BCS Glossary of Computing, 14th Edition

F2 SPREADSHEETS

Before personal computers were readily available, accountancy and bookkeeping were often made easier by the use of large sheets of paper ruled into a grid of rows and columns – spreadsheets. Columns could be totalled, and a number in one box used in a calculation to give a value in another. This activity was a natural one for a computer application, and this type of software has developed in power ever since.

Figure F2.1 A typical spreadsheet

Figure F2.1 shows a typical computer spreadsheet package in use. The screen is dominated by the cells making up the sheet, which are referred to by their row and column – the selected cell, ...