Friday, December 15, 2017

Reimagining spreadsheets:The incredible capabilities of spreadsheet cells

Our Spreadsheet-based Software Framework (SSF) is used to build apps that reimagine what spreadsheets can do. SSF apps provide new ways to take advantage of a spreadsheet’s power, flexibility, and simplicity. At the core of an SSF app are grids composed of millions of spreadsheet cells. Each cell is a content container with a built-in computation engine that provides a rich set of capabilities for inputting, storing, modifying, calculating and displaying data (described below). SSF apps organize cells into different data models that: (a) harmonize disparate data for aggregation and integration using maps, (b) perform analytics and create charts using data arrays, and (c) enable data inputs and report outputs using lists and tables. These cells are embedded in worksheets, and the worksheets reside in workbooks. The workbooks also provide macros for process automation that includes data access, transformation, organization, storage, transmission, analysis, and rendering, as well as utilization of user forms and integration with third-party tools. The diagram below depicts the many capabilities of a spreadsheet cell, something that few people realize.

A sampling of what we've done with spreadsheets is available at this link and this link.