Published: March 9, 2025
Kanshi Tanaike
Introduction
On Stack Overflow, numerous users post questions and answers daily across various tags. These discussions, spanning a wide range of topics, provide valuable information and are highly beneficial. One such tag is “google-apps-script,” where I occasionally participate in discussions. Observing these threads over time, it’s evident that they evolve alongside updates to Google Apps Script, the technology at the core of the tag. This report aims to analyze this evolution as a trend within the “google-apps-script” tag. This trend encompasses changes in the number of questions, questioners, answerers, and associated tags. The evolution of the “google-apps-script” tag is closely linked to the development of Google Apps Script and its diverse applications.
In this report, as one analytical approach, the trend of Google Apps Script was investigated by statistically analyzing all questions tagged “google-apps-script.” The analysis revealed that the associated tags strongly influence the overall trend of “google-apps-script.” Furthermore, it suggests the potential for predicting future trends by examining these related tags.
This is the seventh report in this series. Previous reports, from the first to the sixth, can be found at Ref. 1 - 6.
Experimental procedure
First, the timelines of Stack Overflow and Google Apps Script are established. The following list details their key milestones:
- 2008-09-15: Stack Overflow was launched. Ref. 7
- 2009-08-19: Google Apps Script was released. Ref. 8
- 2011-08-29: The “google-apps-script” tag was created on Stack Overflow. Ref. 9
- The official Google Apps Script support documentation How to get help directs users to “the popular programming Q&A website Stack Overflow to field technical questions.”
This timeline demonstrates that Stack Overflow predates Google Apps Script. Furthermore, the “google-apps-script” tag’s adoption is officially endorsed by Google’s documentation. These points suggest that Stack Overflow, specifically questions tagged “google-apps-script,” provides a substantial historical record of Google Apps Script development.
All questions and associated data can be accessed via the Stack Exchange API. Ref. 10 In this study, “google-apps-script” served as the primary tag. All questions containing this tag on Stack Overflow were retrieved using the API, and the data, spanning from 2008-01-01 to 2025-01-01, was statistically analyzed. It’s important to note that Stack Overflow allows users to edit past questions and answers. Therefore, the data presented in this report reflects the state as of 2025-03-05. The data used in this report was retrieved on 2025-03-05 at 15:43.
Results and discussions
About the details of each figure, please check Ref. 1. From this time, the updated data is shown.
Retrieved data
Fig. 1. Year vs. Total questions, answered, solved, and closed questions. These all questions include the tag “google-apps-script” in the tags.
Fig. 2. Year vs. a number of Questioners and Answerers. These all questions include the tag “google-apps-script” in the tags.
Fig. 3. Year vs. Kind of Tags and Kind of New Tags. Here, “New Tags” means the tags without duplicating for all years. For example, “google-sheets-macros” added in 2018 is not used from 2008 to 2017. It appeared in 2018 for the first time.
Fig. 4. Year vs. Number of questions for one answerer.
Fig. 5. Year vs. Increase rate of number of Questions for google-apps-script, javascript, python, go, node.js, php, ruby, and html tags. Namely, the slopes of each year in the blue dots in Fig. 1 are calculated for various tags.
Results
- Fig. 1: It was observed that there is a substantial reduction in the total number of questions, answered questions, and solved questions from 2023 to 2024. In 2023, the ratio of answered questions to total questions was 63%, and the ratio of solved questions to total questions was 35%. In contrast, in 2024, these ratios increased to 75% and 51%, respectively.
- Fig. 2: The number of questioners and answerers decreased from 2023 to 2024. This reduction was more pronounced than the reduction in the number of questions.
- Fig. 3: The number of tags used for questions decreased significantly from 2023 to 2024. This reduction likely correlates with the decrease in the total number of questions.
- Fig. 4: The number of questions per answerer decreased from 2023 to 2024, while the number of questions per questioner remained relatively stable.
- Fig. 5: The number of questions for the tags
google-apps-script,javascript,python,go,node.js,php,ruby, andhtmldecreased after 2022. This trend is potentially attributable to the rise of generative AI.
Summary
The data reveals a notable decrease in Stack Overflow activity related to Google Apps Script from 2023 to 2024. There’s a reduction in total questions, questioners, answerers, and tags used. Interestingly, the ratios of answered and solved questions have increased. This suggests that while there’s less activity, a higher proportion of questions are getting resolved. A key factor influencing these trends is likely the rise of generative AI. Developers might be leveraging AI tools to solve problems, reducing their reliance on Stack Overflow.
However, this doesn’t diminish the future potential of Google Apps Script. As Google Workspace continues to be a widely used platform, the need for automation and customization will persist. Google Apps Script’s ability to seamlessly integrate with Workspace applications positions it for continued relevance. The challenge will be adapting to a landscape where AI assists developers, potentially leading to more complex and sophisticated Apps Script applications. The focus may shift towards using Apps Script for tasks that require higher-level logic and integration that AI cannot fully handle independently.
