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spreadsheetmore about spreadsheet

spreadsheet

 

  2  definitions  found 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  spreadsheet 
  n  :  a  screen-oriented  interactive  program  enabling  a  user  to  lay 
  out  financial  data  on  the  screen 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  spreadsheet 
 
    (Or  rarely  "worksheet")  A  type  of 
  {application  program}  which  manipulates  numerical  and  string 
  data  in  rows  and  columns  of  cells.  The  value  in  a  cell  can  be 
  calculated  from  a  formula  which  can  involve  other  cells.  A 
  value  is  recalculated  automatically  whenever  a  value  on  which 
  it  depends  changes.  Different  cells  may  be  displayed  with 
  different  formats. 
 
  Some  spreadsheet  support  three-dimensional  matrices  and  cyclic 
  references  which  lead  to  iterative  calculation. 
 
  An  essential  feature  of  a  spreadsheet  is  the  copy  function 
  (often  using  {drag-and-drop}).  A  rectangular  area  may  be 
  copied  to  another  which  is  a  multiple  of  its  size.  References 
  between  cells  may  be  either  absolute  or  relative  in  either 
  their  horizontal  or  vertical  index.  All  copies  of  an  absolute 
  reference  will  refer  to  the  same  row,  column  or  cell  whereas  a 
  relative  reference  refers  to  a  cell  with  a  given  offset  from 
  the  current  cell. 
 
  Many  spreadsheets  have  a  "What-if"  feature.  The  user  gives 
  desired  end  conditions  and  assigns  several  input  cells  to  be 
  automatically  varied.  An  area  of  the  spreadsheet  is  assigned 
  to  show  the  result  of  various  combinations  of  input  values. 
 
  Spreadsheets  usually  incorporate  a  {macro  language},  which 
  enables  third-party  writing  of  worksheet  applications  for 
  commercial  purposes. 
 
  In  the  1970s,  a  {screen  editor}  based  calculation  program 
  called  {Visi-Calc}  was  introduced.  It  was  probably  the  first 
  commercial  spreadsheet  program.  Soon  {Lotus  Development 
  Corporation}  released  the  more  sophisticated  {Lotus  1-2-3}. 
  Clones  appeared,  (for  example  {VP-Planner}  from  {Paperback 
  Software}  with  {CGA}  graphics,  {Quattro}  from  {Borland})  but 
  Lotus  maintained  its  position  with  world-wide  marketing  and 
  support  -  and  lawyers!  For  example,  Borland  was  forced  to 
  abandon  its  Lotus-like  {pop-up  menu}. 
 
  While  still  developing  1-2-3,  Lotus  introduced  {Symphony}, 
  which  had  simultaneously  active  windows  for  the  spreadsheet, 
  graphs  and  a  {word  processor}. 
 
  {Microsoft}  produced  {MultiPlan}  for  the  {Macintosh},  which 
  was  followed  by  {Excel}  for  Macintosh,  long  before  {Microsoft 
  Windows}  was  developed. 
 
  When  {Microsoft  Windows}  arrived  Lotus  was  still  producing  the 
  {text-based}  1-2-3  and  Symphony.  Meanwhile,  {Microsoft} 
  launched  its  {Excel}  spreadsheet  with  interactive  graphics, 
  graphic  charcters  mouse  support  and  {cut-and-paste}  to  and 
  from  other  Windows  applications.  To  compete  with  Windows 
  spreadsheets,  Lotus  launched  its  {Allways}  add-on  for  1-2-3  - 
  a  post-processor  that  produced  Windows-quality  graphic 
  characters  on  screen  and  printer.  The  release  of  Lotus  1-2-3 
  for  Windows  was  late,  slow  and  buggy. 
 
  Today,  Microsoft,  Lotus,  Borland  and  many  other  companies  offer 
  Windows-based  spreadsheet  programs. 
 
  The  main  end-users  of  spreadsheets  are  business  and  science. 
 
  Spreadsheets  are  an  example  of  a  non-algorithmic  programming 
  language. 
 
  [Dates?] 
 
  (1995-03-28)




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