Just some feedback: the landing page dimensions are all out of order. There's a horizontal scrollbar under the "sneak peak" section. Never a good thing. The spacing between the heading and the hero image is far too wide.
Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python
11–20 of 221 posts
Re: Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python
#12I may be wrong, but most people that know python have already understood there's better ways to code than spreadsheets. Also, at least where I live, not even Google could undermine Excel's dominance. PS: I'm convinced I was indeed wrong after reading replies, because I didn't consider the interaction of coders with no coders, and this tool may indeed be useful. Nevertheless I maintain these cultural changes are very…
Is the argument here that "if you know how to code, spreadsheets aren't useful to you?"
If so, that's false. Spreadsheets are a fantastic way to present visual data and analysis in a way that's auditable by anyone, regardless of technical competence. They are visual programming!
This also makes them a better way to do lightweight data processing. One of my most common workflows is to dump production data into a CSV so I can analyze it and build charts off it. This is perfect for business-as-usual questions, like basic segmentation analyses. Pivot tables!
A major issue with Google Sheets is that the DSL is terrible. Like, try to do any sort of string manipulation (extract the first two words)[1], and you'll see how bad it is. Adding native python support helps solve this.
I'm just a random HN-er who saw this, but I'm very excited about this product.
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[1] https://www.spreadsheetclass.com/extract-text-or-numbers-fro...
Re: Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python
#13Traditionally the business is the source of spreadsheets (data comes from the biz side of the equation). The data analyst then has to make sense of the data. So to convince a BA to input their data on Neptyne because the DA might need to python script it at some point is maybe premature optimization. That's an uphill battle... But I definitely see it a good case for me personally as someone who both originates data (…
(co-founder of Neptyne) - It's definitely not the easiest market to break in, I am sure you are right there. The Python side of things does allow for easy import of data from anywhere though - you can just go:
A1 = requests.get(SOME_URL).json()
to make a REST API call for example. Right now that's often done by running some script that produces a .csv that then gets emailed around and imported into a spreadsheet.
Re: Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python
#14I like this idea. If I’m doing anything more than a trivial formula in Excel or Google Sheets then it’s a pain to look up the proper syntax. Just being able to use Python sounds great.
Re: Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python
#15or just use pivot table.
Re: Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python
#16Very cool idea. Since it is based on Jupyter Notebook, can I self host this for my needs?
Re: Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python
#17FYI There is PyXLL which is an add on for Microsoft excel that gives this functionality without a need to log into any thing.
Re: Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python
#18Reminds me a little of the long-defunct "ResolverOne" for which the only reference I could find was https://www.python.org/about/success/resolver/
Re: Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python
#19Very cool. I've done plenty of work supporting non-technical users who primarily interact with spreadsheets. This would definitely make my life easier.
Is it going to be cloud-only, or are you planning on making a desktop app? If it's cloud-only, you can grab some (hopefully many) Google Sheets users, but most Excel users will probably pass.
Re: Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python
#20I had three minutes, clicked tutorial and got a modal asking me to sign up. Left the page.
Thanks for letting us know. I won't even bother clicking on the link.