title: Most efficient way to handle xlsx / xls input in spring batch
body: <p>I have to write a spring batch program which should handle excel input. </p>
  
  <p>Is there an itemreader present for excel files. </p>
  
  <p>Special case: What if I am unsure about the input format of the file. It could be any of xlsx or xls and the program should be able to handle both. </p>
  
  <p>Solution I have in my hand: Read excel using poi or jexcel and write into a dat file which could then be processed using FlatFileItemReader. </p>