Convert XLS to Parquet

XLS files are Excel files that use the Binary Interchange File Format (BIFF). This was the default format for Excel versions 97-2003.

XLS files can have multiple sheets, and each sheet can contain multiple rows and columns of data. They support various data types, including text, numbers, dates, and formulas.

Key features of XLS files include:

• Works with older versions of Excel and other spreadsheet software
• Can store formatting information, charts, and macros
• Smaller file size compared to newer formats like XLSX
• Limited to 65,536 rows and 256 columns per sheet

While XLS files are still widely used, they're gradually being replaced by the more modern XLSX format.

Parquet is a columnar storage file format designed for efficiency with big data processing frameworks like Apache Hadoop and Spark.

Technical Details

Parquet organizes data by columns rather than rows, which enables better compression and more efficient queries for analytical workloads. It supports nested data structures and is optimized for handling complex data.

Advantages

• Highly efficient columnar storage and compression
• Excellent query performance for analytical workloads
• Support for nested data structures
• Schema evolution capabilities

Limitations

• Not human-readable like CSV or JSON
• Less suitable for row-oriented operations
• Requires specialized tools for viewing and editing
• More complex than simpler formats