{"id":124835,"date":"2020-12-02T16:00:51","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T13:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/why-excel-looks-the-way-it-does-cloudsavvy-it\/"},"modified":"2020-12-02T16:00:51","modified_gmt":"2020-12-02T13:00:51","slug":"why-excel-looks-the-way-it-does-cloudsavvy-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-excel-looks-the-way-it-does-cloudsavvy-it\/","title":{"rendered":"#Why Excel Looks The Way it Does \u2013 CloudSavvy IT"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26ea2e0ddd4\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26ea2e0ddd4\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-excel-looks-the-way-it-does-cloudsavvy-it\/#VisiCalc\" >VisiCalc<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#Why Excel Looks The Way it Does \u2013 CloudSavvy IT&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content-area\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8304\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cloudsavvyit.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/cd593da805da8c56a1b0b2b35a6dc5dc\/p\/uploads\/2020\/12\/368d44e3.png\" alt=\"Microsoft Excel for Windows (detail)\" width=\"720\" height=\"400\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The spreadsheet you are probably most familiar with is Microsoft Excel. But have you ever wondered why Excel looks and acts the way that it does? Why does Excel arrange data in a grid of cells? Why are columns identified by letters, and rows by numbers? The answer, like most things in IT, is because of\u00a0<em>compatibility<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"VisiCalc\"><\/span>VisiCalc<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The first \u201ccomputer spreadsheet\u201d as we recognize it was VisiCalc, by\u00a0Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston in 1979. Originally released for the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>le II personal computer, VisiCalc also made its way to DOS and the IBM Personal Computer in 1981. You can track most of Excel\u2019s design decisions back to VisiCalc.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8307\" style=\"width: 720px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8307\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cloudsavvyit.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/013af9f74adfdeb8bfd1c8b9a7fda0f2\/p\/uploads\/2020\/12\/61e974b4.png\" alt=\"VisiCalc for DOS\" width=\"720\" height=\"400\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">VisiCalc for DOS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Before the computer spreadsheet, accountants tabulated numbers on paper <em>worksheets<\/em>. Each worksheet had dividers for columns, and lines to define rows. VisiCalc also displayed values in columns and rows, labeling each column with a letter from <code>A<\/code> to <code>BK<\/code> (63 columns) and each row with a number from <code>1<\/code> to <code>254<\/code> . VisiCalc identified an individual cell with a combination of the column letter and the row number, so <code>A1<\/code> was the cell at the first column and first row, while <code>D12<\/code> was the cell in the fourth column and twelfth row.<\/p>\n<p>With VisiCalc, you entered a grid of numbers, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a> expenses or a department budget, and performed operations on them. You could add up a range of numbers using the <code>SUM<\/code> function, or find the minimum value using the <code>MIN<\/code>\u00a0function.<\/p>\n<p>Pretty much the same way you\u2019d use spreadsheets today, with a few minor differences. For example, VisiCalc used the ellipses notation from mathematics, representing a range as <code>A1...A10<\/code>. Also different from modern spreadsheets, VisiCalc used the <code>@<\/code> symbol to indicate functions, such as\u00a0<code>@SUM(A1...A10)<\/code>\u00a0to\u00a0calculate a sum across a range.<\/p>\n<p>VisiCalc became a \u201cmust-have\u201d application. Businesses everywhere purchased personal computers running VisiCalc.\u00a0But popularity breeds competition. Lotus Corporation released its Lotus 1-2-3 in 1983, and soon displaced VisiCalc as the market leader in computer spreadsheets.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8306\" style=\"width: 720px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8306\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cloudsavvyit.