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Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python

#151

Post by dosinga »

danuker wrote: post #137

> Drag the corner from F7 to F9 to compute the total cost for each unit. I do that. > Server connection error: failed to connect to server I get that the system is overloaded, but if every small action requires a network, and I can't use it with intermittent network let alone offline, I'm not too thrilled.

You have a right to be not all that thrilled because of this. Unfortunately you seem to have hit a bug that we sometimes see and haven't been able to pin down. Normally if the network is flaky or the server slow, it should just reconnect when possible in a fairly seamless way

Re: Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python

#152

Post by dosinga »

npsomaratna wrote: post #72
jackamadeo wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(co-founder of Neptyne here) With Google Sheets you get a flavor of JS called Apps Script, a flavor of JS with some limitations. Some ways in which our use of Python differ are: - run Python directly in the spreadsheet cells, not just as an "extension" - a full runtime in a Jupyter kernel, so you can import and use effectively any Python package, as long as it runs on Linux - an interactive REPL that gives you a nice…

First: congratulations. I love the premise. You've hit the nail on the head: While Google Sheets supports Javascript, the integration feels clunky. You have to switch from the spreadsheet you're working on, to the Apps Script editor. This is awkward enough that I tend to avoid this functionality, even in use-cases where a few lines of Javascript code would probably save me time (vis-a-vis engaging in gymnastics in a…

Agree with making it as much the same where it can be the same. In this case it should work the way it works with the other spreadsheets though. Click a cell and start typing should work and for me just did when I tried. Can you reproduce this? Thanks!

Re: Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python

#156

Post by dosinga »

yawnxyz wrote: post #154

Wow this is so cool! I'm trying the app tutorial out and some of the calculations (e.g. the sum() step) is taking maybe 30-60 seconds to complete — is that usual, or are you getting hugged by HN?

Eh, yeah, I think we are experiencing some slow downs all over the place. Sorry about that? It usually should take about the time of a round trip to the server (plus whatever time Python takes to execute the sum, but that should be fast). Sorry about that!

Re: Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python

#158

Post by jackamadeo »

matt3210 wrote: post #105

This seems like an amazing idea probably because I know python pretty well... People who can't use python probably won't be into it.

It is true that the people who are most productive today in Neptyne are those who are pretty familiar with Python. Part of our long-term goal is to make this kind of programming more accessible to beginners, and we talk to a lot of people who wouldn't call themselves "programmers" but are familiar with spreadsheets. Our hypothesis is that if you give these people a frictionless way to incorporate programming into their workflows, they'll learn quickly and reap the benefits.

Re: Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python

#159

Post by dmitrykoval »

This is really cool and promising product! So many times when I was getting a google docs spreadsheet from non-engineering folks I was wondering if only I can embed a small jupyter notebook with a few python cells and a nice looking pandas chart, using this data.. Congrats on the launch!

Re: Launch HN: Neptyne (YC W23) – A programmable spreadsheet that runs Python

#160

Post by short_sells_poo »

This looks fantastic, and sadly completely misses the mark on a huge industry that uses excel every day: investment management, hedge funds, etc. Why? Because this is yet another cloud only solution with no self hosting possibility.

These firms are very-very rich and would pay good money, but a very small %-age will be willing to give you their data. It doesn't matter how many certifications you quote about data treatment, we will simply not trust you with our data, full stop.

You say pyxll is a mediocre tool, but IMO they understand how this industry works.

Really sad, because the tool itself looks fantastic...

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