了大大小小的商業(yè)機(jī)構(gòu)，各公司現(xiàn)在意識到Internet和Web是發(fā)現(xiàn)客戶和在客戶，供貨商，以及銷售商之間傳遞信息的關(guān)鍵機(jī)制。各公司也意識到如果將同樣的技術(shù)運(yùn)用到公司的局域網(wǎng)或者廣域網(wǎng)（就是我們所知的intranets）內(nèi)部的話，能夠?yàn)樗麄兩虡I(yè)運(yùn)行中共享信息以及開發(fā)和部署工具提供可伸縮的，靈活的，易于使用的機(jī)制。

在不久以前，建立和管理企業(yè)內(nèi)部互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的內(nèi)容的工作是僅屬于WEB站點(diǎn)管理員的魔法。隨著站點(diǎn)管理和內(nèi)容創(chuàng)建工具的出現(xiàn)，例如Microsoft FrontPage，普通人也能夠創(chuàng)建可以在Web上發(fā)表的文檔，并且?guī)缀跸蠊芾硭麄儽镜赜?jì)算機(jī)上的文檔一樣管理這些文檔了。這樣的工具使得非專業(yè)的技術(shù)人員建立Web站點(diǎn)，并且在他們的同事之間共享信息這樣的事情成為可能。

純文本的文檔能夠很好的兼容于HTML和Web瀏覽器技術(shù)，但不是所有文檔在僅使用靜態(tài)文本瀏覽時(shí)都能很有效地發(fā)揮它的作用。那些創(chuàng)建了電子表格，數(shù)據(jù)庫以及數(shù)據(jù)報(bào)表的作者當(dāng)在公司內(nèi)部的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上共享這些東西時(shí)遇到了特殊的問題和機(jī)會。共享電子表格或者數(shù)據(jù)報(bào)表的主要價(jià)值在于讓其它的使用者和它進(jìn)行交互并能根據(jù)他們自己的需要來調(diào)整這個(gè)模型。例如，如果您創(chuàng)建了一個(gè)能根據(jù)各種輸入的價(jià)格來分析產(chǎn)品利潤率的電子表格，共享這個(gè)電子表格的一個(gè)重要方面就是使得其它使用者能夠改變或者輸入新的假設(shè)值并查看重新計(jì)算后的結(jié)果。

同樣的，如果您創(chuàng)建了一個(gè)Microsoft Excel的數(shù)據(jù)透視表(通常被稱為交叉表)，那么允許其它人排序，過濾，分組，重新組織，或者鉆取更多的詳細(xì)信息是共享這些文檔的一個(gè)基本目的。換句話說，在Web上發(fā)布一個(gè)電子表格或者數(shù)據(jù)文檔僅僅是故事的一半。故事的另一半是使得其它使用者能夠與這些發(fā)布的文檔進(jìn)行交互，并能存儲那些對他們來說有用的信息，而不僅僅是發(fā)布者才能這么做。

IT公司機(jī)構(gòu)也意識到Web和Internet技術(shù)的益處。當(dāng)在公司的內(nèi)部互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上使用Web技術(shù)創(chuàng)建信息系統(tǒng)時(shí)，許多系統(tǒng)變得十分易于開發(fā)，分布，使用和維護(hù)。有兩種這樣類型的系統(tǒng)：決策支持系統(tǒng)(DSS),也被稱作主管信息系統(tǒng)(EIS)，最近更多的被稱作在線分析處理系統(tǒng)(OLAP)；和交易系統(tǒng)，這個(gè)稱呼很少被使用或僅被大眾所使用。第七章的銷售分析和報(bào)表解決方案提供了一個(gè)基于Web瀏覽器的OLAP的例子，第八章所描述的的Timesheet的解決方案展示了一個(gè)大眾常用交易工具的例子。

決策支持系統(tǒng)能夠非常好的利用Web技術(shù)和Web用戶體驗(yàn)。想知道上個(gè)月您的產(chǎn)品銷量嗎？打開您的瀏覽器，點(diǎn)擊一個(gè)特殊的鏈接即可。需要了解您地區(qū)的客戶清單嗎？這僅僅是從您的公司內(nèi)部互聯(lián)網(wǎng)主頁上的又一次點(diǎn)擊而已。例如CGI和ASP這樣的技術(shù)使得IT組織能夠根據(jù)需要提供生動的報(bào)表，這些報(bào)表能夠被查看，打印，或者被導(dǎo)出到各種分析工具中。

