CPSC 547 - A Review of Spreadsheets

The Problem

There are several task groups designed to research different areas of the information system software problem. This paper focuses strictly upon the study of spreadsheets. The goal of this search is to find a spreadsheet with the most incompassing solutions to typical spreadsheet problems, but with the ease of use to the common non-computer trained user. Also, it would be desirable to be able to use the spreadsheet package to carry out specific problems to the company, in a application format. What would be involved, is if a typical routine used by a spreadsheet needed to be carried out over a long period of time, it would be desirable for the user to request from the information system department an automated procedure or "application" to carry this out. The goal of the IS department would be to build the application with the use of the spreadsheets macro language into a concise and easy to use program.

The spreadsheet would be used for keeping track of various important financial and inventory data. This data is extracted from the company's main database and used by the specific departments in different ways. The company's current database is currently 8 years old (a Natural/Adabas system), so it is not expected that the spreadsheet applications will be able to access the database itself. Rather the data will be exported by the database in fixed or delimited text format. Therefore, the ease of use of importing data into the spreadsheet in a delmited or fixed file format is a necessity of the spreadsheet. Likewise, the ease of this import is also important as the user themselves (not the information system department) will carry this task out.

Other important characteristics necesarry for the spreadsheet product would be the need for the program to be able to run on PC-based systems running Microsoft Windows (Version 3.1) with the possibility of an upgrade to Windows '95 in the near future. The spreadsheet application is expected to be used extensively by the company. Therefore, any extra features allowed by the program that would help make a job easier would be extremely important. Features such as easy charting, different views of data, and attractive looking documents will all help determine the chosen product. Also, the future of the manufacturer of the spreadsheet itself will also have to factor into the analysis of the products. It is expected that the application will be used for many years, and the support and upgrades necessary from the company to keep the application up-to-date will be of crucial importance.

This paper will review and compare the following spreadsheet systems:

Microsoft Excel (version 5.0),   Lotus 1-2-3 (version 4.0) ,   and Quattro Pro (version 6.0).

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Belinda Fong
Christopher Sakamoto

February 21, 1996