An electronic spreadsheet is an interactive document for organizing, analyzing, and storing data in table form. A spreadsheet is a document that stores data in a grid of horizontal rows and vertical columns. Rows are typically marked with numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.), while columns are marked with letters (A, B, C, etc.). Individual row/column locations, such as C3 or B12, are called cells. Each cell can store a single instance of data. By entering data into a spreadsheet, information can be stored in a more structured way than using plain text. The row/column structure also allows you to analyze your data using formulas and calculations.
A spreadsheet program operates on the data entered the cells of a table. Each cell can contain numeric or text data or the results of formulas that automatically calculate and display a value based on the content of other cells.
The most commonly used spreadsheet application is Microsoft Excel, but there are other spreadsheet programs:
• Apple Numbers
• Google Sheets
• Smartsheet
• LibreOffice
• WPS Spreadsheets
II. Database vs. Spreadsheet
In a spreadsheet, data can be stored in a cell, while in a database, data is stored in a record of a table, meaning you must count the records in a table to express how long the data table is, not the number of the cells. And that is it – you cannot pick a font color or size. All you care about is the stored information; you don’t care about formatting. Our main goal is to save the numbers.
Another substantial difference is that, in a spreadsheet, different cells can contain calculations, such as functions and formulas. If you want to combine two integers, the result will be stored in another cell. In a database, all calculations and operations are based on the existing data and are done after its retrieval. There is a specific feature, called “views,” similar to the tables, in which you can do a calculation. These objects also contain columns that can be normal columns like the ones in the tables, or could have a particular type of calculation. There is no way you can mistake a data record with a calculation.
Data integrity is a strong advantage when working with databases. It is unlikely someone will mistake a data value for an outcome of a calculation, especially in large data sets. The database features mentioned so far improve data integrity – you can’t store different types of data in the same field.
Naturally, you might think a spreadsheet can contain multiple worksheets, so one can create tables in the worksheets and then use the worksheets to create