Topic: Grist: A modern, open source spreadsheet that goes beyond the grid
Presenter: Brendan Kidwell
Location: Online: https://meet.jit.si/blu.org
Meeting will be recorded, but not live streamed. Recordings will be
posted: https://blu.org/video/
Summary:
Brendan gives an overview of Grist, and demonstrates some practical uses
for it
Abstract
Have you ever been frustrated with your spreadsheet program, fighting
with cell formats when you just want to enter data, or not understanding
how to link two spreadsheet tables to each other? Did you use Microsoft
Access in the past, and don't want to use it now because it hasn't been
updated in decades and doesn't run on Linux? Have you tried Kexi and
only ever had it crash on you?
Do you just want to open a table from a text file, filter it, and export
the results to another text file?
In this presentation we'll take a look at Grist, a "low-code" database
product that anyone can use to organize hobby, home, or business data.
We'll cover:
What is a relational database and why would you want to use one?
Differences between spreadsheets and relational databases
How to install Grist
What kinds of projects can be done in Grist, and when would you want to
use a more advanced system instead?
Example: Import, transform, and write a CSV file
Example: Building a solution with Grist: "my home media collection"
What are my options for going beyond "no-code", to go a little beyond
Grist's built-in features?
Bio
Brendan is a web developer and computer nerd in New York City.
Originally from Boston. Has a B.S. degree in Mathematics with a minor in
Computer Science from Bridgewater State University (Massachusetts). Day
job is building IT stuff for a big government policy research company.
On the side, Brendan hacks on open source projects, writes, and tells
people they should ditch proprietary software.
If you want to check it out before the presentation: See Grist's web
site ( https://www.getgrist.com/ [getgrist.com] ), the Documentation (
https://support.getgrist.com/ [support.getgrist.com] ). Please note: the
easiest way to try out Grist with no commitment is to use their
not-well-publicized all-in-one Desktop build:
https://github.com/gristlabs/grist-desktop/releases [github.com] .
Example files and presentation notes will be made available at
https://go.glump.net/grist-blu [go.glump.net] on the evening of 16 July
2025.
Links:
For further information and directions please consult the BLU Web site:
http://www.blu.org
Our meeting recordings are found on the Video tab: http://blu.org/video/
--
Jerry Feldman<gaf.linux@gmail.com>
Boston Linux and Unixhttp://www.blu.org
PGP key id: 6F6BB6E7
PGP Key fingerprint: 0EDC 2FF5 53A6 8EED 84D1 3050 5715 B88D 6F6B B6E7
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