python convert microsoft office docs to plain text on linux

Question

Any recomendations on a method to convert .doc, .ppt, and .xls to plain text on linux using python? Really any method of conversion would be useful. I have already looked at

Answer 1

I've had some success at using XSLT to process the XML-based office files into something usable in the past. It's not necessarily a python-based solution, but it does get the job done.