Obsidian Dataview: Turn Obsidian Vault into a database you can query from
Hierarchical notetakers/outliners are becoming a new data structure for end users, specialized in knowledge management. A kind of generalized, expandable spreadsheet.<p>I expect these tools to include more and more tools for automation based on a reactive programming style (more suited to non-programmers), expanding its function as a warehouse of ideas into a more active role for user-created applications. The NOCODE camp is growing from its VB6-like visual-style roots into environments that look more like an IDE in the style of the browser's "Inspect" window.<p>The key development that I miss is that of <i>reifying</i> query results, allowing the user to use the data generated by a search as an object in itself. I even have a name for that reified object - a <i>wit</i> would be a collection of data compiled with a common criteria (representing a <i>minimum unit of meaning</i>, is a wordplay on <i>bit</i> being the minimum unit of knowledge), similar to a spreadsheet range. When tools like Obsidian or Logseq start allowing the user to use query results as first-class data, I predict that we will see a revolution in end-user process automation.