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Sounds like what you need is a database for inputting data that doesn't require an "application" to be built around it. I guess this is what access was trying t
by jiggy2011 14y ago
Sounds like what you need is a database for inputting data that doesn't require an "application" to be built around it.
I guess this is what access was trying to be, but it is to technical for non techies and to non technical for techies.
Perhaps even something that looks like excel but is stricter with it's inputs and some easy way to handle relations.
Even showing somebody rails scaffolding can get you a fair way.
- moron4hire 14y agoGiven the culture of Microsoft, Excel is exactly the tool that its users need it to be. MS isn't going to take chances with a major profit center like Office. I challenge anyone to make Excel as good as it is for all of its users.
- jiggy2011 14y agoI wouldn't expect such a tool to come from Microsoft, could be fertile ground for a startup maybe? The hard part is of course gaining the acceptance of existing excel users which is why I would make it look not too dissimilar from excel. The complicated technical part is making something that enforces strong schemas and good support for concurrent users without feeling complicated or overly constrained. It doesn't necessarily have to do everything that excel does, just be good for use cases like "make a customer list that everyone from the CEO to the new temp can use at once"
- moron4hire 14y agoUnfortunately, computer geeks like us are far more interested in making interesting features than making things discoverable and accessible. It's hard enough to get an OSS dev to make a GUI, let alone a good one. I think the most prescient point so far has been that Excel quickly gives you a sanity check of you data, because it gives you the full view of days right away. Working on an ERP rewrite right now, this has been our continual issue, making all of the data visible, in ways that the old system never did.
- alttab 14y agoAlso known as google wave