Frequently Asked Questions
What is a data browser?
A data browser is a tool that gives you a really quick and easy way to access and manipulate data from the web, your local files or external databases. It's kind of like combining a desktop database with a web browser and then wrapping it up into a easy-to-use interface.
And why would I want a data browser?
Well, Strata is a specialty browser for handling data, so it won't be for everyone. However, if you use or interact with data on a regular basis or want to explore ways to use data from the web in a new way, Strata should be right up your alley.
What are some specific things Strata can do with web data?
When it comes to working with data on the web, standard tools like spreadsheets or even web browsers behave like fish out of water. Strata puts web data front and center so you can deal with it in context and then manipulate it quickly. It handles many data formats natively, such as HTML tables, CSV files and RSS Feeds. A single click transforms them into structured tables that you can work with. Here are a few simple examples of what you can do:
- Browse to the Yahoo Finance section and look up the historic prices for your favorite stock. Click on the "Download to Spreadsheet" link and, voila, a new tab opens with your data pre-formatted and ready to go. Create a calculated field to determine the price swings per day and then sort to find the biggest historical swings.
- Find out how your tax dollars are being used. Browse the web to find your Senator's budget page. Instead of having this data "stuck" in the HTML markup, simply click on the HTML table and Strata turns it into usable structured data. Group the staff titles together to determine where salary money is being spent.
- Browse over to your favorite blog and analyze what kind of stories they've been interested in most recently. Click on the RSS Feed and Strata transforms that feed into a data table. Filter on the date to only show the date range you're interested in and search for the keywords that interest you most. For more advanced users, create a script that amalgamates multiple RSS feeds in one place and filter it to see only the posts that interest you.
Can it handle other kinds of data not found on the web?
Absolutely. Strata can handle data from lots of sources, not just from the web. In fact, Strata was initially developed as a tool for quickly analyzing and manipulating data from large corporate systems -- things like taking a file with millions of records and pinpointing specific errors based on fairly complex logic. By combining that data engine with the web, we've just expanded Strata's capabilities and reach.
Specifically, Strata can open up local data, like XLS, MDB, DBF, CSV and fixed-length text files. It can also connect to database systems like MySQL Enterprise, Oracle, SQL Server, DB2 and virtually any other database via ODBC. Here are a few examples of what you can do with Strata outside of the web:
- Connect directly to your MySQL Enterprise database, open up a table containing customer address data, and quickly, visually, clean up the postal codes prior to sending out a mailing.
- Grab all your raw Apache or IIS web logs and bring them to the desktop. Answer that nagging question about where your visitors are coming from that Google Analytics and AWstats aren't answering. Interact with the data directly by filtering, sorting and grouping in order to find the needles in the haystack.
- If you are currently receiving CSV files to analyze in a spreadsheet, instead use Strata to connect to those CSV files on your network and manipulate them directly.
What about doing more advanced things, like using Web APIs and combining data from different sources?
Strata is a great tool for visually interacting with data, whether on the web or elsewhere -- but it also has the power tools that more technically-inclined folks need to develop custom applications and extensions or create processes that run on a regular basis. Strata includes an implementation of the ECMAscript (e.g. Javascript) with bindings for SQL and HTTP and includes a class implementation -- so connecting to Web APIs or creating "desktop mashups" is available to those willing to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty.
Is this a Firefox Plug-in?
Nope, this is actually a full specialty browser implementation built for the purpose of handling data and making that experience as enjoyable as possible. We took our existing data analysis tool and incorporated the Mozilla Foundation's Gecko layout engine (the same one used by Firefox). This combo turns it into a type of rich internet application that utilizes all the speed, power and GUI richness of the desktop but also gives you the ability to plug into the vastness of the web.