IBM Personal Computing

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Donald B, Trivette


Remember when you were growing up and your pals used a word you'd never heard before? Were you too embarrassed to ask for a definition-to admit you didn't know what they were talking about (and maybe even doing)? Did you fake it as best you could?

    Now that you're an adult, are you still faking? Do you really know what a spreadsheet program is? Don't be embarrassed. There are lots of well-adjusted, computer-literate people who have only a vague notion of what spreadsheet software is all about. You may have thought that spreadsheets were something only an accountant could appreciate and understand. Not true. Although spreadsheets were born of the accounting world, they have dozens of uses for those of us who have trouble balancing a checkbook. Yes, spreadsheets can actually be fun. First we'll look at their fascinating history, then at a typical numerical spreadsheet, and finally at some unusual nonnumerical applications.

Let There Be VisiCalc
It can be argued that the personal computer era really began with the invention of spreadsheet software. Before then, a few personal computers were around, but most were owned and used by hobbyists and tinkerers. In general, personal computer software was primitive in those days-back in the late 1970s.
    It was in 1978 that Dan Bricklin was sitting in a classroom at Harvard Business School watching his professor laboriously create a model budget on the blackboard. Every time the professor changed a number in one column, all the related numbers in the other columns had to be recalculated and changed, too. (This is a familiar concept to those who adjust their income tax returns until they fall into the lowest possible tax bracket.)
    Suddenly, in a flash (lightning striking and all that), Bricklin imagined an electronic blackboard that would, when one number was changed, automatically recalculate all the other numbers derived from it. Was such a thing possible? Bricklin didn't know, but he took the idea to his neighbor and friend Robert Frankston. Frankston, an experienced computer programmer and designer, was at first reluctant but finally agreed to pursue the project along with Dan Fylstra, a fledgling software publisher. Thus was born VisiCalc, the visible calculator.
    The first VisiCalc program was sold in January 1979; it ran on a 24K RAM Apple II computer. The VisiCalc program was so useful that it helped sell Apple computers, and Apple in turn promoted VisiCalc-software that in essence turned a computer screen into an electronic blackboard for budget planning, financial forecasting, and virtually any task involving columns and rows of data. Nothing succeeds like a best-selling computer program, and it wasn't long before a dozen other companies were marketing spreadsheet programs, too. (Mercifully some are no longer with us.)
    Today, there are spreadsheet programs for virtually every business, personal, and home computer. VisiCalc lives on in a much improved version that is available for several machines; Multiplan is another favorite; and Lotus 1-2-3, an integrated package that includes a spreadsheet, is one of the most popular computer programs of all time.

A Screenful Of Cells
A look at an actual spreadsheet application will help you grasp what Bricklin hath wrought. All spreadsheet programs start with a screen that looks like the blank spreadsheet in Figure 1. The columns, across the top, are lettered; the rows, down the edge, are numbered. The maximum size of the spreadsheet-the number of rows and columns-depends on the program and the amount of memory in the computer.
    Each combination of a row and column forms a cell or box where data may be entered. Thus, the upper-left cell is referred to as A1 - column A, row 1. The current cell-the place the computer will put the data when you type - is usually shown as a white box. That box is the spreadsheet's cursor. Just like a regular cursor, it can be moved up and down, left and right, by the arrow keys on the computer's keyboard.

Figure 1: Typical Spreadsheet Layout

		A	B	C	D	E	F
	1
	2
	3
	4
	5
	6
	7

    Let's create a supersimple spreadsheet for a make-believe company. An entry in a spreadsheet cell may be one of three types: characters, numbers, or a formula which the program will turn into numbers. By typing characters in some cells, you can create headings. In other cells - -B3, B4, B5, B7-we'll put numbers to represent sales. As always when entering numbers in a computer program, omit the commas. (See Figure 2.)
    To get the subtotal for divisional sales, you don't add the numbers manually and enter the result. That would defeat the purpose of the spreadsheet. Instead, you tell the computer to do it for you-to always add up column B, row 3, row 4, and row 5 and then put the total in column B, row 6. You do that by typing the formula-instead of a number-directly in the cell. The exact format differs slightly from one spreadsheet program to another, but generally you'd type B3+B4+B5 in cell B6. That is, B6 is always the sum of B3, B4, and B5. Makes sense, doesn't it?

