Import Spreadsheets in Ruby on Rails w/ Flatfile, Open Gem Night Lightning Talks

This is a [Flatfile.com](https://flatfile.com/) sponsored Montreal.rb event, including Pizza for all event attendees!

Doors open at 6:30pm. Talks start at 7pm. Networking time starts at 8pm and lasts till 9:30pm.

The event consists of (1) a 30-minute talk titled "Import Spreadsheets in Ruby on Rails with [Flatfile.com](https://flatfile.com/)" by Andy Maleh, followed by (2) 30 minutes of 1-3 minute lightning talks titled "Open Gem Night Lightning Talks" by Montreal.rb attendees.

1. Import Spreadsheets in Ruby on Rails with Flatfile.com (30 minutes)

Software systems require input in order to compute data and produce output. And, one of the ways to provide input to a software system is by uploading a flat file that contains information about various entities (e.g customers or products) in the form of a spreadsheet, following the CSV or XLSX format.

In order for a software system to properly accept a spreadsheet file as input and effectively process it into output, it usually needs to map spreadsheet columns to entity attributes to store the data in a database. And, often, there is a requirement to validate the data before accepting it (e.g. ensure a column value is within a certain range), and to apply transformations to the data before storing on records in the database. That is in addition to performance, security, usability, and reliability non-functional requirements that ensure that a user could upload a spreadsheet quickly enough while seeing progress indicators in a user-friendly experience and getting their data processed and transformed in the backend without any data loss.

Enter [Flatfile.com](https://flatfile.com/)! A SAAS product (Software As A Service) that automates the handling of all the concerns and requirements mentioned above and more in a Ruby on Rails web application.

This talk will provide a brief overview of the [Flatfile.com](https://flatfile.com/) SAAS product features while demonstrating a real world example of using it in a Ruby on Rails web application.

Speaker Bio:

Andy Maleh has spoken at various software conferences, including RubyConf, RailsConf, and MountainWest RubyConf. He currently works at Lexop as a Senior Software Engineer. Andy has a master's degree in Software Engineering from DePaul University, Chicago, and a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from McGill University, Montreal. In his free time, he drums in a rock band, snowboards, and plays amateur Volleyball. Andy is also a big sports fan of the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Alouettes, Montreal Alliance, and Boston Red Sox.

2. Open Gem Night Lightning Talks (30 minutes)

All Montreal.rb attendees are welcome to give a 1-3 minute lightning talk about a useful Ruby gem (or more) that they have discovered recently or have known about for a while.

Lightning talk structure:

• Ruby gem name
• Problem(s) prompting need for gem
• Solution(s) provided by gem

Attendees are free to prepare Ruby gem lightning talks in advance of the event or to simply provide improvised lightning talks on the spot if they prefer.

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If you have a Ruby talk idea you would like to present at a future Montreal.rb meetup, please contact one of the organizers (Andy Maleh or Mathieu Gagné) to get your talk scheduled in an available future meetup month.