然而，查看報(bào)表的人常常希望從一個(gè)稍微不同的角度來觀看報(bào)表，根據(jù)一個(gè)不同的值來排序，根據(jù)一個(gè)不同的次序來分組數(shù)據(jù)，鉆取并獲得關(guān)于某一個(gè)數(shù)字的更詳細(xì)的信息，或者通過圖表的方式來查看數(shù)據(jù)。當(dāng)以上任何一種特定的情況發(fā)生時(shí)，IT組織們回到了一個(gè)他們一直必須要處理的同樣的問題，那就是：他們怎樣才能建立一個(gè)滿足每個(gè)人的需要的，靈活的，功能豐富的，并且是易于使用的報(bào)表系統(tǒng)呢？

第二類系統(tǒng)—交易系統(tǒng)—也從WEB技術(shù)中獲益。需要改變您的401(K)計(jì)劃嗎？(美國養(yǎng)老基金體系相關(guān)的一個(gè)計(jì)劃)只要跟隨人力資源主頁上的鏈接漫游，輸入新的值，并且點(diǎn)擊提交按鈕即可。需要?jiǎng)e人幫助修理您的電腦嗎？在熱線支持站點(diǎn)中漫游，填好表格以描述您的問題，并且點(diǎn)擊提交按鈕即可。不需要運(yùn)行任何安裝程序，不需要執(zhí)行復(fù)雜的應(yīng)用程序，并且只需要很少的客戶端磁盤空間，甚至是不需要。

有時(shí)這些應(yīng)用程序需要一個(gè)胖客戶端界面，以便提供類似網(wǎng)格的數(shù)據(jù)輸入界面，重新計(jì)算功能，更新圖表以顯示當(dāng)前數(shù)據(jù)產(chǎn)生的效果，等等。為了保持分布的優(yōu)點(diǎn)，一個(gè)IT組織會需要在頁面中使用一個(gè)這樣的靈活的組件，然而，他們經(jīng)常缺乏資源來自己開發(fā)這樣的組件。

術(shù)語解釋

嚴(yán)格的說，術(shù)語”決策支持系統(tǒng)”,”主管信息系統(tǒng)”,和”在線分析處理系統(tǒng)”不是完全相同的—每個(gè)術(shù)語都有各自的側(cè)重點(diǎn)，使得它有一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)的獨(dú)特。自從信息系統(tǒng)不再僅僅被主管人員使用，術(shù)語”主管信息系統(tǒng)”現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)很少使用；然而，從前這個(gè)術(shù)語描述的是這樣的信息系統(tǒng)：向監(jiān)控公司正常運(yùn)營的主管們提供及時(shí)，高水平的商業(yè)信息的系統(tǒng)。術(shù)語”決策支持系統(tǒng)”具有很大的泛指性，適用于那些著眼于決策制定和關(guān)注特別數(shù)據(jù)分析的發(fā)布的系統(tǒng)。 “OLAP”是當(dāng)前的一個(gè)熱門詞語，它常常被用來描述一類的技術(shù)，而不是圍繞他們所建立起來的解決方案。 唉，我們商業(yè)出版領(lǐng)域中的朋友常�；煊眠@些術(shù)語。

那么，如何在企業(yè)內(nèi)部網(wǎng)上發(fā)布一種交互的使用體驗(yàn)?zāi)�？如何使得電子表格或�?shù)據(jù)報(bào)表在web瀏覽器中變得生動呢？如何開發(fā)和分布能夠提供豐富的數(shù)據(jù)分析和數(shù)據(jù)可視化能力的解決方案呢？如何使用胖客戶端界面建立交易解決方案呢？答案就是Office Web Components。





附錄：

英文原文：

Chapter 1



Introducing the Office Web Components

Microsoft Office 2000 includes a new set of controls called the Office Web Components (OWC). Using these components, you can build many useful data analysis and reporting solutions, both in the web browser and in traditional programming environments. In this chapter, I will explain why the Office Web Components were created, what they are, and where you can use them. I will also give you a few initial ideas for their use in business solutions. Part II of the book will provide some common, practical uses of the components and will take you on a step-by-step tour of the techniques used in those solutions.



If you don't know anything about these controls, read on, as this chapter will serve as the foundation for the rest of the book. If you are already familiar with the components and just want to see how to use them in business solutions, skip ahead to Chapter 6.



Why Were the Office Web Components Created?

