Software that simulates a paper spreadsheet (worksheet), in which columns of numbers are summed for budgets and plans. It appears on screen as a matrix of rows and columns, the intersections of which are called "cells." The cells are filled with (1) labels, (2) numeric values or (3) formulas.
Labels are descriptive text such as "Rent" and "Gross Sales." Values are the actual numeric data, and formulas command the spreadsheet to do the calculations; for example, SUM CELLS A5 TO A10.
Labels, Values and Formulas
In this Microsoft Excel example, the labels are in cells A1, A2 and A3, and numeric values are in B1 and B2. The formula in B3 is "subtract B2 from B1." In Excel, typing the equals sign starts the formula creation.
The Formulas
Formulas are the spreadsheet's magic, and they are easy to create. You click a cell and then press the key (+, -, etc.) of the arithmetic operation that affects it. For example, the creation of a formula might be "the contents of this cell PLUS the contents of this cell DIVIDED BY the contents of this cell."
The Ripple Effect
After numbers are added or changed, the formulas recalculate the data automatically or with the press of a key. Since the contents of any cell can be calculated with or copied to any other cell, a total of one column can be used as a detail item in another column. For example, the total from a column of expense items can be carried over to a summary column showing all expenses. If the contents of a cell in the detail column changes, its column total changes, which is then copied to the summary column, and the summary total changes.
What If?
The ripple effect lets you create a plan, plug in different assumptions and immediately see the impact on the bottom line. This "what if?" capability makes the spreadsheet indispensable for budgets, plans and other equation-based tasks.
It Started with VisiCalc
One of the major forces behind the personal computer revolution in the 1980s, the spreadsheet originated with VisiCalc in 1978 for the Apple II, followed by SuperCalc, Multiplan, Lotus 1-2-3 and others. See VisiCalc, OLAP, analytical database engine and XL abc's.
Labels are descriptive text such as "Rent" and "Gross Sales." Values are the actual numeric data, and formulas command the spreadsheet to do the calculations; for example, SUM CELLS A5 TO A10.
Labels, Values and Formulas
In this Microsoft Excel example, the labels are in cells A1, A2 and A3, and numeric values are in B1 and B2. The formula in B3 is "subtract B2 from B1." In Excel, typing the equals sign starts the formula creation.
The Formulas
Formulas are the spreadsheet's magic, and they are easy to create. You click a cell and then press the key (+, -, etc.) of the arithmetic operation that affects it. For example, the creation of a formula might be "the contents of this cell PLUS the contents of this cell DIVIDED BY the contents of this cell."
The Ripple Effect
After numbers are added or changed, the formulas recalculate the data automatically or with the press of a key. Since the contents of any cell can be calculated with or copied to any other cell, a total of one column can be used as a detail item in another column. For example, the total from a column of expense items can be carried over to a summary column showing all expenses. If the contents of a cell in the detail column changes, its column total changes, which is then copied to the summary column, and the summary total changes.
What If?
The ripple effect lets you create a plan, plug in different assumptions and immediately see the impact on the bottom line. This "what if?" capability makes the spreadsheet indispensable for budgets, plans and other equation-based tasks.
It Started with VisiCalc
One of the major forces behind the personal computer revolution in the 1980s, the spreadsheet originated with VisiCalc in 1978 for the Apple II, followed by SuperCalc, Multiplan, Lotus 1-2-3 and others. See VisiCalc, OLAP, analytical database engine and XL abc's.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Can Mozilla's security metrics project end the patch-counting nonsense?
- Can Mozilla's security metrics project end the patch-counting nonsense?Can Mozilla's security metrics project end the patch-counting nonsense?I only had a quick look at the spreadsheet so I may be wrong. However it looks like this is bug counting exercise with a bit of 'how long were we exposed?' thrown in....
- Discussion threads 2008-07-03
- Can Mozilla's security metrics project end the patch-counting nonsense?
- In partnership with indie security consultant Rich Mogull left Mozilla has launched a valuable Security Metrics Project that could help to -- we can only hope -- put an end to the silly notion that patch-counting helps to determine a product's security posture. The idea is...
- Blog posts 2008-07-03
- News to know: Searching Silverlight; IE 8; Dell; Google vs. YouTube
- Notable headlines: Mary Jo Foley: Microsoft: Silverlight content searchable, too Ryan Stewart: Brian Goldfarb talks about Silverlight 2 and Deep Zoom with Michael Cot LineRider releases a Silverlight 2 version Microsoft steps up self-policing of its OSI-approved source licenses ...
- Blog posts 2008-07-03
- Guest post: An ode to the humble spreadsheet
- Guest post: An ode to the humble spreadsheetMissing Advances"Inevitably, the spreadsheet came up ... that statement touched off a minor storm of comment. Spreadsheets were immediately taken to task as being far too error prone."Same ol', same ol': I've had a few comments in these forums recently for suggesting...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-02
- Guest post: An ode to the humble spreadsheet
- Guest blog: Bob Warfield has founded three startups, run R&D at Borland, developed software for Callidus and Oracle and created tools for Rational/Pure Atria. He currently works for SaaS customer service company Helpstream. He is responsible for Quattro Pro, the Borland spreadsheet, and is the inventor of the notebook tabs...
- Blog posts 2008-07-02
- Microsoft Equipt: student productivity rise likely?
