Microsoft Excel getting features we have had for a long time in org :-)

Microsoft Excel getting features we have had for a long time in org :-)

[Eric S Fraga]

Interesting:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/lambda-the-ultimatae-excel-worksheet-function/

(somebody doesn't know how to spell ultimate?)

I still would rather work with text than in a GUI and in Lisp than
Excel's language (whatever that may actually be) but good to see.

-- 
: Eric S Fraga via Emacs 28.0.50, Org release_9.4.4-199-gbc511b

Re: Microsoft Excel getting features we have had for a long time in org :-)

[gyro funch]

On 1/28/2021 4:01 AM, Eric S Fraga wrote:
> Interesting:
> https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/lambda-the-ultimatae-excel-worksheet-function/
> 
> (somebody doesn't know how to spell ultimate?)
> 
> I still would rather work with text than in a GUI and in Lisp than
> Excel's language (whatever that may actually be) but good to see.
> 

Oooh. That should make Excel spreadsheets even funner to audit.

-gyro

Re: Microsoft Excel getting features we have had for a long time in org :-)

[Eric S Fraga]

On Friday, 29 Jan 2021 at 13:36, gyro funch wrote:
> Oooh. That should make Excel spreadsheets even funner to audit.

:-)

I actually tell (warn?) my students that spreadsheets are an example of
a "write-only programming language", the other being APL (for those with
long memories).

-- 
: Eric S Fraga via Emacs 28.0.50, Org release_9.4.4-199-gbc511b

Re: Microsoft Excel getting features we have had for a long time in org :-)

[tomas]

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On Sun, Jan 31, 2021 at 06:17:50PM +0000, Eric S Fraga wrote:
> On Friday, 29 Jan 2021 at 13:36, gyro funch wrote:
> > Oooh. That should make Excel spreadsheets even funner to audit.
> 
> :-)
> 
> I actually tell (warn?) my students that spreadsheets are an example of
> a "write-only programming language", the other being APL (for those with
> long memories).

At least you can keep your APL programs in an VCS and the diffs might
make sense. Try that with excel.

(Actually, over here, excel is a plague, at least in public administration:
lots of "knowledge" is buried in inscrutable excel macros nobody dares to
touch after a while. This might explain why such sites are crippled for
weeks after a ransomware attack).

Cheers
 - t

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Re: Microsoft Excel getting features we have had for a long time in org :-)

[Gyro Funch]

In one of the simulation classes I teach, I try to convey the same
message.  :-)

In a past life, I had to extend applications that used Excel as a
front-end with a combination of interlinked functions in spreadsheet
cells plus plenty of Visual Basic with a few compiled dlls rolled into
the mix. The dlls (which I wrote in fortran) were the only components
for which I had any confidence.

Fun times!  ;-)

-gyro 

On 1/31/2021 11:17 AM, Eric S Fraga wrote:
> On Friday, 29 Jan 2021 at 13:36, gyro funch wrote:
>> Oooh. That should make Excel spreadsheets even funner to audit.
> :-)
>
> I actually tell (warn?) my students that spreadsheets are an example of
> a "write-only programming language", the other being APL (for those with
> long memories).
>

Re: Microsoft Excel getting features we have had for a long time in org :-)

[TEC]

Eric S Fraga <e.fraga@ucl.ac.uk> writes:

> I actually tell (warn?) my students that spreadsheets are an example of
> a "write-only programming language", the other being APL (for those with
> long memories).

I may not be of the right generation to remember APL, but I used to love
spreadsheets ... until I had to look at the same spreadsheet later
[shudder].

Using Org tables for small things and an actual program (python, R,
julia, etc.) for anything medium-large I've found vastly superior to
spreadsheets.

Good for Excel, but as far as I'm concerned it's a bit like making a
pitcher plant smell nicer 🙃. The trap is more enticing, but you still
end up in the same mess.

--
Timothy

Re: Microsoft Excel getting features we have had for a long time in org :-)

[Eric S Fraga]

On Sunday, 31 Jan 2021 at 19:38, tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:
> At least you can keep your APL programs in an VCS and the diffs might
> make sense. Try that with excel.

Very true, and the same applies to org tables (i. e. being able to use
version control).

And, as an aside, I love APL!  I just recognise the challenges of
sharing APL codes.  But, to be fair, it's been decades since I last used
APL (or J).

Also, I do use org tables quite extensively as spreadsheets but I'm also
careful to avoid making them inscrutable to all (including me).  As soon
as a table starts getting too complex, I move the coding to a src block
with the table as input (and maybe another table as output).

-- 
: Eric S Fraga via Emacs 28.0.50, Org release_9.4.4-199-gbc511b