| See also: Basic functions for Microsoft EXCEL | This is another popular
application program, mostly used in businesses for budgets, forecasting,
modelling trends, working out graphs and performing data analysis. It is also extremely useful for the so-called "what-if" evaluations, in which you can simulate different scenarios by changing one or more variables in a given situation. For example, you may decide to plot a matrix for the calculation of a mortgage and then see what would happen if the interest rate was 5% instead of 7%, or the re-payments are made monthly instead of every six months. |
| Spreadsheet programs use rows and columns of cells labelled with numbers and letters respectively (imagine a very large battleships game board). Each cell (e.g. C29, which means the cell is at the intersection point of column C and row 29) can hold text, numbers or a formula that uses values stored in other cells. | |
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Practical example Suppose you want to plot your school results on a spreadsheet file to compare and analyse the data referring to your last three years at school. It would be very useful to have one sheet for each year, and also be able to link data between the three sheets. You might also want to use an extra sheet to recap your performance over the 3-year period. So, you will plot something like SUBECTS\GRADES for each year and then perform some calculations, e.g. the average grade for each year, for each subject, over the 3 years, and so on. By using the Order function and the graph function you can immediately see how well you have performed in the periods considered. By means of the "what-if" method you can determine what grade you should get in individual tests in order to achieve a certain final grade. Not least, you might also want to know the minimum grade you should get to stil get a pass mark for a given subject. |
In Microsoft
EXCEL, for example, spreadsheet files and worksheets
within single files (represented by the sheet tags at the bottom of the
program window, called "Foglio1", "foglio2", etc. in
Italian) may be very useful when different calculations or matrixes are
needed for the same problem. This makes things simpler when you have to
deal with complex issues. Of course worksheets can be renamed to help
you immediately understand what is in your spreadsheet file.
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| There are a number of
in-built mathematical, statistical and logic formulas which spare you
the trouble of creating them yourself.
Spreadsheets can easily work out graphs from data plotted on the grid. The visual information provided by a graph often gives a better perception of the phenomenon than sheer numbers on a ledger. Besides, the data can be arranged in ascending or descending order, thus allowing a quick evaluation of the importance of different items in a series or matrix. |
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