The history of spread sheets

  • Thread starter Thread starter James Silverton
  • Start date Start date
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James Silverton

Hello, All!

While ruminating on missing (IMHO) features in Excel, it
occurred to me to wonder if anyone has written a history of
spreadsheets? I did not become familiar with multipurpose
spreadsheets until just before I retired and I wondered how long
after introduction were graphs added to Excel and the like?


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland, USA
 
Ed wrote on Sun, 27 Nov 2005 08:51:01 +1100:

EF> See John Walkenbach's site
EF> http://www.j-walk.com/ss/history/index.htm
EF> for a brief history.

EF> Ed Ferrero
EF> http://www.edferrero.com

??>> Hello, All!
??>>
??>> While ruminating on missing (IMHO) features in Excel, it
??>> occurred to me to wonder if anyone has written a history
??>> of spreadsheets? I did not become familiar with
??>> multipurpose spreadsheets until just before I retired and
??>> I wondered how long after introduction were graphs added
??>> to Excel and the like?
??>>
??>> James Silverton
??>> Potomac, Maryland, USA

Thank you; that page of Walkenbach's is a gateway to some very
interesting stuff! I should also admit that googling spreadsheet
history, as I should have done before asking, brought up more
than I ever needed to know!

James Silverton.
 
James wrote to Ed Ferrero on Sun, 27 Nov 2005 14:08:12 -0500:

EF>> See John Walkenbach's site
EF>> http://www.j-walk.com/ss/history/index.htm
??>>> I wondered how long after introduction were graphs added

JS> Thank you; that page of Walkenbach's is a gateway to some
JS> very interesting stuff!

JS> After investigating, it seems to me that Lotus 1-2-3 was
JS> the first computer spreadsheet to have graphics capability.
JS> Can anyone say if I am right or wrong?

James Silverton
Potomac, MD..
 
Hi James,
JS> After investigating, it seems to me that Lotus 1-2-3 was
JS> the first computer spreadsheet to have graphics capability.
JS> Can anyone say if I am right or wrong?
Click to expand...

It is always difficult to pin down a 'first' in this sort of thing. The
first company to do something is often overshadowed by the first company to
popularise it.

Visicalc is probably the first shpreadsheet with integrated graphics. See
this quote from
http://dssresources.com/history/sshistory30.html
"From: Jim Ho
Subject: Visicalc on HP85 & 87
To: (e-mail address removed)
Organization: DRES

Sir,
I was reading your "A Brief History of Spreadsheets" and thought you might
want to include the fact that Visicalc was also available on the HP85 and 87
in the early 80's.

I found it more useful than the Apple version because it had graph plotting
and statistical analysis in the same package. At the time, the HP plotter
had just appeared so we could produce colour charts on paper or
transparencies for presentation.

The MIS folks were most disturbed because they could see the writing on the
wall. The Honeywell that was just installed for $10 million could not do
what the HP85 was doing for less than $10K! I can still remember the sad
look on the manager's face when I showed him the colour plots. Our summer
students would spend hours watching the plotter perform its stuff. Those
were fun days.

Jim."

Context MBA released in 1981 handled graphs, databases, word processing, and
telecommunications.

Multiplan for the Mac (1984) had integrated charting (I think).

Certainly the first spreadsheet that impressed me with its inbuilt charting
was Quattro Pro. released in 1989. The advantage for me was that it ran in
DOS so I could actually use it in a corporate environment.

See:

http://www.secretguide.net/read/index.php?filename=spreadsheets

http://www.aresluna.org/attached/computerhistory/articles/spreadsheets/quattroprounifyandconquer


Ed Ferrero
http://www.edferrero.com
 
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