Choosing the Right Libraries for Project

When developing software, it’s crucial to consider the libraries we use. Recently, I encountered a challenge while exporting data to Excel, and I had to decide which library to use. We have several options for working with Word, Excel, and other office programs.

The first filter in choosing a library is its cost. Clients typically prefer not to incur additional expenses for third-party libraries, so opting for free and open-source solutions is often ideal. Secondly, licensing is key. For instance, while the MIT license is flexible and widely used, the GNU license requires that any project using a GNU-licensed library must be entirely open-source, which is often not desirable for commercial projects.

In this case, I chose ClosedXML for my Excel export needs. You might wonder why I didn’t choose NPOI, and the answer is straightforward: popularity and community support. The more popular a library, the more examples and resources are available, making it easier to find solutions to any issues that arise.

In the code above, I’ve demonstrated how to export a list of employees to an Excel file using the ClosedXML library in C#. The first method, ExportEmployeesToExcel, handles the HTTP GET request and returns the Excel file as a download. The second method, Exel, is responsible for generating the Excel file itself.

1. ExportEmployeesToExcel: This method is triggered when a user requests to export employee data. It calls the Exel method to generate the Excel file, then returns the file to the user with the appropriate content type and file name.

2. Exel: This method retrieves employee data from a repository, creates a new Excel workbook, and populates it with employee details such as Name, Surname, and Birth Date. The data is written to a memory stream and returned as a byte array.