Excel Services is part of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010. Excel Services is built on ASP.NET and SharePoint Foundation technologies. Following are the core components in Excel Services:
- · Excel Web Access
- · Excel Web Services
- · User-defined functions (UDFs)
- · ECMAScript (JavaScript, JScript)
- · Representational State Transfer (REST) service
- · Excel Calculation Services
The Excel Web Access, Excel Web Services, UDFs, ECMAScript, the REST service, and Excel Calculation Services components can be divided into two major groups: the components on a front-end server (also known as the "Web front end") and the component on a back-end application server.
An important aspect of Excel Services is that solution developers can use its power programmatically from their applications. These applications can be line-of-business (LOB) products or custom enterprise solutions that an organization develops internally.
Following are examples of these applications:
- · Multitiered applications, with the presentation layer implemented as a Web application (for example, an ASP.NET application) that calls Excel Web Services.
- · Applications within Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, or integrated with LOB products.
There are five types of development that you can do by using Excel Services:
- · Develop solutions by using Excel Web Services
- · Extend the Microsoft Excel function library in Excel Services by using user-defined functions (UDFs)
- · Customize the Excel Web Access Web Part
- · Develop solutions by using ECMAScript (JavaScript, JScript)
- · Use the REST API to perform operations against Excel workbooks
For more info, see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms517343.aspx
