Given my programming background, I seldom had a need to use Microsoft Excel (or other spreadsheet equivalents). However, in the Data Science field, I find that Excel is a preferred weapon of choice to get a quick idea about the data and its characteristics, especially used by folks from a non-programming background. It has the ability to filter, splice and pull up graphs (and a whole host of features that I know nothing about).
While I've seen that Excel is a great tool for this task, I feel slightly hamstrung by the lack of programming support . I know there are macros and other geegaws available, but for someone coming from the Java/Clojure side of the world, investing the time to learn a new set of tools seems like an awfully large side project.
Bots are right now in the Technology trigger phase of the Gartner hype cycle. Are they likely to succeed, or are they likely to fizzle out?
Here's Part II of the guide to building a Facebook messenger bot using Clojure and Heroku.