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Spreadsheet Implementation Technology: Basics and Extensions
Spreadsheets are used daily by millions of people for tasks that range from organizing a list of addresses to carrying out complex economic simulations. Spreadsheet programs are easy to learn and convenient to use because they have a clear visual model and a simple efficient underlying computational model. Yet although the basic spreadsheet model could be extended, improved, or otherwise experimented with in many ways, there is no coherently designed, reasonably efficient open source spreadsheet implementation that is a suitable platform for such experiments. This book fills the gap, teaching users how to experiment with and implement innovative spreadsheet functionality and introducing two software platforms for doing so. Along the way, it draws on and illustrates software technologies and computer science topics that range from object-oriented programming to compiler technology. Spreadsheet Implementation Technology surveys a wide range of information about spreadsheets drawn from user experience, the scientific literature, and patents. After summarizing the spreadsheet computation model and the most important challenges for efficient recalculation, the book describes Corecalc, a core implementation of essential spreadsheet functionality suitable for practical experiments, and Funcalc, an extension of Corecalc that allows users to define their own functions without extraneous programming languages or loss of efficiency. It also shows the advantages of automatic function specialization and offers a user's manual for Funcalc. The Corecalc and Funcalc software is downloadable free of charge.
- GenresProgramming
328 pages, Unknown Binding
First published August 29, 2014
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 5, 2014
This book sets out ‘to enable others to make experiments with innovative spreadsheet functionality and with new ways to implement such functionality.’
The author draws on two open-source products - Corecalc and Funcalc - and an explanation of these takes up a large proportion of the publication. Both Corecalc and Funcalc are available under an MIT-style licence, which means that although these modules can be used for free (including for commercial purposes), the copyright notices must remain in place.
The Corecalc section starts off by describing core implementation - which will be useful to readers who want to modify or extend the Corecalc implementation or who want to create their own spreadsheet implementation. Then, alternative designs, support graphs and non-contiguous support are covered in subsequent chapters.
The Funcalc implementation is an extension of Corecalc, and it supports sheet-defined functions; functions created using ordinary formulae and no external language.
The initial Funcalc section of the book demonstrates that sheet-defined functions can be more efficient than using external lanuguages such as VBA. The remaining sections then go on to cover compilation of functions, calling functions, evaluation and partial evaluation conditions and finally a brief look at the Excel look-alike built-in functions.
There are plenty of examples in these chapters, and throughout the book.
For aspiring and qualified software engineers (and those who also probably operate in academic rather than commercial circles), this book provides a definitive reference source.
For other readers who might want or need an in-depth resource on the underlying principles and mechanics of a spreadsheet engine, the first chapter in particular is highly recommended.
A professional, well-written publication with an excellent bibliography and index.
All in all the book represents good value for its somewhat specialist audience.
Reviewed by Mike Rees MBCS CITP, IT Consultant
The author draws on two open-source products - Corecalc and Funcalc - and an explanation of these takes up a large proportion of the publication. Both Corecalc and Funcalc are available under an MIT-style licence, which means that although these modules can be used for free (including for commercial purposes), the copyright notices must remain in place.
The Corecalc section starts off by describing core implementation - which will be useful to readers who want to modify or extend the Corecalc implementation or who want to create their own spreadsheet implementation. Then, alternative designs, support graphs and non-contiguous support are covered in subsequent chapters.
The Funcalc implementation is an extension of Corecalc, and it supports sheet-defined functions; functions created using ordinary formulae and no external language.
The initial Funcalc section of the book demonstrates that sheet-defined functions can be more efficient than using external lanuguages such as VBA. The remaining sections then go on to cover compilation of functions, calling functions, evaluation and partial evaluation conditions and finally a brief look at the Excel look-alike built-in functions.
There are plenty of examples in these chapters, and throughout the book.
For aspiring and qualified software engineers (and those who also probably operate in academic rather than commercial circles), this book provides a definitive reference source.
For other readers who might want or need an in-depth resource on the underlying principles and mechanics of a spreadsheet engine, the first chapter in particular is highly recommended.
A professional, well-written publication with an excellent bibliography and index.
All in all the book represents good value for its somewhat specialist audience.
Reviewed by Mike Rees MBCS CITP, IT Consultant
Displaying 1 of 1 review