Concept and terminologies of spreadsheet program
Concept of spreadsheet
Spreadsheet is a file that is used to record and manipulate data in columns and rows. There are two types of spreadsheets, manual spreadsheet and electronic spreadsheet. A manual spreadsheet is a piece of paper created on a ledger paper, while an electronic spreadsheet is a computer application that displays series of columns and rows. Examples of spreadsheet are ledger books in accounting and bookkeeping, as well as attendance registers in schools.
There are different spreadsheet programs that exist in the market to date. Example are MS Excel (Microsoft Office), Apache OpenOffice Calc (Apache OpenOffice), Apple iWork (iWork Suite), Quattro Pro (WordPerfect Office) and Google sheets (Google Suite). In this chapter, you will use MS Excel 2016.
The working area of a spreadsheet contains grids of columns and rows that form a worksheet. Columns are labelled with letters, while rows are labelled with numbers. Usually, several worksheets form a workbook, which is kept as a file. MS Excel 2016 worksheet possesses 16384 columns and 1048576 rows. The intersection of a column and a row is called a cell. The cell name is identified by coordinates starting with column letter followed by row number, like B5 and D12. Activity 2.1 will help you to go to the last cell in the first column (A1048576) and the last cell in the row (XFD1) as shown in Figure 2.1.
Figure 2.1: Spreadsheet last row and last column
The following are some of the advantages of a spreadsheet program:(i) It provides features that can be used to automatically update a document when numerical figures in the cells are altered.(ii) It always produce correct results, provided that correct formulae are used.
(iii) It produces neat work in a variety of good quality formats.
(iv) It contains tools that provide additional support such as spell checking and punctuations.
(v) It can easily convert data into other forms of visualisation such as graphs and charts.(vi) It offers powerful features to organise, manipulate, manage, verify and transfer data, such as uploading a file into a database system.Uses of a spreadsheet program
Spreadsheet program is a tool that helps to manipulate data. It is widely applied in industries and commerce to predict performance, compute tax, prepare payroll, generate charts, and compute revenue in businesses. In schools, the spreadsheet program can help in lessons preparation and performing administrative work such as preparing school budget, calendar, attendance register, and analysing examination results.
Spreadsheet terminologies
Electronic spreadsheet is a computer application software that displays a series of columns and rows, and is used to manipulate data, especially numerical data.
Cell is the intersection of a column and a row forming a box into which a user can enter data.
Active cell is the selected cell.
Worksheet is the data file created in a spreadsheet program. It is the working area in a spreadsheet.
Workbook is a data file that contains one or more worksheets created together in a spreadsheet program.
Features of electronic spreadsheets
All electronic spreadsheet programs have some common features, including the following:(i) Ability to perform automatic re-calculation of values when changes of value occur in related cells.(ii) Ability to allow a user to work on multiple worksheets simultaneously. (iii) A large working area which enables a user to continue working without having to add new pages.
(iv) Availability of formatting and editing features which make the worksheet look neat.
(v) Availability of different functions which simplify calculation tasks.
(vi) Availability of some features which are also available in other applications such as Word Processor, PowerPoint and Database Management System (DBMS).
(vii) Ability to utilise computer storage space, enabling a user to store his/her work in a storage media for future access or use.