Show HN: Quadratic – native JavaScript support in a spreadsheet • Hacker News Board

Show HN: Quadratic – native JavaScript support in a spreadsheet

#1

Post by Manchego79 » Fri, Sep 27, 2024, 3:24 PM UTC

We built JavaScript natively into a spreadsheet as a cell language. Use JS to analyze and work with data in a high-performance spreadsheet built on Rust and WASM. Quadratic also supports SQL, Python, and formulas.

The goal with Quadratic is to build a modern, high-performance, source-available spreadsheet for everyone. From technical developers to users who have never written code.

Sharing our JS launch with everyone today to see what you build in Quadratic.

Show HN: Quadratic – native JavaScript support in a spreadsheet
quadratichq.com

Re: Show HN: Quadratic – native JavaScript support in a spreadsheet

#2

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Sep 27, 2024, 3:24 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: Quadratic – native JavaScript support in a spreadsheet

#3

Post by dest » Fri, Sep 27, 2024, 5:24 PM UTC

Interesting product. We would use that as a backoffice that would be self hosted, fetching from and pushing to backend APIs. Is that use case on your roadmap?

Basically an alternative to Google sheet with JS macros in it. Gsheet is no good for us because we have data protection requirements.

Re: Show HN: Quadratic – native JavaScript support in a spreadsheet

#4

Post by cloudking » Fri, Sep 27, 2024, 5:58 PM UTC

How does your product differentiate from Google Apps Script? I see you can execute JS within a cell, but why is that a better UX than keeping the code separated like Apps Script does?

Re: Show HN: Quadratic – native JavaScript support in a spreadsheet

#5

Post by Onavo » Fri, Sep 27, 2024, 6:04 PM UTC

Note that they have a GitHub but they are not open source.

Re: Show HN: Quadratic – native JavaScript support in a spreadsheet

#6

Post by sahmeepee » Fri, Sep 27, 2024, 6:21 PM UTC

Datat visualizations?

Re: Show HN: Quadratic – native JavaScript support in a spreadsheet

#7

Post by Manchego79 » Fri, Sep 27, 2024, 7:07 PM UTC

sahmeepee wrote: post #6

Datat visualizations?

For visualizations, we support Chart.js. You can also use our built-in AI to help write the code.

Re: Show HN: Quadratic – native JavaScript support in a spreadsheet

#8

Post by Manchego79 » Fri, Sep 27, 2024, 7:10 PM UTC

dest wrote: post #3

Interesting product. We would use that as a backoffice that would be self hosted, fetching from and pushing to backend APIs. Is that use case on your roadmap? Basically an alternative to Google sheet with JS macros in it. Gsheet is no good for us because we have data protection requirements.

Yep, we're currently rolling out pilots for self-hosting. If you're interested, feel free to reach out via the contact page on our website.

Re: Show HN: Quadratic – native JavaScript support in a spreadsheet

#9

Post by Manchego79 » Fri, Sep 27, 2024, 7:12 PM UTC

cloudking wrote: post #4

How does your product differentiate from Google Apps Script? I see you can execute JS within a cell, but why is that a better UX than keeping the code separated like Apps Script does?

Quadratic is built for doing analytics, and a native JavaScript experience where you're in the weeds with the data just felt better. We wanted JavaScript to be a first-class citizen in the spreadsheet, as formulas are treated first-class in most spreadsheets.

When they're separated, the experience feels bolted on (to us). Being native means supporting existing libraries like Fetch for APIs, chart.js for charts, brain.js for ML, etc., not to mention performance!

Re: Show HN: Quadratic – native JavaScript support in a spreadsheet

#10

Post by Manchego79 » Fri, Sep 27, 2024, 7:17 PM UTC

Onavo wrote: post #5

Note that they have a GitHub but they are not open source.

Correct, our license is Source Available to be as open as possible while reserving commercial rights, which we believe will ultimately enable us to build the best product for users.