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One doesn't exclude the other. Websites can keep offering CSV dumps for less technically savvy users. >The only real winners here would be programmers and the
by dgudkov 10y ago
One doesn't exclude the other. Websites can keep offering CSV dumps for less technically savvy users.
>The only real winners here would be programmers and the like.
Not only programmers would benefit from it -- there are many rather advanced users who would pull data into Tableau or a similar tool rather than into Excel.
UPDATE: Probably a better title would be "... in addition to CSV dumps".
- jamescostian 10y agoIt's the word "instead" that I am most strongly against. Offering more ways to get data always sounds good, however that also means more work for developers on things that may not really be used. Personally, when I see something about exporting data to a format my parents (average technical abilities) would not be able to work with, I usually deprioritize it quite a bit. In my opinion, giving users access to a .xlsx file should be perfect for the 99% and having an API allows other devs to fill in gaps. But I suppose if your website is big enough (e.g. PayPal) then you will run into more of those people that need more info but can't/won't use an API, and at that point if you receive enough requests from users, you ought to add some more export options.
- dgudkov 10y agoI agree that "instead" is too strict. Although, I disagree about accessing everything else besides CSVs through APIs because it usually requires a non-trivial amount of reading documentation and coding. It's a no-go for advanced non-technical users that I mentioned earlier. At the same time working with a multi-table SQLite dump is trivial with many data analysis tools.