Excel export from the server with PDC - improvement

Reports in Can Do with PDC can, among other things, be directly generated as Excel files. These can also be based on Excel templates. The reports are created manually or automatically.

Some of the reports that customers build themselves are extremely elaborate. The Can Do server must completely assemble the data from the object-oriented world in main memory into a tabular form. Furthermore, the Excel file is virtually created in the server's memory.

This puts a strain on the server, especially the main memory. When the server's main memory (RAM) reaches its physical limits, the system automatically starts cleaning up the memory (Garbage Collection). This can slow down the server.

This does not refer to the Excel export function in the apps in the browser. This function already has all the data for the Excel report in the browser and merely transfers it. So, this is only about PDC reports that are generated on the server.

It is particularly important that the data exported from Can Do be written into its own empty Excel sheet (not file) and not into a sheet where other calculations or fields from the template are present. So, one sheet just with data from Excel and a second sheet with calculations or graphical preparations. Only then will the optimization have the correct effect.

The component in the server for this has been completely revised. This results in the following advantages:

• The memory requirement in the server is reduced by up to 50%
• The reports are generated noticeably faster (especially very large reports)
• The memory limit in the server is not reached or is reached later (not a problem in the cloud anyway)
• All existing reports are compatible and continue to work

The improvement will be delivered as part of the regular updates.