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/8a6a089ba9dc38e81fd302c0e33c8305\/p\/uploads\/2020\/12\/6e964ee3.png\" alt=\"Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS\" width=\"720\" height=\"400\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One reason Lotus 1-2-3 was able to overtake the competition is because it didn\u2019t require users to re-learn the spreadsheet. Like VisiCalc, Lotus 1-2-3 labeled columns with letters, rows with numbers, and cells with the <code>A1<\/code> syntax. Even the functions from Lotus 1-2-3 were the same as those in VisiCalc, including the <code>@<\/code> to start a function reference.<\/p>\n<p>Lotus 1-2-3 also streamlined a few things, making the spreadsheet easier to use. One notable example is how to specify a range. Instead of the \u201cthree dots\u201d ellipses in VisiCalc, Lotus 1-2-3 used only two dots. Thus to calculate a sum across the cells <code>A1<\/code> to <code>A10<\/code> , you entered\u00a0 <code>@SUM(A1..A10)<\/code>.<\/p>\n<p>And Lotus 1-2-3 added new features, such as the ability to chart data. And as the computer spreadsheet that was \u201cAll of VisiCalc, and more,\u201d Lotus 1-2-3 overtook VisiCalc in the market.<\/p>\n<p>Compatibility was key for Lotus 1-2-3 to overtake VisiCalc, and that did not go unnoticed by other spreadsheets. Even the shareware spreadsheet As-Easy-As by TRIUS provided tight compatibility with Lotus 1-2-3. Yet Lotus 1-2-3 remained dominant throughout the 1980s.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8302\" style=\"width: 720px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8302\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cloudsavvyit.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/6bdb38154ccf5872410a9d32940197ad\/p\/uploads\/2020\/12\/07cd6586.png\" alt=\"As-Easy-As for DOS\" width=\"720\" height=\"400\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">As-Easy-As for DOS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t until Microsoft developed applications for Apple\u2019s Macintosh graphical user interface that the spreadsheet landscape changed. In 1985, Microsoft first released Office for the Macintosh, including a version of Excel. Later, Microsoft also released its Office products on Windows. And as the only spreadsheet for Windows, Excel became the new standard.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8303\" style=\"width: 1440px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8303\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cloudsavvyit.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/333a5d2a14fe7fd5403a7b9614693c7b\/p\/uploads\/2020\/12\/d3e5b7a6.png\" alt=\"Microsoft Excel for Windows\" width=\"1440\" height=\"741\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Microsoft Excel for Windows<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Microsoft was careful to provide backwards compatibility with Lotus 1-2-3.\u00a0Excel used the same basic interface as Lotus 1-2-3, with \u201ccolumns as letters\u201d and \u201crows as numbers,\u201d and the <code>A1<\/code> cell reference model. Lotus 1-2-3 compatibility was so important that Excel even implemented a \u201cyear 1900\u201d Leap Year bug from Lotus 1-2-3.<\/p>\n<p>Despite its compatibility with Lotus 1-2-3, Excel did streamline some things. Range references were made easier, using a colon instead of the two dots. Some functions were renamed to make them easier to remember, such as <code>AVERAGE<\/code> instead of Lotus 1-2-3\u2019s\u00a0<code>AVG<\/code> to calculate the mean of a list of numbers. Cell calculations changed, too, now starting each calculation with <code>=<\/code> instead of the <code>@<\/code> notation from Lotus 1-2-3 and VisiCalc.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8304\" style=\"width: 720px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8304\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cloudsavvyit.com\/thumbcache\/0\/0\/cd593da805da8c56a1b0b2b35a6dc5dc\/p\/uploads\/2020\/12\/368d44e3.png\" alt=\"Microsoft Excel for Windows (detail)\" width=\"720\" height=\"400\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Microsoft Excel for Windows (detail)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>So the next time you wonder why Excel does things in a particular, think about Excel as a product of spreadsheet history. Excel looks and acts the way it does because that\u2019s how Lotus 1-2-3 did things. And Lotus 1-2-3 looked and acted that way because that\u2019s how VisiCalc operated. So really, Excel traces its design and even its interface back to VisiCalc from 1979.\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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But have you ever wondered why Excel looks and acts the way that it does? Why does Excel arrange data in a grid of cells? Why are columns identified by letters, and rows by&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":124836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.cloudsavvyit.com\/p\/uploads\/2020\/12\/368d44e3.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}