Fieldbook
Data
spreadsheet database
SHOW HN2015
335points
92comments
#40of 2,565 in 2015
Top 2%of 2015 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
17 positive, 23 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 10 critical, out of 52 comments about the project. Thread score +0.16.
Idea: 4 for, 3 againstDesign: 3 for, 0 againstPricing: 0 for, 1 againstPerformance: 0 for, 1 againstExecution: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Clean, attractive UI and easy setup
From 3 comments
The UI is just gorgeous IMHO. Can you share which frameworks you used ? Did you use a template for the front page ?
oceanallin on HNThis is so awesome. Easy to use, set up in seconds, and is mobile friendly. Nice! Can't believe no else has something like this.
Nazariy1995 on HNThis looks excellent! I recently started writing something similar for my phone since I needed something more flexible than the standard todo/gtd apps. Do you have plans for a…
asp2insp on HN
Useful as a prototype database instead of Google Sheets
From 2 comments
I've been using Fieldbook a little bit, and even playing around with their API. It's a great product I'm going to use more. Big fan - there have been several side projects where…
thetmkay on HNIts not that difficult to use Google Spreadsheets as a database - here's an app I put together in a couple of hours to allow people to rate players after a soccer game -…
teamrating on HN
Objections
Not self-hostable; fear of vendor lock-in or shutdown
From 3 comments
I would use an open source version of this immediately. I've written several hacked up projects using google spreadsheets and it works, but its unreliable. I would not want to…
toisanji on HNIt looks very nice. But I can't integrate it into a project if I can't guarantee that it will run even if Fieldbook-the-company changes business models next year. When can I…
dsr_ on HNIt's an interesting idea, However if it's not self-hosted then I think their reach of customers is very limited. We all know most of the businesses run on spreadsheets and most…
snehesht on HN
Slow with large books (around 10k row limit)
From 2 comments
Glad to hear you folks are looking at scaling. I love the idea, and for small stuff the app so far is great. My book with around 2500 rows and 20 columns I find to be…
kevinr on HNWe want you to use Fieldbook as your database, so we don't limit the number of api calls or books you can have in Fieldbook! (we hate when you run up against an artificial limit…
benbernard on HN
Requests
Open source or self-hosted version
From 2 comments
I would use an open source version of this immediately. I've written several hacked up projects using google spreadsheets and it works, but its unreliable. I would not want to…
toisanji on HNIt looks very nice. But I can't integrate it into a project if I can't guarantee that it will run even if Fieldbook-the-company changes business models next year. When can I…
dsr_ on HN
Excel front-end integration
From 2 comments
While it's nice that you have your own spreadsheet interface, how hard would it be to hook Excel in as a front end? I deal with large enterprises primarily and I've been looking…
newman314 on HNThanks! At some point I think we'll have an integration that allows data syncing to and/or from a spreadsheet like this. The spreadsheet isn't ideal as the primary UI for a…
jasoncrawford on HN
Image uploads
From 1 comment
This looks great! I've been on the hunt for a good CMS-as-a-service and have been a bit disappointed by the current options. Does fieldbook handle image uploads? Any other…
mcrider on HN
Native mobile app
From 1 comment
This looks excellent! I recently started writing something similar for my phone since I needed something more flexible than the standard todo/gtd apps. Do you have plans for a…
asp2insp on HN
Questions
How does it compare to Airtable and DabbleDB
From 2 comments
Neat. How does this compare to Airtable? https://airtable.com/
tlrobinson on HNHow does this differ from DabbleDB, which seemed to have all this and more? (Sadly went nowhere and subsumed by Twitter.)
cpr on HN
Can multiple people edit simultaneously
From 1 comment
Can multiple people edit the same spreadsheet at the same time? If so, are their changes displayed live?
nekitamo on HN
Alternatives named
Google Sheets
From 2 comments
Its not that difficult to use Google Spreadsheets as a database - here's an app I put together in a couple of hours to allow people to rate players after a soccer game -…
teamrating on HNI've been using Fieldbook a little bit, and even playing around with their API. It's a great product I'm going to use more. Big fan - there have been several side projects where…
thetmkay on HN
Airtable
From 1 comment
Neat. How does this compare to Airtable? https://airtable.com/
tlrobinson on HN
DabbleDB
From 1 comment
How does this differ from DabbleDB, which seemed to have all this and more? (Sadly went nowhere and subsumed by Twitter.)
cpr on HN
Kinvey and Parse
From 1 comment
Disclaimer: early Kinvey engineer here. Doesn't sound too far off from Kinvey and Parse except for the fact that MBaaS services have been around a lot longer and have much more…
m0rganic on HN
Sheetsu
From 2 comments
is this a bit like sheetsu?
orliesaurus on HNHi, sheetsu.com creator here. If you are looking for an Excel as DB for your front-end give it a try. Paste link to your Google Spreadsheet and then you get an URL to the API.…
michaeloblak on HN