Dave Winer describes a very cool piece of web functionality: web service data calls from web spreadsheet cells. Need a piece of data to plug into your ZohoSheet, Google Spreadsheet, or whatever web spreadsheet you use? The syntax he describes would make a request to the desired web service and the returned value would appear in the requesting spreadsheet cell. As a stats junkie and a regular user of web services, I was wishing for exactly this functionality, except I hadn’t thought about the syntax or methodology.
What’s nice is that the framework already exists. Spreadsheets simply have to add this feature. And since Dave has a history of his ideas manifesting, we should see this functionality soon. It’s one more piece in interconnecting documents and data of all sorts. Sort of like a hyperlinking of data objects, if I understand correctly. I see very powerful uses of such functionality on the horizon.
In the example above, a spreadsheet to analyze your stock portfolio might synchronize with notes/ events from your Google Calendar. The spreadsheet makes calls to both servers and receives data back. Logic on the spreadsheet side, of course, decides what to do with the data, including possibly even sending an email or SMS alert, or initiating chat session. (Google Spreadsheets apparently has chat features now, though I haven’t tried it.)
I can also see how this functionality would be great if you’re a blogger managing multiple blogs, and want to get a simple overview of web statistics for all of them in a single spreadsheet. This is only the proverbial tip of the iceberg, and might in fact be the iceberg that sinks standalone spreadsheet applications such as Excel. (Anyone else wondering why Microsoft still doesn’t have a web version?)
Originally posted on May 1, 2007 @ 6:37 pm
Microsoft Excel has been able to do this for years via Visual Studio Tools for Office. Granted it’s not as simple to do as what you’re talking about, but “calling a web service from a spreadsheet” is hardly a new idea.
@Mack: Hmmm. I didn’t know that. Thanks for the info. However, ideas are ideas. It’s not a point of how old they are but whether they’ve manifested. And this one has not. Not completely.
The point is that, despite my using Excel and other standalone spreadsheets, I have never seen this functionality. If the average user doesn’t have access, how useful is it? With free web-based spreadsheets, everyone will have access. And that is what could be the nail in the coffin for Excel or Lotus 123. Unless of course, they add that functionality for every one, not just VST for Office users.
Yeah you’re right…if it is easy enough for the average user to do, it’s a big deal. Let’s hope it happens, either on the web or elsewhere!
Exactly :) Fingers crossed