On Thu, Feb 7, 2013 at 1:40 PM, David A Yablonsky Sr <[email protected]> wrote: > I am, if not a spreadsheet power user, at least a spreadsheet developer, > since 1982. Having experienced Visicalc, Multiplan, Lotus and Lotus clones, > Quattro and Excel and others, I have come to the sad conclusion that > spreadsheet applications have become overdeveloped due to the influence of > Microsoft's programming philosophies. > > Specifically, Microsoft has demanded that Basic must be used to develop > macros in spreadsheets. For this reason, I use Quattro, which is apparently > the only spreadsheet to still use Lotus-style spreadsheet macros. >
I remember reading in "Computer Languages" magazine (now defunct) around 1992 or so, the results of a survey of the most-common programming languages use in businesses. It was not COBOL, C or BASIC. The winner was the "1-2-3 macro language". That language enabled end-user programming (or scripting, or whatever you want to call it). You are right that today's apps concentrate more on capabilities for the professional programmer. I don't think this is because we're chasing after Excel. Personally, I think it is because these interfaces tend to be developed by professional programmers. So they tend to meet the needs of professional programmers. Of course if we had always thought like that we wouldn't even have spreadsheets, since the spreadsheet itself, even without macros, is the tool that brought power to the masses, in the form of spreadsheet formulas. In any case, thanks for the reminder that end-user/power-user capabilities short of programming are important. Regards, -Rob > The linear style and modular storage of Basic-based macros limit the ability > of those users who are NOT programmers to develop useful complex macro > routines not only because of the requirement to become a Basic programmer, > but because there are actions available in Lotus-style macros that make > Basic programming of the same actions a complicated nightmare. > > In addition, I deplore the loss of database construction and query in > contemporary spreadsheet applications. This is another reason I use Quattro. > I can create a relatively small database and then query it without knowing > SQL or using another application to query the database. What ever happened > to "keep it simple"? If one wants to only manage a database, Access or other > database applications are great, but if one wants to integrate a small > database with spreadsheet functions, you're out of luck. > > Spreadsheet applications all seem to want to compete with Excel, on the > assumption that they can garner a share of the market that Microsoft has > pretty much monopolized. As for me, this is wrong-headed, because if you > want to grab some market-share, your product should offer something > different than Excel; mainly, simplicity. Don't get me wrong, I use Excel > for many business applications. It's just that I find that for some of the > processes I perform on a daily basis, Excel simply can't perform due its > requirement that macros must be developed in Basic and the lack of ability > to query a limited internal database. I have downloaded Open Office and find > it to be on the path to Excel's blind alley. Too bad. What are needed are > some new views of what is really useful to the user, instead of chasing > Microsoft's arrogant "my way or the highway" philosophies. > > > > D. A. Yablonsky Sr. > > <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] > > Phone: 951-279-7026 > > Cell: 951-520-5187 > > > > >
