Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is a commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications. It has been a very widely applied spreadsheet for these platforms, especially since version 5 in 1993, and it has almost completely replaced Lotus 1-2-3 as the industry standard for spreadsheets. Excel forms part of Microsoft Office. The current versions are 2010 for Microsoft Windows^[1] and 2011 for Mac OS X.^[2]

Basic operation

Main article: Spreadsheet

Microsoft Excel has the basic features of all spreadsheets,^[3] using a grid of cells arranged in numbered rows and letter-named columns to hhhhhhhhboojjjjkll harley loves elizabeth of supplied functions to answer statistical, engineering and financial needs. In addition, it can display data as line graphs, histograms and charts, and with a very limited three-dimensional graphical display. It allows sectioning of data to view its dependencies on various factors for different perspectives (using pivot tables and the scenario manager).^[4] It has a programming aspect, Visual Basic for Applications, allowing the user to employ a wide variety of numerical methods, for example, for solving differential equations of mathematical physics,^[5][6] and then reporting the results back to the spreadsheet. It also has a variety of interactive features allowing user interfaces that can completely hide the spreadsheet from the user, so the spreadsheet presents itself as a so-called application, or decision support system (DSS), via a custom-designed user interface, for example, a stock analyzer,^[7] or in general, as a design tool that asks the user questions and provides answers and reports.^[8][9][10] In a more elaborate realization, an Excel application can automatically poll external databases and measuring instruments using an update schedule,^[11] analyze the results, make a Word report or Power Point slide show, and e-mail these presentations on a regular basis to a list of participants.

Use of a user-defined function sq(x) in Microsoft Excel. The named variables x & y are identified in the Name Manager. The function sq is introduced using the Visual Basic editor supplied with Excel.

Subroutine in Excel calculates the square of named column variable x read from the spreadsheet, and writes it into the named column variable y.

Graph made using Microsoft Excel

Microsoft allows for a number of optional command-line switches to control the manner in which Excel starts.^[12]