Hi, Jean Bréfort wrote: > Hi, > > Some things I would like to see in gnumeric: > ... > * objects in cells. I'd like to extend the cells so that a cell can > contain an object. > * support for components...
Indeed, this is one issue that makes it in my Top 5 of major design flaws of existing spreadsheets. Currently, the design of spreadsheets badly mixes up content and display. I therefore strongly advocate the splitting of content from display. Especially useful is the concept from R (S+ language, see http://cran.R-project.org), where different objects (called S-classes) have various methods embedded. As an example, either the generic 'print' can be called for atomic variables, or there is a built in 'print'-method for any other class (I do not know of one that does not have it). This specific 'print' is declared explicitly inside the class. When one calls at the prompt, e.g.: > 'name_of_some_object' [ENTER] the general print method calls the specific print.'name_of_some_object' and the results get displayed. I envisage something similar for spreadsheets, where an object has various properties and methods: - a 'data' property: stores the actual data - a 'display' method (or 'print'-method): formats the output and displays it on the screen - specific coercing methods: e.g. to transform the data to other formats (like strings, various other units) - other specific methods, dependent on the object type, like mathematical operations (to allow strong data typing), or the 'object_property(A1,"mass")' mentioned in your post and numerous other possibilities This concept is indeed important IF one wishes to build strong data typing in spreadsheets. This latter is another issue that makes it in my TOP 5 of major design flaws in existing spreadsheets. I have posted a feature request for this last issue on the OpenOffice.org bugzilla tracking system, see http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=79924 for further details (it contains some interesting posts from a discussion on the OASIS mailing list). Another issue in the TOP 5 series is http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=80139. I still have to post the next 3 ones, but currently I am lacking the time. In brief: 3.) multidimensional spreadsheets including default formulas; 4.) restructuring the spreadsheet application (like implement headers - C/C++ have it -, namespaces, functional areas, aka separate the data, the formulas, and the results area (again MS Visual Studio and others have a separate debug windows) and 5.) a more advanced object-model (described in this post), including strong vectorization support Some issues are overlapping (and beyond this TOP 5, I have some other ideas, too; maybe later). Sincerely, Leonard Mada > It would be nice to insert components (as > supported in goffice) as a sheet, as a sheet object and as a cell > content (this idea was suggested by another chemist who would like to > embed a molecule formula inside a cell). It would be possible also to > use the components in formulas, if we add an appropriate interface to > the component API. I'll give a new chemical example: suppose I have a > chemical formula in A1, in B1, I'd like to type > =object_property(A1,"mass") and get the molar mass of the molecule. > > Best regards, > Jean > > _______________________________________________ > gnumeric-list mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnumeric-list > > _______________________________________________ gnumeric-list mailing list [email protected] http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnumeric-list
