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ODS Format (OpenDocument Spreadsheet)

Description​

ODS (OpenDocument Spreadsheet) is an open standard spreadsheet format used by LibreOffice, OpenOffice, and other office suites. It's an XML-based format stored in a ZIP archive, similar to XLSX but using open standards.

File Extensions​

  • .ods - OpenDocument Spreadsheet files

Implementation Details​

Reading​

The ODS implementation:

  • Uses odfpy library (preferred) or pyexcel-ods3 library
  • Supports multiple sheets (pages)
  • Extracts column headers from first row (if not specified)
  • Converts each row to a dictionary
  • Requires file path (not stream)

Writing​

Writing support:

  • Creates ODS files
  • Writes data to sheets
  • Supports multiple sheets

Key Features​

  • Multiple sheets: Can read/write from specific sheet
  • Header detection: Automatically extracts headers from first row
  • Open standard: Open format, not proprietary
  • Totals support: Can count total rows

Usage​

from iterable import open_iterable

# Basic reading (first sheet, headers from first row)
source = open_iterable('data.ods')
for row in source:
    print(row)
source.close()

# Read specific sheet
source = open_iterable('data.ods', iterableargs={
    'page': 1  # Second sheet (0-indexed)
})

# List available sheets
from iterable.datatypes.ods import ODSIterable

# Discover sheets before opening
sheets = ODSIterable('data.ods').list_tables('data.ods')
print(f"Available sheets: {sheets}")

# List sheets after opening (reuses document)
source = open_iterable('data.ods', iterableargs={'page': 0})
all_sheets = source.list_tables()  # Reuses open document
print(f"All sheets: {all_sheets}")
source.close()

# Writing
dest = open_iterable('output.ods', mode='w')
dest.write({'id': 1, 'name': 'John', 'age': 30})
dest.close()

Parameters​

ParameterTypeDefaultRequiredDescription
pageint0NoSheet index to read/write (0-indexed). Use 0 for first sheet, 1 for second sheet, etc.
keyslist[str]auto-detectedNoColumn names. When reading, extracted from first row if not specified. When writing, required if first row doesn't contain headers.
start_lineint0NoRow number to start reading from (0-indexed). Useful for skipping header rows or starting at a specific row.

Error Handling​

from iterable import open_iterable

try:
    # Reading with error handling
    with open_iterable('data.ods', iterableargs={
        'page': 0  # Sheet index
    }) as source:
        for row in source:
            process(row)
except FileNotFoundError:
    print("ODS file not found")
except ValueError as e:
    # May occur if sheet index is invalid
    print(f"Invalid sheet index: {e}")
    # List available sheets first
    from iterable.datatypes.ods import ODSIterable
    sheets = ODSIterable('data.ods').list_tables('data.ods')
    print(f"Available sheets: {sheets}")
except ImportError as e:
    print(f"Missing dependency: {e}")
    print("Install with: pip install iterabledata[ods] or pip install odfpy")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error reading ODS: {e}")

try:
    # Writing with error handling
    with open_iterable('output.ods', mode='w') as dest:
        dest.write({'id': 1, 'name': 'John', 'age': 30})
except ImportError as e:
    print(f"Missing dependency: {e}")
    print("Install with: pip install iterabledata[ods] or pip install odfpy")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error writing ODS: {e}")

Common Errors​

  • ValueError: Invalid sheet index - use list_tables() to see available sheets
  • ImportError: Missing odfpy package - install with pip install odfpy
  • FileNotFoundError: File path is incorrect or file doesn't exist

Limitations​

  1. Dependency: Requires odfpy or pyexcel-ods3 package
  2. File path required: Requires filename, not stream
  3. Flat data only: Only supports tabular data
  4. Memory usage: Large files may use significant memory
  5. Formatting: Basic writing doesn't preserve spreadsheet formatting

Compression Support​

ODS files are already ZIP archives internally, so additional compression may not provide much benefit. However, they can still be compressed:

  • GZip (.ods.gz)
  • BZip2 (.ods.bz2)
  • LZMA (.ods.xz)
  • LZ4 (.ods.lz4)
  • ZIP (.ods.zip)
  • Brotli (.ods.br)
  • ZStandard (.ods.zst)

Use Cases​

  • OpenOffice/LibreOffice: Working with open office suite files
  • Data migration: Converting from proprietary formats
  • Open standards: When you need open, non-proprietary format
  • Cross-platform: Compatible across different office suites
  • XLSX - Microsoft Excel format
  • XLS - Legacy Excel format
  • CSV - Simple text format