Auto-generate software page from Excel spreadsheet

[jeremymanning]

Overview

Automatically compile the software page (software.html) from an Excel spreadsheet, with one row per software project.

Spreadsheet Columns

The spreadsheet should include:

• Name - Software/project name
• Type - Programming language/platform (Python, JavaScript, MATLAB, R, etc.)
• Description - Brief description of the software
• GitHub URL - Link to GitHub repository
• Documentation URL - Link to documentation (optional)
• PyPI/npm URL - Link to package registry (optional)
• Icon - Filename of icon/logo in images/software/
• Featured - Whether to highlight this project (yes / no)
• Active - Whether actively maintained (yes / no)

Implementation

• Create Excel template with required columns
• Write build script to parse spreadsheet
• Generate HTML grouped by software type/language
• Sort projects within each group (featured first, then alphabetically)
• Include appropriate icons for each language type
• Handle missing optional fields gracefully
• Preserve existing styling and layout

File Structure

data/
  software.xlsx       # Source spreadsheet
scripts/
  build_software.py   # Build script

Labels

enhancement, automation

[jeremymanning]

Completed. Software page is now auto-generated from data/software.xlsx using scripts/build_software.py. The build system handles:

• 20 software items across Python, JavaScript, and MATLAB
• Rich HTML link preservation
• GitHub Actions workflow for automatic rebuilds

See README for documentation.