Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

python docx VS python xlrd

Compare python docx VS python xlrd and see what are their differences

python docx logo python docx

Create and modify Word documents with Python. Contribute to python-openxml/python-docx development by creating an account on GitHub.

python xlrd logo python xlrd

Please use openpyxl where you can... Contribute to python-excel/xlrd development by creating an account on GitHub.
  • python docx Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-18
  • python xlrd Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-18

python docx features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    python-docx provides a simple API for creating and manipulating .docx files, making it accessible for both beginners and experienced developers.
  • Free and Open Source
    Being an open-source library with an active community, python-docx is freely available and continually improved by contributors.
  • Comprehensive Documentation
    The library comes with comprehensive documentation, including examples and guidelines, which makes it easier to learn and use effectively.
  • Wide Range of Features
    It supports a variety of features for creating and editing document elements like paragraphs, tables, and images, enabling robust document customization.
  • Cross-platform Compatibility
    As a Python library, python-docx can run on multiple platforms that support Python, providing flexibility in deployment.

Possible disadvantages of python docx

  • Performance Limitations
    Handling very large documents might be slow, as python-docx might not be optimized for performance-intensive tasks compared to some other solutions.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    While useful for many applications, python-docx may not support all advanced features needed for highly complex document generation and manipulation.
  • Memory Consumption
    The library can consume a significant amount of memory when dealing with large documents, which can be a constraint in memory-limited environments.
  • Lack of Built-in Validation
    Python-docx does not inherently provide validation for document content, which means errors might not be detected until attempting to open the file.
  • Dependency on Microsoft Word
    While not a direct dependency, testing the results of python-docx manipulation often requires Microsoft Word or a compatible reader to ensure fidelity.

python xlrd features and specs

  • Simplicity
    xlrd provides a straightforward and easy-to-use API for reading Excel files, making it accessible for beginners and quick implementations.
  • Widely Used
    xlrd has been a popular choice for handling Excel files in Python, which means there is a lot of available documentation and community support.
  • Efficient Reading
    It is optimized for reading data from Excel files without loading entire data into memory, which is beneficial for handling large files.

Possible disadvantages of python xlrd

  • No Write Support
    xlrd is designed solely for reading, and it does not support writing or modifying Excel files.
  • Limited to Older Excel Formats
    With version 2.0 and above, xlrd only supports the older .xls Excel file format and does not support .xlsx files.
  • Deprecated Features
    Due to changes in dependencies and updates to Excel formats, some features in xlrd have become deprecated or removed, which can limit its functionality.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to python docx and python xlrd)
Data Science And Machine Learning
Development Tools
44 44%
56% 56
Game Development
47 47%
53% 53
Python Tools
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

python xlrd might be a bit more popular than python docx. We know about 2 links to it since March 2021 and only 2 links to python docx. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

python docx mentions (2)

  • What Would Go in Your Dream Documentation Solution?
    So, what I'd like to do is write a documentation package in Python to recreate what I've lost. I plan to build upon the fantastic python-docx and docxtpl packages, and I'll probably rely on pandas from much of the tabular stuff. Here are the features I intend to include:. Source: over 1 year ago
  • See unknow person with a problem in Stackoverflow: writes a library for her
    Here's the project: https://github.com/python-openxml/python-docx. Source: about 2 years ago

python xlrd mentions (2)

  • I need to read multiple excel files, extract a column from each and compose a new file
    So to get this out of the way first, xlrd has less features than openpyxl and in addition only works with the old '.xls' format, not the newer '.xlsx' format. Even on the xlrd's Github repo it says: 'Please use openpyxl where you can... '. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Sending Bulk SMS using Africas Talking, Python and Excel
    There are few alternative libraries for reading and writing excel files: Pandas, Xlrd , openpyxl among others. In the end I settled for openpyxl as I had the most experience Using it and it had support for .xlsx files. - Source: dev.to / about 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing python docx and python xlrd, you can also consider the following products

python pillow - The friendly PIL fork (Python Imaging Library). Contribute to python-pillow/Pillow development by creating an account on GitHub.

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python wiki - Component Libraries

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Pygame - Pygame is a set of Python modules designed for writing games.