[Discuss] Boston Linux VIRTUAL Meeting , Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - Grist: A modern, open source spreadsheet that goes beyond the grid

[announce at lists.blu.org (Jerry Feldman via Announce)]

When: June? 18, 2025 7:00PM EDT (6:30PM for Q&A)

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:

https://www.getgrist.com/


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 at 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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