5 ms·

Show HN: CubeWeaver, a collaborative multidimensional web-based spreadsheet

orastor 6y ago
Did they really have to choose a logo that's so similar to competitors? https://i.imgur.com/JGwS1V1.png https://i.imgur.com/JGwS1V1.png
- lub 6y ago
  it's just a cube
- egeria_planning 6y ago
  I don't think AirTable is a competitor in any way. As far as it is something like Sharepoint. I think the logo was created before AirTable was there at all.
- quickthrower2 6y ago
  It's a cube mate.
michaelanckaert 6y ago
Nice work! Can you tell us a bit about your tech stack?
- KaiZon 6y ago
  You can visit my overflow for more information - https://ringtonescloud.com/ https://ringtonescloud.com/
- egeria_planning 6y ago
  Thank you. It is an Angular 9 SPA frontend with a .NET Core backend and an SQL database (MySQL or SQLITE) as a data store. I use several open source libraries. Handsontable is used to display the grid for example. A complete list is available in the help->about dialog.
  - ar-jan 6y ago
    I'm curious, do you translate the multiple dimensions to a fully normalized relational structure, or do you also use complex structures like JSON inside the backend database?
    - egeria_planning 6y ago
      The masterdata is stored as JSON to avoid creating/dropping columns and tables as list/columns are added and removed. But an option to have a fully normalized relational structure in an on-premise installation is on my feature list. It could be useful for enterprise clients who could use the data directly for reports and other applications.
m1sta_ 6y ago
I like it, but I want to be able to use it with my team before committing and that requires on premise.
- egeria_planning 6y ago
  I would suggest to test the cloud version with some dummy data first, so that you know that the application is ok for you. On premise version is also available, but not for free. You will also need either some Linux know how or my support to install, maintain and keep your installation updated.
xiaodai 6y ago
Does anyone know if it uses web assembly?
- qubex 6y ago
  I don’t know if it does or not, but I’m curious to know why this interests you, in the sense that if it works it doesn’t really matter to (potential) end-users such as ourselves how it is implemented. I’m not denouncing the question as illegitimate, I’m just... genuinely curious.
  - Widdershin 6y ago
    Not the person you’re asking but it’s interesting to see how the sausage gets made.
    - egeria_planning 6y ago
      The sausage is 100% free from gluten and web assembly.
warpech 6y ago
Congratulations on your launch. This looks like a huge endeavour. Happy to see Handsontable used in your product!
warpech 6y ago
I can see it was previously submitted as Egeria, can you share some info how it has evolved into the new product?
- egeria_planning 6y ago
  Egeria was just a technology demonstrator. CubeWeaver is a cloud application which can scale over multiple servers, supports user authentication, model sharing and redundant data storage. I also added a lot of features that the pilot users were missing (like data import, csv import, aggregation, various formatting options, etc...).
qubex 6y ago
For somebody who misses Lotus Improv, used Quantrix Modeller, and has evaluated XCubes, this feels about right. Unfortunately web-based solution (particularly those that cannot be self-hosted) are basically verboten to those who (such as myself) manage the kind of work that probably require this kind of instrument. I honestly wish somebody would build something like this in the spirit of Lotus Improv for modern platforms, with modern creature comforts, as a native application. Well done though, it really looks enticing.
- egeria_planning 6y ago
  I don't think a multidimensional spreadsheet (like Lotus Improv) makes sense for a single user. Multidimensionality introduces a lot of complexity and it is only justified by very complex models. Apart from some special cases this complexity is only there when at least 5-10 people are entering the data. Web application is much easier to rollout in a corporate environment. And I don't see any drawbacks. I don't have MS Office for example and use only Google Sheet for a long time already.
  - korijn 6y ago
    It's usually a company-specific interpretation of software validation requirements (imposed by regulators) that software cannot be changed (ie updated) outside of the company's control. Web apps are fine as long as the company can host and perform upgrades/maintenance themselves.
    - qubex 6y ago
      Uhm, no. I assure you the powers-that-be in my firm would totally lose their marbles if highly reserved data were crossing out into some web-app hosted who-knows-where and viewable by who-knows-who.
      - egeria_planning 6y ago
        If you choose the on-premise options no data will ever leave your company. Administrators will install the software on a server inside your company and will be responsible for updates, backups and security of the server.
chrisweekly 6y ago
This looks tremendously useful; it's easy to imagine its adoption taking off given the obvious benefits over traditional spreadsheets. Thanks for sharing! And good luck! :)
carapace 6y ago
Is it anything like Ted Nelson's ZigZag? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZigZag_(software) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZigZag_(software)
- egeria_planning 6y ago
  ZigZag seems like something very abstract and mathematical. CubeWeaver is just a spreadsheet with drop-down filters if you like.
  - carapace 6y ago
    Cheers!
kevincox 6y ago
It took me 5 tries to pass your register captcha. Maybe you should try something more human friendly.
quickthrower2 6y ago
Congrats. Nice to see some innovation in the spreadsheet space. Often you need 3D (or more) data and excel sucks as you need to create a pivot table every time. R is good but that's coding, not always in the mood for that.
silw001 6y ago
cloudy tm1 is quite affordable now, what is the winning point?