The technologies developed for the World Wide Web are taking both large and small businesses by storm. Companies now see the Internet and the Web as key mechanisms for reaching their customers and for distributing information among customers, suppliers, and vendors. Companies are also realizing that the same technologies used internally on their LANs or WANs (known as intranets) provide scalable, flexible, easy-to-use mechanisms for sharing information and for developing and deploying tools to run their businesses.



Not so long ago, setting up and managing content on an intranet was a black art relegated to "webmasters." With the advent of site management and content creation tools such as Microsoft FrontPage, ordinary mortals could create web-ready documents and manage them much like they managed files on their local computers. Tools such as these made it possible for semitechnical individuals to set up web sites and share information with their coworkers.



Documents full of text lend themselves well to HTML and web browser technologies, but not all documents are useful when viewed as static text only. Authors who create spreadsheets, databases, and database reports encounter special problems and opportunities when sharing these on their corporate intranets. Much of the value of sharing a spreadsheet or database report lies in letting other users interact with it and tailor the model to their own needs. For example, if you create a spreadsheet to analyze a product's profitability given various input costs, an important aspect of sharing that spreadsheet is enabling other users to change or enter new assumptions and view the recalculated results. Likewise, if you create a Microsoft Excel PivotTable report (more commonly known as a crosstab report), allowing other people to sort, filter, group, reorganize, or drill down to more detail is an essential part of sharing these documents. In other words, publishing a spreadsheet or database document on a web is only half the story. The other half is enabling others to interact with the published document and garner information that's meaningful to them, not just to the publisher.



Corporate information technology (IT) groups are also realizing the benefits of web and Internet technologies. Many information systems are much easier to develop, deploy, use, and support when created with web technologies on the corporation's intranet. Two such classes of systems exist: decision support systems (DSS), also known as executive information systems (EIS) or the more recent name online analytical processing (OLAP), and transactional systems, which are used infrequently or by large audiences. The Sales Analysis and Reporting solution in Chapter 7 gives an example of OLAP in a web browser, and the Timesheet solution described in Chapter 8 shows an example of a transactional tool commonly used by a large audience.



Decision support systems lend themselves incredibly well to the technologies and user metaphors of the web. Want to know how many units of your product were sold last month? Open your web browser, and click a particular hyperlink. Need to see a list of customers in your district? Again, it's just a click away from your team's intranet home page. Technologies such as Common Gateway Interface (CGI) and Microsoft Active Server Pages (ASP) have made it possible for IT groups to deliver live reports on demand in a format that can be viewed, printed, or imported into a variety of analysis tools.



However, often the person viewing the report wants to see it in a slightly different way, sort it by a different value, group the data in a different order, drill down and see more detail about a number, or see the data organized into a chart. When any of these scenarios occurs, IT groups return to the same problem they have always had to deal with: how do they build a flexible, robust, and easy-to-use reporting system that satisfies everyone's needs?



The second class of systems—transactional systems—also benefits from the technologies of the web. Need to change your 401(k) contribution? Just follow a hyperlink on the human resources home page, enter the new value, and click the Submit button. Need help fixing your computer? Navigate to the helpdesk site, fill out the form describing your problem, and click Submit. There's no install program to run, no complex application to execute, and little to no client-side disk space needed.



Sometimes these applications demand a richer client interface, one that will provide gridlike data entry, recalculation, updates to charts showing the impact of the current value, and so on. To keep the deployment benefits, an IT group would need to use an active component in the page; however, they often lack the resources to develop such components themselves.



The Subtler Side of Buzzwords

To be precise, the terms "decision support systems," "executive information systems," and "OLAP" are not quite synonymous—each has a slant that makes it a little unique. The term "executive information systems" is hardly used today since information systems aren't used only by executives anymore; however, once upon a time the phrase described information systems that delivered critical, high-level business information to executives who were monitoring the health of the company. The term "decision support systems" is more encompassing and applies to systems that aid in decision making, often focusing on delivering ad hoc data analysis. "OLAP" is a hot buzzword today, and it's more often used to describe a class of technologies than the solutions built around them. Alas, our friends in the trade press often use all these terms interchangeably.



So how do you deliver an interactive experience on the corporate intranet? How do you make a spreadsheet or database report come to life in the web browser? How can you develop and deploy solutions that provide rich data analysis and data visualization capabilities? How can you build transactional solutions with richer client interfaces? The answer is the Office Web Components.