Is there a better way (besides COM) to remote-control Excel?

Question

I\'m working on a regression-testing tool that will validate a very large number of Excel spreadsheets. At the moment I control them via COM from a Python script using the l

Answer 1

It is also possible to run Excel as a server application and use it as a calculation engine. This allows non IT users to specify business rules within Excel and call them through webservices. I have not worked with this myself, but I know a coworker of mine used this once. Walkthrough: Developing a Custom Application Using Excel Web Services could be a good starting point. A first glance at that page looks like it requires Sharepoint. This might not be suiteable for every environment.