Did they really have to choose a logo that's so similar to competitors? https://i.imgur.com/JGwS1V1.png https://i.imgur.com/JGwS1V1.png

lub 6y ago
it's just a cube
egeria_planning 6y ago
I don't think AirTable is a competitor in any way. As far as it is something like Sharepoint. I think the logo was created before AirTable was there at all.
quickthrower2 6y ago
It's a cube mate.

michaelanckaert 6y ago

Nice work! Can you tell us a bit about your tech stack?

KaiZon 6y ago
You can visit my overflow for more information - https://ringtonescloud.com/ https://ringtonescloud.com/
egeria_planning 6y ago
Thank you. It is an Angular 9 SPA frontend with a .NET Core backend and an SQL database (MySQL or SQLITE) as a data store. I use several open source libraries. Handsontable is used to display the grid for example. A complete list is available in the help->about dialog.
- ar-jan 6y ago
  I'm curious, do you translate the multiple dimensions to a fully normalized relational structure, or do you also use complex structures like JSON inside the backend database?
  - egeria_planning 6y ago
    The masterdata is stored as JSON to avoid creating/dropping columns and tables as list/columns are added and removed. But an option to have a fully normalized relational structure in an on-premise installation is on my feature list. It could be useful for enterprise clients who could use the data directly for reports and other applications.

m1sta_ 6y ago

I like it, but I want to be able to use it with my team before committing and that requires on premise.

egeria_planning 6y ago
I would suggest to test the cloud version with some dummy data first, so that you know that the application is ok for you. On premise version is also available, but not for free. You will also need either some Linux know how or my support to install, maintain and keep your installation updated.

xiaodai 6y ago

Does anyone know if it uses web assembly?

qubex 6y ago
I don’t know if it does or not, but I’m curious to know why this interests you, in the sense that if it works it doesn’t really matter to (potential) end-users such as ourselves how it is implemented. I’m not denouncing the question as illegitimate, I’m just... genuinely curious.
- Widdershin 6y ago
  Not the person you’re asking but it’s interesting to see how the sausage gets made.
  - egeria_planning 6y ago
    The sausage is 100% free from gluten and web assembly.

warpech 6y ago

Congratulations on your launch. This looks like a huge endeavour. Happy to see Handsontable used in your product!

warpech 6y ago

I can see it was previously submitted as Egeria, can you share some info how it has evolved into the new product?

egeria_planning 6y ago
Egeria was just a technology demonstrator. CubeWeaver is a cloud application which can scale over multiple servers, supports user authentication, model sharing and redundant data storage. I also added a lot of features that the pilot users were missing (like data import, csv import, aggregation, various formatting options, etc...).

qubex 6y ago

For somebody who misses Lotus Improv, used Quantrix Modeller, and has evaluated XCubes, this feels about right. Unfortunately web-based solution (particularly those that cannot be self-hosted) are basically verboten to those who (such as myself) manage the kind of work that probably require this kind of instrument. I honestly wish somebody would build something like this in the spirit of Lotus Improv for modern platforms, with modern creature comforts, as a native application. Well done though, it really looks enticing.

egeria_planning 6y ago
I don't think a multidimensional spreadsheet (like Lotus Improv) makes sense for a single user. Multidimensionality introduces a lot of complexity and it is only justified by very complex models. Apart from some special cases this complexity is only there when at least 5-10 people are entering the data. Web application is much easier to rollout in a corporate environment. And I don't see any drawbacks. I don't have MS Office for example and use only Google Sheet for a long time already.
- korijn 6y ago
  It's usually a company-specific interpretation of software validation requirements (imposed by regulators) that software cannot be changed (ie updated) outside of the company's control. Web apps are fine as long as the company can host and perform upgrades/maintenance themselves.
  - qubex 6y ago
    Uhm, no. I assure you the powers-that-be in my firm would totally lose their marbles if highly reserved data were crossing out into some web-app hosted who-knows-where and viewable by who-knows-who.
    - egeria_planning 6y ago
      If you choose the on-premise options no data will ever leave your company. Administrators will install the software on a server inside your company and will be responsible for updates, backups and security of the server.

chrisweekly 6y ago

This looks tremendously useful; it's easy to imagine its adoption taking off given the obvious benefits over traditional spreadsheets. Thanks for sharing! And good luck! :)

carapace 6y ago

Is it anything like Ted Nelson's ZigZag? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZigZag_(software) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZigZag_(software)

egeria_planning 6y ago
ZigZag seems like something very abstract and mathematical. CubeWeaver is just a spreadsheet with drop-down filters if you like.
- carapace 6y ago
  Cheers!

kevincox 6y ago

It took me 5 tries to pass your register captcha. Maybe you should try something more human friendly.

quickthrower2 6y ago

Congrats. Nice to see some innovation in the spreadsheet space. Often you need 3D (or more) data and excel sucks as you need to create a pivot table every time. R is good but that's coding, not always in the mood for that.

silw001 6y ago

cloudy tm1 is quite affordable now, what is the winning point?