Figure 2: A Sample Spreadsheet

		A	B	C
	1		January	February
	2	Sales
	3	Division 1	1000.00
	4	Division 2	1400.00
	5	Division 3	5000.00
	6	Subtotal	7400.00
	7	Mail Order	1200.00
	8	Grand Total	8600.00

    Figure 2 doesn't show the formula in cell B6-it only shows the value that the formula has calculated. The actual formula for any cell may be displayed at the top of the spreadsheet, but it is invisible in the spreadsheet itself. A similar formula is entered in cell B8 for the grand total.
    Next, let's say you want to estimate the sales for February through December. Just enter a formula in the February cell C3. We'll project that each of the three divisions will sell a half-percent more than in the previous month. For example, C3 will be B3 multiplied by 1.005. There's a way to enter a formula so that it's automatically repeated for every month that remains in the year. And there's a way to copy a formula from one row to another, so only a few keystrokes are needed to generate the spreadsheet in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Projecting Sales With A Spreadsheet

		A	B	C
	1		January	February
	2	Sales
	3	Division 1	1000.00	1005.00
	4	Division 2	1400.00	1407.00
	5	Division 3	5000.00	5025.00
	6	Subtotal	7400.00	7437.00
	7	Mail Order	1200.00	1206.00
	8	Grand Total	8600.00	8643.00

Spreadsheets As Big As Bedsheets
There's more to most spreadsheets than can be shown on a screen. In our sample, the columns for March through December will scroll into view when we move the cursor to the right side of the screen; similarly, rows below the "Grand Total" label can be scrolled into view. The screen is just a window onto a portion of the spreadsheet.
    Most spreadsheet programs have commands to delete and insert rows and columns, to move entire rows and columns to other locations, to make hardcopy printouts, and to save the spreadsheet on disk.
    Now, here's what makes spreadsheets so wonderful: To see how the numbers change when Division 2 sales increase, all you have to do is move the cursor to B4 and enter a new number. Instantly, the subtotal in B6 and the grand total in B8 are recalculated and replaced in the spreadsheet. Since a change in B4 alters some of the numbers for February through December, the spreadsheet automatically recalculates those values, too.
    This is a typical numerical spreadsheet. But spreadsheets can also be useful and fun even for those who hate math. I know one woman who uses a spreadsheet to record her family tree. Each cell represents one of her ancestors; each column is a generation. Her spreadsheet has no formulas or mathematical calculations-just lots of names and dates. (See Figure 4.)
    Some folks use spreadsheets in place of word processing programs. My architect friend uses Lotus 1-2-3 to compose and print the schedules on his blueprints. He says it's much faster and easier than using a word processor. Once the schedule is entered, he prints it on a transparent film instead of paper and then sticks it to the drawing. He does schedules for doors, hardware, electrical fixtures, plumbing fixtures, and even shrubbery. Figure 5 shows part of a shrubbery schedule.
    You could use a schedule like this to keep track of when you fertilized your plants, and what kind of fertilizer you used. Or to keep an inventory of your wine cellar. Or to record the expiration dates of your magazine subscriptions (especially if, like me, you think the magazines are always wrong). In fact, spreadsheet programs are ideal for any situation where you need to organize and record data in lists or tables.


Figure 4 : Family Tree Spreadsheet

		A	B	C
	1
	2		Helen (1840-1841)
	3
	4	John Smith (1810-1880)	John, Jr. (1850-1865)
	5	m. Mary Jones (1820-1860)
	6		Tim (1860-1930)	John Mason (1885-1914)
	7		m. Betty Mason (1865-1925)	m. Sara Penny (1890-1964)

Figure 5: Shrubbery-Scheduling Spreadsheet

		A	B	C	D
	1	Plant Name	Quantity	Height	Remarks
	2	Pittosporum tobria	24	6' 0"	Plant on centers shown
	3	Juniperus conferta	30	12' 15"	Plant on 3' centers
	4	Yeddo-Hawthorne	10	6' 0"	Furnished by owner
	5	Yucca gloriosa	15	24' 30"	Transplant from corner