Spreadsheet A spreadsheet is an interactive computer application program for organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. A spreadsheet program is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet.. The program operates on data represented as cells of an array, organized in rows and columns. Each cell can contain either numeric or text data, or the results of formulas that automatically calculate and display a value based on the contents of other cells. Spreadsheets are frequently used for financial information because of their ability to re-calculate the entire sheet automatically after a change to a single cell is made. Spreadsheet programs also provide conditional expressions, functions to convert between text and numbers, and functions that operate on strings of text. Spreadsheets have replaced paper-based systems throughout the business world. Although they were first developed for accounting or bookkeeping tasks, they now are used extensively in any context where tabular lists are built, sorted, and shared. There are som spreadsheet software as Kingsoft Spreadsheets, Microsoft Excelcommercial and OpenOffice Impress . Kingsoft Spreadsheets is a powerful spreadsheet software compatible with Microsoft Excel, free and professional editions are both available. It is a major part of Kingsoft Office Suite. Microsoft Excelcommercial is a spreadsheet program developed by Microsoft, part of the Office suite, and theOpenOffice Impress is a free software for making spreadsheets. So let's talk about Excel.Before Microsoft started bundling it with nearly every computer running Windows, Excel's only claim to fame was that it was the best spreadsheet for Macintoshes, not exactly a great accomplishment. But when Windows took over the PC market, and Microsoft began pushing the Office suite of programs, Excel suddenly became IT. It's a good spreadsheet, but it's far from the only spreadsheet you might want to use. Numbers doesn't try to duplicate all the accumulated features of Excel, but as the spreadsheet app included in Apple's iWork suite, it aims to be easier to use, with a variety of templates included to give you a headstart on setting up various common kinds of spreadsheets. It imports and exports Excel documents, and it's substantially cheaper than the next-best commercial office suite available for the Mac: MS Office. Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets is the spreadsheet module in IBM's office suite. It's based on the core of OpenOffice with a user interface developed by IBM/Lotus. Available for both Windows and Mac. PlanMaker is part of the SoftMaker suite, which is available not just for Windows and Linux, but also both the "Windows CE" and "Pocket PC "versions of Microsoft's mobile operating system. Spreadsheets play an integral role in the day-to-day business operations of both large and smaller, private companies. The needs for using spreadsheet, and the content you'll include on them, vary by industry and function of work transactions, so is very useful. Bibliography: http://alternatives.rzero.com/sheet.html http://www.kingsoftstore.com/office/spreadsheet-software .