

Ask HN: Would you use Excel to release your new algorithm? - ninjamayo

I have been working for a while now, with a good friend of mine, on a data mining algorithm (decision tree) that has some pretty cool features. It is fast, robust, very accurate and parameterless. We didn&#x27;t know where to start using it so we thought an Excel addin might do the job. We haven&#x27;t launched yet but we are going to do it soon. Excel is for us a tool that we use on a daily basis among other data mining tools and seemed to require a lot less investment in time and money to begin with. So I know we are probably not following the optimal path for making this algorithm available to a wide range of users but do you think Excel is a dead end? Any suggestions are more than welcome.
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dalke
All of the people I know who do data mining use R or Python.

Since it's a good idea to compare your methods to comparable existing methods,
and there are plenty of existing decision tree implementations (eg, C4.5),
you'll likely have to validate/compare against off-the-shelf systems before
you can convince people to invest in your tool.

There are also a _lot_ of data mining algorithm, most of which are free, so
you're going to have stiff competition. An Excel system might work, if you
have a specific target audience and can reach them easily. The details will
depend on your problem domain. It wouldn't work in mine.

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ninjamayo
A lot of the people I know work in R or Python too however I also know a lot
of people who dont have the coding or stats skills and need to do this kind of
work. We thought it would be useful to build something simple in a familiar
environment such as that of Excel. The tool doesn't require any kind of coding
skills and its pretty simple to use.

Thanks for the feedback though.

~~~
dalke
Which means it depends very much on your target market, so is a question that
cannot be answered on HN, at least not in the generic form given here.

Best of hopes for your product.

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jslove
Excel = Small Data big $$

ETL = Bank people

Java = reel developers

Python, R = Scientists

c++ = old skool

