Resolver One (BDJ 11 Feb for 60% Discount)

[Perry Mowbray]

I'd be interested in other people's opinion in this, it seems to be a spreadsheet on Python.

http://www.bitsdujour.com/software/resolver-one/

I looked at it a long time ago and was impressed, though I didn't dig very deep. Did anybody else??

I also wondered if it was a soft beginning into Python??

I'm not really sure I'm up for $100 for a spreadsheet but $40 for a great spreadsheet with powerful programming abilities may be different... would I end up ditching Excel (at home)?

[tinjaw]

I purchased Resolver One months ago and am very happy with it. Think of it as Microsoft Excel but with Python for macros instead of VBA. If you are a veteran spreadsheet user that uses spreadsheets often and you would rather learn/use Python instead of VBA, I would say don't hesitate to purchase it.

As for using it to learn Python, not sure it would be good, but it definitely wouldn't be harmful in any way. You would basically be able to start off python by writing short macros. This would teach you to import modules, use functions, and learn the Python native data types. It would not be a good introduction to object oriented programming or such intermediate topics.

[urlwolf]

It doesn't like big datasets. That'd be a killer use of resolver...

[Perry Mowbray]

It doesn't like big datasets. That'd be a killer use of resolver...

Really? How small is "big"?

[rjbull]

I'm not really sure I'm up for $100 for a spreadsheet but $40 for a great spreadsheet with powerful programming abilities may be different... would I end up ditching Excel (at home)?

I haven't tried it, but PlanMaker 2006 by Softmaker is free:

PlanMaker for Windows
The Microsoft Excel-compatible spreadsheet that opens all your Excel workbooks directly and gives you many time-saving features.
• Fast, powerful, reliable.
• Reads and writes your Excel files seamlessly (Microsoft Excel .xls 5.0 to 2007)
• More than 320 calculation functions
• Design your worksheets with colors, fonts, borders, pictures, drawings, AutoShapes, WordArt etc.
• Built-in Excel-compatible charting
• Conditional formatting, syntax highlighting, goal seeker, sheet and workbook protection – and much, much more

Softmaker's suite has been favourably mentioned on DC before.

[Perry Mowbray]

I haven't tried it, but PlanMaker 2006 by Softmaker is free:

Thanks for the thought, though I'm not really wanting to replace Excel per se (Excel works fine for me: I use it a lot), but it seemed to be pushed as a new way to do spreadsheets... and that's what was interesting me.

[kfitting]

I agree with you Perry... ResolverOne has interested me for quite a while.  Problem for me is that work would never adopt it, and I wouldnt use it enough outside of work to justify it.  It sounds really cool though. 

[Perry Mowbray]

I agree with you Perry... ResolverOne has interested me for quite a while.  Problem for me is that work would never adopt it, and I wouldnt use it enough outside of work to justify it.  It sounds really cool though. 

That's basically me, though the discount brought it down into the Interesting zone for me