From Noob to Fluent in 3 steps

Entrenador_Hisp · 11-12-2021 04:35 AM

It took me build an app in 5 months, that now I could make effortless in less than 10hrs.

Disclairmer: Im extremly gratfull with all the Appsheet comunity suport and developers. Im taking some time to writte this post with the best intentions for people who are now where I was 1 year ago

Right now, I can only help you if you are starting from scratch in appsheet with 3 big tips that may save you a lot of time. (And lots of 4:00 Am Coffee driven Rants with your inocent laptop)

3 Tips that take me from not understanding almost anything, to being able to use appsheet fluently

1) THERE ARE NOT SO MANY BUGS IN THE KITCHEN

When I started with appsheet I was thinking all the time: this must be a Bug.

Many times the actions appeared in strange places

Every 15 minutes the error console defied my Fragile Masculinity
Aka: “I know what I want - I will get it or I will die on the attempt”

Taking me to step 2:
4:00Am Berserker Mode.

The problem with this attitude is that you waste a TON of time, trying to patch mistake after mistake.

Look. I was trying to fix the thinks on my own terms.

Making, extraordinary long formulas on the [View?] box
That never worked.

Using a lot of EnumLists, cause I didnt understand REFS Ref type column
I was trying to make some weird 3D database in wich any cell is an array LOL

Creating lots of spreedsheets instead of using Slices.
Then losing a lot of my clients info, in the google drive mess

Etc, etc, etc…

Then after 6 months, reading this community posts. I had a Epiphany

Appsheet team are way more inteligent and inmersed that myself.

Look Im very smart, but this guys are the real G’s

They have literaly createad an app to create apps.
its like biblical.

2) DO NOT PEEL TOMATO WITH AN AX

Learn the language and logic of appsheet, don’t try to do things your way.
Or almost, dont blame appsheet for your actual lack of knowledge.

Be pacient you will get it fast.

Learn the basics and understand the hierarchy:

Handling the data is the most important thing, you can practically do everything based on formulas / References and expressions both in spreedsheet and appsheet.

I had a quantum leap, when I finally get this principle. APPSHEET is just a representation of your SPREEDSHEET in a USER FRIENDLY WAY.

The core of your app MUST BE your SPREEDSHEET.
I know this is super ultra basic for some readers, but guys, it toke me a while to discover this.

So
If you don’t have the patience to learn how to structure your data first, you will have to be patient to resume the app tangle you programmed.

I call this, dirty programming.

it is hard to make a filet mignon in a garbage dump.

Save your time, keep utensils clean.

3) CAKE FIRST, CHERRY LAST

Learn how to create records, how to connect tables
Ask yourself, how communication between appsheet and your database work?

Understand what are the purpose of Keys and Refs.
Learn why adding an ID is good practice.

Understand the difference between FORMULA and INITIAL VALUE
And take your time to explore all column types.

If(
  YOUR DATA BASE IS CRYSTAL CLEAR AND TIDY,
  AUTOMATION AND BEHAVIOR = POWERFULL AND FUN,
  IS THE HELL
)

Keep Pushing!

Rafael_ANEIC-PY

Came for the tips, stayed for the humor, and found the wisdom.

sums up my first months learning appsheet as well, im still dealing with the aftermath of building a system of top of a garbage spreadsheet, don’t do this at home.

stilllifemuseum

YES.

For me this problem was solved by reading this paper:

Tidy Data

DOWNLOAD

Abstract

A huge amount of effort is spent cleaning data to get it ready for analysis, but there has been little research on how to make data cleaning as easy and effective as possible. This paper tackles a small, but important, component of data cleaning: data tidying. Tidy datasets are easy to manipulate, model and visualize, and have a specific structure: each variable is a column, each observation is a row, and each type of observational unit is a table. This framework makes it easy to tidy messy datasets because only a small set of tools are needed to deal with a wide range of un-tidy datasets. This structure also makes it easier to develop tidy tools for data analysis, tools that both input and output tidy datasets. The advantages of a consistent data structure and matching tools are demonstrated with a case study free from mundane data manipulation chores.

Cheers!

Rafael_ANEIC-PY

I’m halfway through this paper and i gotta say it pains me deeply not having read it when i first started with appsheet, i feel it deserves a post of its own, the examples and explanation for each are great.

MultiTech

@Entrenador_Hispano great post!

When I was first getting started, I came across the keyword "Data Modeling"

It wasn’t until I investigated that, that I really began to understand how to put together tables
- I literally had to start thinking about things differently

The ideas used in this paper follow standard data modeling techniques.

You can find more here:

stilllifemuseum

Hi Matt!

I also want to point out that all of this is also explained (very poorly) within the Appsheet Help tutorials.
This would have to be explained in detail before anyone can go into the editor to complicate his life.

For all of us, there should be nothing more mandatory than a correct and orderly database.

DATA How to model the data in your apps.

SkrOYC

It was the same in my case.
I heard and played with AppSheet more than a year before I came back and started to really dig into it.
I took the time to understand relational databases around January 2021 and remembered AppSheet.
It all made sense and I was up and running with my app for my work in less than a week.
Now it’s my biggest app and it does a lot more than at that time. I’m actually selling access to it and it’s capabilities to my ex-boss

Marc_Dillon

Wow, great post!!

afp

This post reminds me of some thoughts I had a couple of days back while managing my app and was looking for solutions.
During this search I have seen examples so clean and simple, it made my app (functional, good looking, and approved by my team) look like a monstrosity when I thought about the Sheet data and the ways I presented it, however functional it may be. I know now, less is more.
I made the decision to re-educate myself after a couple of weeks of using/working with this awesome tool and be more efficient in the coming period, thanks! ⚙️ 🔧

StephenMattison

"I also want to point out that all of this is also explained (very poorly) within the Appsheet Help tutorials.
This would have to be explained in detail before anyone can go into the editor to complicate his life."

This comment by @stilllifemuseum is why I created this useful post. Thank you all for taking the time to share your AppSheet trials, tribulations & solutions, they will all be very helpful to many people!