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I do user Google sheet function of Importxml() to extract data out of external services and dump onto google sheet and then let the Appsheet to read such data to display within App.
What do you actually want to achieve with your feature request? Out of curiosity, I m questioning.
I do the same thing, where I just use importxml in google sheet then use the data. The problem is if the importxml function relies on some user data there is quite the latency in getting the new information back to the user. I was thinking that if the function was just a part of appsheet it would reduce the latency of getting the data back to the user. For example I built and app that helps users find their political representative based on their personal address. So the user puts in their information, appsheet plugs it into my spreadsheet as an importxml. So the data then updates my spreadsheet, and my user has to reopen the document to see the results. If this were an internal function to appsheet it could cut out the transition to google sheets and retrieve data as the user completes their input.
Overall, now that google cloud bought the company, I’d like to see more of google sheet functions integrated as native appsheet functions.
In Appsheet and it basic architecture, we need to “store” the data somewhere in the database where the appsheet connects. When we call external service, like function of importxml or even API GET call, we need to save the data in tabular / table format.
In that sense, Google Sheet function of importxml is already achieve this tasks so that the external data is make available for Appsheet to consume the data within app.
As far as calling to the external service, I dont think there is massive improvement of the performance itself with or without Appsheet built in function from my prospective.
Thanks for the input. I’m new to this, so I’m not the most efficient at what I’m doing. I agree it needs to be stored somewhere, but I was hoping with Appsheet it could have something where the user had to select where the returned information is suppose to go. So if I put in the address of a home and use an import xml function, I’d have to point to the cells where the price and build date should go. I understand the complexity of the problem since it could return multiple pieces of data, I guess that would make the integration hard too.
I wish Appsheet to have some sort of “complete virtual table” kinds of mechanism. Whole table is not physical table at all, but all virtual.
We call external service, import statement and API call, then appsheet simply “display” those data within app.
Lets keep fingers crossed so that this is taken sometime future.
Wow, that is really intuitive what you said there. It’d be great if we had an API call that just showed us the test return and we selected the items we wanted. I have faith in appsheet, they seem to be responsive with the requests, so fingers are crossed
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