June 27, 2006 at 6 PM

Dabble DB

I haven’t been writing much here lately. In part that’s been due to some work on a project that I’ve been a part of for quite awhile now. Today, I’m proud to announce that the project has launched: Dabble DB is a web-based database system that allows anyone to build database applications with a few clicks of a mouse.

I have been (and will continue to be) the interface designer for the project, which means that I have spent my time coming up with the look and feel of the application. I’ve had to decide how the various elements are arranged — where to use menus, where to use buttons, etc. — and of course I got to make the more stylistic decisions like what colours and type to use. But I can’t take credit for the idea itself — that belongs to Avi Bryant and Andrew Catton, two brilliant programmers who saw a gap in the market and came up with an incredibly innovative and intuitive approach to fill it.

The basic idea behind Dabble DB is that people often use spreadsheets to deal with their data, but spreadsheets aren’t much good once you get past a couple of tables. If you want to look at your data from different angles, spreadsheets fall short. If you want to share your data with other people, and allow collaborative work, emailing spreadsheets is a really poor solution. Dabble addresses these problems by offering an environment that is as easy to use — easier, really — as a spreadsheet, but as powerful as a database. Normally, building a database requires hiring programmers or consulting your I.T. department, but now you can do it over the web with your mouse.

Obviously, I’m very proud of Dabble DB but I don’t think it’s just designer bias: as The Globe and Mail reports today, the company has secured funding from a venture capital firm. This should allow Dabble to negotiate some of the bumps and curves of being a start-up operation. (Even if we do have some paying customers already!)

Dabble DB isn’t free, but we do offer a free trial with no credit card needed. So if you have any data at all that needs sorting, sifting, smoothing or sharing, or if you are looking for an improvement to your current spreadsheet woes, please stop by. Of course, it can be hard to explain in words exactly what Dabble DB is capable of, so I recommend everyone watch the 7-minute demo that Avi and Andrew did awhile back. (The demo won Best in Show at Under the Radar: Why Web 2.0 Matters.)

Previously: Speak of the…

Subsequently: Zizou

June 2006
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