Totally new here and believe i have a question on cell computation and displaying results in a cell of my choosing. I am wanting to create an app that firefighters can use for hydraulics calculations to determine friction, etc. Following the instructions by adding a math column seems very counter intuitive after using excel for so many years. I must admit im at a complete loss as to how to get the cells to actually make the computations. For example, image included.
I would prefer the layout if it is possible, however, i would like the result to be as shown in the following image. Target Elevation - Pump Elevation and the result is displayed in the Head in Feet cell on the output side column though. I cant seem to figure out how to make this happen?
What documentation am i missing or mis reading folks?
With a layout like that it’s going to be difficult. Preferably everything would be in a single row and then you change how you display it. Not that it’s impossible the way you have it, but it would be a bit of a hassle to set up and maintain.
The math column looks at values in its own row, so if you had all columns and values on the same row, then it would be really easy to set up the math column.
Would it be reasonable to assume that you only have 2 inputs (target inputs) and everything else would calculate as an output?
no it has multiple inputs. head pressure is then calculated as .434 x 450 and would be displayed ideally in the output cell but since you say it will be extremely difficult it would appear that GLIDE is NOT the right choice to make something like this.
Glide would be great for something like this, but you just need to structure the data in your table a little differently. Does it have to shown in a data grid like that? There is a plethora of ways to set up the screen.
No it doesn’t but I also have to make it firefighter proof. i.e. it has to be easy to read and work with. I do have a native excel sheet that has a lot more i can post a pic as an example and that may give you some ideas? im open to anything. in the end the damn thing just has to work lol
This is a pretty broad generalization, but I would create a table with a single row. Add user specific columns for any values that require input from the user. Add math columns for anything that needs to be calculated from those values. On your screen add entry components to accept user input. Add Text components for any calculated values you want to display on the screen. There are a ton of ways to lay things out on the screen to get the look you want. I think if you start with those basics you will grasp how everything works pretty quickly. Think of how it should look with a slick app instead of how it would look in a spreadsheet.
Here is what I am talking about. This is obviously excel, If i had a way to do a direct port to IOS i would have already done so and left it alone. Hence the reason I was looking for Glide, among other development aides etc.
Fire hydraulics is not as simple as one might think.
Also based upon your description, which does make sense, it seems like re inventing the project from scratch again, which, sounds for me like a pretty big learning curve to make a calculator. I must admit i am seriously having doubts about glide being the right platform for the project.
Or any other similar no code platform. as i would think they must have similar development engines
What you have in your spreadsheet is essentially an app in itself. Cells are sporadically referring to other cells in other rows, so there is a lot of jumping around. Glide on the other hand needs a normalized data structure to work with the data in tables. Each table, row and column serves a specific purpose. You are correct, it is a bit of reinventing to make it happen. You could have a table that takes in the input and does the calculations. You could have tables with reference values that you can relate to based on inputs to retrieve the appropriate values for your calculations. You could have other tables that do other things.
Eventually everything could be tied together through relations. Based on what I’m seeing, it does look like quite the undertaking. Pretty obvious as you said that it’s not as simple as it seems. Overall I think it would take a completely different mindset to restructure the data in a normalized data format, and then build on top of that.
I remember helping a guy once that made an app for EMT’s to determine what types and the dosage of medications to administer to people out in the field. A lot of stuff that was over my head, but I think there was some of the same issues. He was trying to convert a spreadsheet that was laid out a certain way and it took a bit of back and forth to get data structured correctly.
Like I said, it’s completely possible in Glide or in any other no-code tools, but it’s going to first require that data restructuring. My best advice it to break it down into small pieces. Start with a basic calculation for one of the first values. Determine what you need to calculate that number. Once you have that functioning, then work on the next piece. Once you get started you might find that it’s easier than you thought and everything will start to fall into place. Don’t look at the entire thing and try to solve all the problems in one go. Instead break it down into simpler tasks.
