We have been pleasantly surprised by the number of people pushing the envelope on Zoho Creator, our online database & script-based application creation environment – sort of a web analog of Visual Basic, with a relational database backend. You create forms to capture data, create views with a variety of layout settings to display data, and scripts to create rules. The application can be segmented into various tabs. Just recently we added spreadsheet type of views, for in-place data editing – rather than launch a user input form from a view, the view grid itself can be made editable. One unique aspect of Creator is the way it fluidly blends in scripting in the GUI environment.
We have noticed lately that more and more users are pushing the envelope, building larger applications, with a lot more data as well as meta-data (i.e number of tables/columns). Forms are getting bigger, picklists are growing, and people need a lot more sophistication in views. Scripts are getting more complex as well. All of these highlight the need for better performance, because larger applications stress the infrastructure more. These needs are driving our development lately. We have a series of updates planned in the next few weeks addressing easier form/view creation, more sophisticated views, easier scripting, high performance and more. Brand new hardware is also being commissioned as we speak.
Among all the Zoho applications, Zoho Creator has been my personal favorite, because it appeals to the programmer geek in me. This is the tool that fulfills the vision of “situated software” – quick custom applications that serve an individual or small group, created with as much ease as creating a spreadsheet. I truly believe we are in the early days of this technology, and a lot more innovation lies ahead. User feedback is the fuel that keeps us moving, and we really appreciate hearing from you.
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