@article{Power2000AHO,
title={A History of Microcomputer Spreadsheets},
author={Daniel J. Power},
journal={Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst.},
year={2000},
volume={4},
pages={9}
}In 1978, the first microcomputer spreadsheet program was developed. Since then spreadsheets have become widely used as productivity software for business and home computer users. Many of today’s MIS faculty members use a variety of spreadsheet programs, but the origins and evolution of this product category is of on-going interest to students, managers and MIS faculty. This article is a contemporary history of microcomputer spreadsheets based on primary and secondary sources. Show
Figures and Tables from this paper12 CitationsDecision Support Systems: A Historical Overview
The history of decision support systems is summarized, trends suggest continuing adoption of new technologies in DSS and past events suggest decision support may follow the path of other applied design disciplines like computer architecture and software engineering. ReferencesSHOWING 1-10 OF 18 REFERENCES Spreadsheet: Its First Computerization [1961
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Linux Spreadsheets", http://www.ntlug.org/~cbbrowne/ spreadsheets.html
Profile: Mitch Kapor, The Lotus Cofounder
Courtesy of The Computer History Museum Updated on April 02, 2018 "Any product that pays for itself in two weeks is a surefire winner." That’s what Dan Bricklin, one of the inventors of the first computer spreadsheet. VisiCalc was released to the public in 1979. It ran on an Apple II computer. Most early microprocessor computers had been supported by BASIC and a few games, but VisiCalc introduced a new level in application software. It was considered a fourth generation software program. Before this, companies were investing time and money creating financial projections with manually calculated spreadsheets. Changing a single number meant recalculating every single cell on the sheet. VisiCalc allowed them to change any cell and the entire sheet would be automatically recalculated. "VisiCalc took 20 hours of work for some people and turned it out in 15 minutes and let them become much more creative,” Bricklin said. The History of VisiCalcBricklin and Bob Frankston invented VisiCalc. Bricklin was studying for his Master of Business Administration degree at Harvard Business School when he joined up with Frankston to help him write the programming for his new electronic spreadsheet. The two started their own company, Software Arts Inc., to develop their product. "I don't know how to answer what it was like because early Apple machines had so few tools,” Frankston said about programming VisiCalc for the Apple II. “We just had to keep debugging by isolating a problem, looking at memory in the limited debugging – which was weaker than the DOS DEBUG and had no symbols – then patch and retry and then re-program, download and try again and again..." An Apple II version was ready by the fall of 1979. The team started writing versions for the Tandy TRS-80, the Commodore PET and the Atari 800. By October, VisiCalc was a fast seller on the shelves of computer stores at $100. In November 1981, Bricklin received the Grace Murray Hopper Award from the Association for Computing Machinery in honor of his innovation. VisiCalc was soon sold to Lotus Development Corporation where it was developed into the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet for the PC by 1983. Bricklin never received a patent for VisiCalc because software programs were not eligible for patents by the Supreme Court until after 1981. "I'm not rich because I invented VisiCalc,” Bricklin said, “but I feel that I've made a change in the world. That's a satisfaction money can't buy." "Patents? Disappointed? Don't think of it that way," Bob Frankston said. "Software patents weren't feasible then so we chose not to risk $10,000." More on SpreadsheetsThe DIF format was developed in 1980, allowing spreadsheet data to be shared and imported into other programs such as word processors. This made spreadsheet data more portable. SuperCalc was introduced in 1980, the first spreadsheet for the popular micro OS called CP/M. The popular Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet was introduced in 1983. Mitch Kapor founded Lotus and used his previous programming experience with VisiCalc to create 1-2-3. Excel and Quattro Pro spreadsheets were introduced in 1987, offering a more graphical interface. What was the first spreadsheet made?Dan Bricklin changed the world forever when he codeveloped VisiCalc, the first electronic spreadsheet and grandfather of programs you probably use every day like Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.
When was the first spreadsheet invented?On this day in 1979, a computer program called VisiCalc first shipped for the Apple II platform, marking the birth of the spreadsheet, a now-ubiquitous tool used to compile everything from grocery lists to Fortune 500 company accounts. And that's why October 17th is Spreadsheet Day, celebrated by fans of the form.
What was the spreadsheet before Excel?Many people may also forget that Microsoft introduced a spreadsheet program before Excel. This was Multiplan, which it introduced as a competitor to VisiCalc on the CP/M platform in 1982. Microsoft soon developed versions for the Apple II, DOS and other early PCs.
What was the original name of a spreadsheet?Daniel Bricklin and Bob Frankston created the first spreadsheet application, named VisiCalc for "visible calculator." It was popular on the Apple II, one of the first computers used by businesses.
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