Ability to Export Pool Math data?

[Stoopalini]

Just remember that you’ll need the app to be cognizant of which continent you inhabit because a US tablespoon is a different volume than a British/Canadian tablespoon which is a different volume than an Australian tablespoon ...

Perhaps @Rattus Suffocatus needs to dose his tub in metric units

 

[HermanTX]

With 200,000 members - not sure how many have downloaded the Pool Math app - it is impossible to meet everyone's demands. I am not IT professional but operations management that worked closely with IT professionals to build good apps that met the majority of needs for the work processes we needed to be productive and efficient. I think Pool Math meets the current needs of the majority of users or you would hear more complaints. For one - it does not crash - so that tells me it very stable for the amount of processes it does contain. I think adding incremental improvements and enhancements is key to keeping it fresh. Sure, if you can make it dump data to a file for geeks, I am probably OK with that, but adding analytics that people don't need or even know how to interpret will drive many away. Pools are fun, keep the Pool Math fun (or at least enjoyable to use).

 

[Stoopalini]

Wow guys, I had no idea this question would be so contentious. Honestly, I was just looking to export my data out of the app .... not add complex analytics or enhancements to it.

When you give your technically advanced user base the raw data, sometimes they come up with some really interesting views on the data which provide insights or answers to questions in a unique way. For me, the request comes from a (technology capable) 1st time pool owner, who is interested in seeing the fluctuations of test results, with relations to chemicals added, over time. Just to help me understand the daily, weekly, monthly cycle of my pool's chemistry and chemical additions.

I wouldn't ask for this to be added as a feature (ie: adding analytical charting functionality to the app), as I don't think it would add enough value for a majority of users to offset the effort to build it, and certainly it would take resources away from other features which would benefit more of the user base.

I just thought exporting the data which was input (test results + chemicals added + weather data) would be a simpler approach, and typically very standard for apps where the user inputs their own data. Actually, most apps have a "User data request" process, where if a user submits a formal request for their data, it is packaged up and sent to the user. But for PoolMath, it seems a simple export available to the user would be a much simpler way to do it, rather than an official "Support request and response" type model.

And just to be clear, I find the app VERY well done, and EXTREMELY useful! I am not finding any critical thing missing at all so far. My request was simply coming from a place of wanting to understand deeper, the cycle of my new pool.

And just to add to how well the app is done ... my wife is a marketing research data scientist, who deals with large amounts of fortune 100 data, and builds predictive models with C level UIs for interpretation. When I showed her the app, and the various functionality ... she was quite impressed! She asked how much I had to pay for it, and I said it was an $8 a year subscription model ... her comment was it is way under-priced LOL! I secretly agree with her, but would never admit that in public ...

 

[Leebo]

@Stoopalini

I’m gonna send you a PM, I’ve got a few questions as your message caught my eye

 

[Stoopalini]

@Stoopalini

I’m gonna send you a PM, I’ve got a few questions as your message caught my eye

Sure thing ... I got your PM ... just give me a few cycles to get my thoughts together, and I'll reply to the PM later today

 

[Holydoc]

@Holydoc Have you looked at the backup file? It contains all the data, including the "Add Chemicals" and local weather data. It looks like it could be parsed fairly easily too. It may be just XML formatting, although I'm no expert in XML formats LOL

I renamed the extension to CSV, and opened it in Excel. With a smartly written Macro or VBS script, it could probably be formatted into a useful state.

Stoop,

To tell you the truth, I have not looked at the backup file. I will try to get some time this weekend. If it is text based and has all the information we input into it, I think we found our solution. Nice..

Leebo,

Don't mistake what I was saying. I love, LOVE the app. I am not asking for any new features or elaborate calculations in this thread. I just want to be able to extract what I enter into the app so that I do not have to keep track of or have to enter it in two places. Stoop has pointed me towards an area I had not investigated that may already have what I need. It would be much easier if it was part of the current Export feature, but if it is in the Export Backup feature and just needs some parsing then.... I am good.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

FYI - The backup log is in JSON format. There are many freely available apps and programs out there for reading the data file. Excel can also directly read JSON data through it's Get & Transform functions

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

True.. just list all of them.... I don't see Imperial Gallons or Imperial Fluid Ounces in the Pool Math currently, eh? So I am being more consistent than you are giving me credit for....

Getting a smallish graduated cylinder really is probably how I should do it, but over the years I don't have much of my lab glassware left.. I have some Erlenmeyer flasks I used with stir plates for growing yeast when I was still actively brewing, but the stuff to play Mr. Wizard is waaaay gone....One of these days I'll remember to throw one on an Amazon order, I suppose.... I could use one of the spare plastic beakers from an old test kit I suppose.. interesting thought.... It is easier to steal a plastic teaspoon from the kitchen though.....

 

[flynwill]

Reviving this old thread...
I too wanted to export the chemical additions as a .csv and see that the feature still does not exist in poolmath.

So I followed Matt's suggestion and wrote a filter for "jq" to extract it from the poolmath json backup. This might be of use to others here who have linux (or other unix-like) systems.
Unfortunately the Chemical Type, and Unit of measure are just index numbers so I will still need to build a lookup table to convert them (eg Chemical 16 is 14.5% Muriatic Acid.) Maybe @Leebo can be persuaded to post the Unit and Chemical Type lookup tables.

jq is available in the standard repositories for most linux systems.