Re: Vim Spreadsheets

> "do one thing but do it well"

> stay with sc if you want a real spreadsheet calculator.

Very good point there.

The borders between spreadsheets,  Vim, and text editors are pretty blurry I find. Vim is a tool to manipulate textual and numerical data, in any form. A spreadsheet is specialised in "data formatted as a table", and also sometimes "where some cells contain formulas". It's also good at pretty formatting.

So far I identified three use cases which require different tools:

1. When I only need a LIST of items, with 2 or 3 elements per line, 

    and i want  the columns and rows to be clearly visible when I open the file. 

    I might also want a CSV file so it can easily be interacted with programmatically in the future, if I ever needed to. 

    In this case I could either use sc, or csv.vim. I have to try both.

2. For a user-friendly interface (but slower, and the convenience of formulas in cells 

    => Full fledged spreadsheet, probably with sc.

3. When I need a more lightweight and flexible way to interact with the data

    Then I need an app. I can either store the data in a database or in CSV files, depending on my needs. 

    - A CSV file is easier to setup, to diff, to look into and to modify manually. 

    - A database represents relationships between data, and thus will grow better as new types of data get added to the mix.

    CSV files for simple needs, databases for complexity.

One drawback of using one specialized too for each use case, is that you lose the benefit of "muscle memory" for key mappings. I'm guessing that sc's key mappings are similar enough to Vim's, so it won't be too much of a problem. 

Another drawback is the redundancy of configuration: I will have to declare the same key mappings for each tool; for instance I have exchanged the keys ; and : in vim. I will have to do the same in sc. And possibly, the lack of some Vim plugins that i'm used to. 

The only way to know, is to try. sc is installed, I will follow a tutorial soon.

CSV files can save formulas? Ace!

ledger does seem good indeed, cheers.

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