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- Because a spreadsheet is the best UI for many business applications (far better than an HTML table on a webpage). - Because Excel allows the user to (i) perf

- Because a spreadsheet is the best UI for many business applications (far better than an HTML table on a webpage). - Because Excel allows the user to (i) perform ad-hoc calculations, (ii) audit the input and outputs, and (iii) easily modify the functionality in real time. - People don't like filling out forms and most web apps are basically filling out forms.

all2 7y ago
Points 1 and 2 sound like a REPL. Say we had a REPL that also had a table (like excel, each cell has an address... a 2D stack if you will). Say we interact using a mouse to select a cell or in the REPL to specify what cell we want to write to. Then, if we use a Lisp, we have tabular code and tabular data... I might code this up for fun.
- opportune 7y ago
  This exists already - Jupyter + Python + Pandas. Or a spark interactive cluster with a notebook interface if you have more data than can fit on a single machine
- airstrike 7y ago
  This is fine and dandy for small sheets, but if you're trying to build a sheet with multiple tabs, circularity, self-referencing IF statements, or lots of data, it will get really hard Also, the #1 Excel rule in Wall Street is "never use your mouse" IMHO, I think the better project is an equivalent of an RMarkdown / RStudio tool that generates a final report from a declarative set of instructions.
- jimbosis 7y ago
  I don't know if it is what you are envisioning, but there is a spreadsheet program called Scheme In A Grid (Siag) [1] (part of Siag Office [2]). From the "Introduction" [3] of its Online Documentation: "Siag is an X-based spreadsheet for Unix. It uses Scheme (a Lisp dialect) both for expressions and as an extension language, which makes it easy to create new functions (for native Lispers, that is). There is no requirement to know Scheme to use Siag, expressions can be entered in traditional spreadsheet syntax as well." [1] http://siag.nu/siag/ http://siag.nu/siag/ [2] http://siag.nu/index.shtml http://siag.nu/index.shtml [3] http://siag.nu/online-docs/siag/intro.html http://siag.nu/online-docs/siag/intro.html
  - all2 7y ago
    That's about what I imagined.
pier25 7y ago
I agree on points 1 and 2. About point 3, isn't a spreadsheet basically a sophisticated form?
- baq 7y ago
  That’s the point, why spend a week on some fancy web app if excel is already there?
  - pier25 7y ago
    In terms of UI, maybe, but not in terms of data. I've seen it countless times. Somebody sends an excel file over e-mail and it is either an old outdated version of the file, or the persons that receives it hangs on to it for months as a source of reference.
    - mmckelvy 7y ago
      With shared spreadsheets, this should become less and less of an issue going forward I would think.
      - Symbiote 7y ago
        With a conventional LAN with a fileserver, it is already easy to keep one spreadsheet. I don't think people can edit it together. MS Access is much better for allowing simultaneous editing, especially (IIRC) if it's backed by an RDBMS, since it will use row level locks. My previous employer had several databases with read-only web interfaces, but Access editing interfaces. They're very fast to develop, and support all the usual database features (constraints, keys, search etc), and could be set to load a form-editing view by default.
- mmckelvy 7y ago
  With formulas, custom formats, charts, etc. I think you can make a pretty solid case that Excel is far more than a form. But even if you are just using it as a form, with bulk operations and keyboard shortcuts, it's usually much easier to fill out an Excel form vs. a web / app form.

all2 7y ago

Points 1 and 2 sound like a REPL. Say we had a REPL that also had a table (like excel, each cell has an address... a 2D stack if you will). Say we interact using a mouse to select a cell or in the REPL to specify what cell we want to write to. Then, if we use a Lisp, we have tabular code and tabular data... I might code this up for fun.

opportune 7y ago
This exists already - Jupyter + Python + Pandas. Or a spark interactive cluster with a notebook interface if you have more data than can fit on a single machine
airstrike 7y ago
This is fine and dandy for small sheets, but if you're trying to build a sheet with multiple tabs, circularity, self-referencing IF statements, or lots of data, it will get really hard Also, the #1 Excel rule in Wall Street is "never use your mouse" IMHO, I think the better project is an equivalent of an RMarkdown / RStudio tool that generates a final report from a declarative set of instructions.
jimbosis 7y ago
I don't know if it is what you are envisioning, but there is a spreadsheet program called Scheme In A Grid (Siag) [1] (part of Siag Office [2]). From the "Introduction" [3] of its Online Documentation: "Siag is an X-based spreadsheet for Unix. It uses Scheme (a Lisp dialect) both for expressions and as an extension language, which makes it easy to create new functions (for native Lispers, that is). There is no requirement to know Scheme to use Siag, expressions can be entered in traditional spreadsheet syntax as well." [1] http://siag.nu/siag/ http://siag.nu/siag/ [2] http://siag.nu/index.shtml http://siag.nu/index.shtml [3] http://siag.nu/online-docs/siag/intro.html http://siag.nu/online-docs/siag/intro.html
- all2 7y ago
  That's about what I imagined.

pier25 7y ago

I agree on points 1 and 2. About point 3, isn't a spreadsheet basically a sophisticated form?

baq 7y ago
That’s the point, why spend a week on some fancy web app if excel is already there?
- pier25 7y ago
  In terms of UI, maybe, but not in terms of data. I've seen it countless times. Somebody sends an excel file over e-mail and it is either an old outdated version of the file, or the persons that receives it hangs on to it for months as a source of reference.
  - mmckelvy 7y ago
    With shared spreadsheets, this should become less and less of an issue going forward I would think.
    - Symbiote 7y ago
      With a conventional LAN with a fileserver, it is already easy to keep one spreadsheet. I don't think people can edit it together. MS Access is much better for allowing simultaneous editing, especially (IIRC) if it's backed by an RDBMS, since it will use row level locks. My previous employer had several databases with read-only web interfaces, but Access editing interfaces. They're very fast to develop, and support all the usual database features (constraints, keys, search etc), and could be set to load a form-editing view by default.
mmckelvy 7y ago
With formulas, custom formats, charts, etc. I think you can make a pretty solid case that Excel is far more than a form. But even if you are just using it as a form, with bulk operations and keyboard shortcuts, it's usually much easier to fill out an Excel form vs. a web / app form.