References
Appendix
A2. New tags added from 2008 - 2024
Table. A1. New tags added from 2008 - 2024. The top 15 tags with the average value by calculating the trend of the history of tags for each year were retrieved. Number in “()” is the value of Atag.
| Year | New tags (Order of Atag) Ref. 1 |
|---|---|
| 2008/01/01 | |
| 2009/01/01 | google-apps-script(3459.9),google-sheets(1677.6),google-forms(145),google-docs(117.5) |
| 2010/01/01 | javascript(859.9),google-sheets-api(121.8),google-sheets-formula(99.6),triggers(99.3),google-calendar-api(57.1),google-apps(53.5),json(52.9),spreadsheet(45),email(42),google-api(35.7),custom-function(29.1),google-docs-api(25.9),regex(25.8),google-sites(22.3),python(14.5) |
| 2011/01/01 | google-drive-api(151.9),html(149.1),web-applications(86.9),gmail(82.7),forms(29.5),jdbc(13.7),mysql(12.3),oauth(10.4),performance(10.2),google-apps-marketplace(9.8),google-app-engine(8.3),user-interface(7.9),google-fusion-tables(7.8),debugging(7.3),google-sheets-custom-function(6.6) |
| 2012/01/01 | arrays(102.8),urlfetch(45.2),google-workspace(43.1),gmail-api(31.5),jquery(28.3),google-apps-script-addon(27.3),api(25.7),excel(24.5),google-visualization(24.5),date(23),google-oauth(22.7),for-loop(22.5),google-apps-script-editor(21.9),pdf(20.5),google-bigquery(19.8) |
| 2013/01/01 | if-statement(20.9),loops(20),google-admin-sdk(14.4),filter(11.8),firebase(10.1),node.js(9.2),copy-paste(8.9),android(8.5),replace(7.7),sidebar(7.2),youtube-api(7.2),ide(6.4),eventtrigger(6.4),google-hangouts(6.3),libraries(6.2) |
| 2014/01/01 | google-cloud-platform(37.6),google-apps-script-api(19.3),webhooks(7.2),youtube-data-api(7.1),duplicates(5.4),service-accounts(5.2),telegram(5.2),modal-dialog(4.6),google-directory-api(3.5),macro-recorder(3.4),testing(3),google-email-migration(3),qr-code(2.9),list(2.8),do-while(2.7) |
| 2015/01/01 | google-slides(40.1),google-slides-api(23.4),google-classroom(12.4),v8(9.3),drive(6.9),http-status-code-403(5.1),exception(4.9),get(4.8),materialize(4.3),syntax-error(4),foreach(4),vlookup(3.6),google-authentication(3.6),getvalue(3.4),client-server(3.4) |
| 2016/01/01 | google-form-quiz(9.4),conditional-formatting(9.1),slack-api(6.8),slack(6.3),firebase-realtime-database(5.6),excel-formula(3.4),prompt(3.3),google-appsheet(3.2),promise(2.9),google-signin(2.8),hangouts-api(2.8),google-developers-console(2.4),sendgrid(2.3),android-studio(2.3),signature(2.3) |
| 2017/01/01 | gmail-addons(72.3),google-app-maker(35.3),looker-studio(17.1),google-drive-shared-drive(16.9),telegram-bot(10.8),typescript(8.5),reactjs(5.3),google-cloud-functions(5),stackdriver(4.3),google-apis-explorer(4),discord(3.5),python-3.x(3),wsdl(3),http-status-code-500(2.9),axios(2.8) |
| 2018/01/01 | google-sheets-macros(82.7),google-workspace-add-ons(32),gsuite-addons(22),clasp(14.3),google-people-api(7.1),google-cloud-firestore(5.9),yahoo-finance(4.2),http-status-code-400(4),http-status-code-401(3.7),google-cloud-stackdriver(3),binance(2.8),airtable(2.7),linechart(2.7),rename(2.5),firebase-dynamic-links(2.5) |
| 2019/01/01 | google-chat(8.8),dropdown(8.3),postman(4.3),bootstrap-4(4),figma-api(4),google-sheets-charts(3.5),chatbot(3.5),dialogflow-es-fulfillment(3),graphql(3),async-await(3),mapping(2.7),verification(2.5),vue.js(2.2),richtext(2.2),rtf(2) |
| 2020/01/01 | google-apps-script-runtime(8),cheerio(7.8),flutter(4.4),google-ads-script(3.5),stock(3.3),google-apps-script-project(3),vis.js(3),rowdeleting(3),shortcut(3),dart(3),userform(2.5),mysql-workbench(2.5),data-extraction(2.3),google-meet(2.3),square(2) |
| 2021/01/01 | nlp(5),google-analytics-4(4.8),google-gsuite(4.5),whatsapp(3),coinmarketcap(2.8),bootstrap-5(2.7),lock-service(2.5),instagram-graph-api(2.5),sourceforge-appscript(2.5),imdb(2),clickup-api(2),box-api(2),translation(2),font-size(2),bitly(2) |
| 2022/01/01 | import-csv(3),html-lists(3),amazon-ses(2),coding-efficiency(2),accessibility(2),gdrive(2),google-chat-api(2),dropdownbox(2),double-quotes(2),openai-api(2),variable-assignment(1.5),telegram-api(1.5),http-status-code-422(1.5),global-scope(1.5),nested-for-loop(1.5) |
| 2023/01/01 | flatmap(3),reply(3),cell-formatting(2),xss(2),google-app-invites(2),selenium-webdriver(2),simple-form(2),copy-data(2),godot4(2),mobile-application(2),gsheets(2),google-gemini(1.5),py-appscript(1.5),darkmode(1),graphical-logo(1) |
| 2024/01/01 | proxy-object(2),anychart(2),whitespace(1),sepa(1),vuetify.js(1),mongodb-atlas(1),bun(1),misspelling(1),sveltekit(1),read-data(1),azure-functions(1),responsive(1),pdftotext(1),combo-chart(1),distinct-values(1) |
A2. Each total number retrieved from all questions with the tag of “google-apps-script” from 2008-01-01 to 2025-01-01
Table. A2. Each total number retrieved from all questions with the tag of “google-apps-script” from 2008-01-01 to 2025-01-01. The data used in this report was retrieved at 2025-03-05 at 15:43.
| Name | Number |
|---|---|
| Total questions | 55985 |
| Answered questions | 47592 |
| Solved questions | 35712 |
| Questioners | 36680 |
| Answerers | 17382 |
| Kind of Tags | 9911 |