- Probably not. But it's not a bad thing Microsoft have done, and it really shows that they're committed to this "student malarkey" we have going. Today, they announced that project "Albany", now called Microsoft Equipt, has been released into the wild, for the masses who want an all-round suite of...
- Blog posts 2008-07-02
- New Microsoft Office subscription bundle to hit in mid-July
- New Microsoft Office subscription bundle to hit in mid-JulyVery nice comboI can't wait for computer manufacturers and builders to start bundling this with systems. Seems like a good idea - like software assurance for home users.RE: New Microsoft Office subscription bundle to hit in mid-JulyI think you can have...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-02
- So about that Microsoft licensing
- So about that Microsoft licensingpenny wise and pound foolishIts not about giving $20K to Redmond. Its about users/teachers being productive and getting the work done so that they have more time to focus on the students.Saving $100 for a licence over the life of the software is nothing. Office is...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-02
- Microsoft's never-ending pursuit of Yahoo: More awkward than an 8th grade dance
- Microsoft still has the hots for Yahoo and now wants to enlist partners to win the target's search business. Yes, folks the Microhoo saga continues and boy are these two crazy kids awkward. According to The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is still trying to airlift the search...
- Blog posts 2008-07-02
- Tech, telecom join up to beat back trolls
- Tech, telecom join up to beat back trollsa larger problemThe laws concerning patents, copyrights, and trademarks have spiralled out of control. What was once protection for a short period of time for something truly inventive has become indefinite protection for any casually obvious concept.The "intellectual property" experiment has failed. We...
- Discussion threads 2008-06-30
- My 15 minutes with Bill Gates, and how the Web was born
- Once upon a time, when Bill Gates still flew commercial and I was a budding journalist in need of a haircut, I had a number of opportunities to interview and otherwise interact with Bill Gates. It was often contentious, always intriguing, and more often than not frustrating as well. Part...
- Blog posts 2008-06-30
- Lifehacker are gods: the ideal student solutions
- As you can imagine with universities breaking up for the summer, it's been a slow news week. I subscribe to Lifehacker on my list of favourites (as well as many others as you'd imagine) because it has some mindblowingly good tricks, tips and technology news. I would like to show...
- Blog posts 2008-06-25
- IT work is 'boring,' students
- IT work is 'boring,' studentsThey're right. It can be boring.It's nothing like where I came from doing CAD drawings and design work.There's a [i]lot[/i] more boring paperwork in this position then I imagined.Why do you think I stop here from time to time?RE: IT work is 'boring,' studentsIts all in...
- Discussion threads 2008-06-23
- 90% of all statistics can be made to say anything... 50% of the time, aka my thoughts on the Verizon report
- ** Update 06/23/2008: I realize I didn't do a very good job of talking about what we're reviewing here. This is in response to the statistics gathered by Verizon related to Forensic Analysis of Data Breaches over a four year span. First off, let me...
- Blog posts 2008-06-22
- Displays: More is more
- Display manufacturer NEC has released a report on monitor size and its relationship to productivity. Surprise: There's a positive correlation. Big surprise: for editing tasks text and spreadsheet the gains can be as much as fifty percent. So What? "Fifty percent"? Brighter screens, faster...
- Blog posts 2008-06-20
- IT catfight in Portland, OR
- IT catfight in Portland, ORSacraficeMy company just finished an ERP release, successfully!It takes whole company sacrifice and requires separate Change Management groups to come to power to lead staff and executive management with the project and the temporary sacrifices in business process and political ownership. It takes years of...
- Discussion threads 2008-06-19
- Pay $50 extra for XP on a PC? You've gotta be kidding me!
- Pay $50 extra for XP on a PC? You've gotta be kidding me!Welcome to reality...[b]Whatever happened to the idea that computing would change the world, and that free and fair competition is the basis of a free market society? [/b]Uh... I don't know what ivory tower you grew up in,...
- Discussion threads 2008-06-19
- Use an Excel spreadsheet to prototype your reports
- Prototyping is a tried and true method for capturing the design details of user interface design. Less-experienced developers sometimes overlook the output requirements of a system when designing it. Report prototyping often reveals holes in the design for input functions and data processing functions. Joe Goss has discovered a very...
- Download resources 2008-06-19
- Password Safe Pro (exe)
- Password Safe Pro is designed to make it easy for users to manage usernames and complex passwords for Web-sites, e-commerce sites, and desktop applications. Password Safe Pro removes the security risks of routinely using the same password or storing passwords in a text file, spreadsheet, or unencrypted database. Password Safe...
- Software downloads 2008-06-13
- Openoffice vs Microsoft Office
- Openoffice vs Microsoft OfficeOO Reliable for Critical Data?Hi Paul,both at my company and at home we are using both MS Office and OO. In particular at home I consciously decided to primarily use OO since I don't have to worry about any licensing issues.And in order to be able to...
- Discussion threads 2008-06-11
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
- Marc Canter: The master of multimedia speaks
-
In this Super Techies interview, larger-than-life techie Marc Canter talks with ZDNet's Editor in Chief Dan Farber about his career as a multimedia pioneer.
- Watch the video >>
The Green Enterprise
-
- A look into the enterprise to explore eco-friendly practices and innovations. In this ZDNet video series learn about what's motivating green tech, and how green technologies are impacting IT. 0:42
-
Harnessing the power of waves
3:13
-
Planting solar gardens
5:06
-
Fill your car for $1.10 a gallon?
1:43
- All series videos »
