What is a Spreadsheet ?

A spreadsheet is any information that can be represented by rows and columns.

It does not have to be numerical information and does not have to involve any calculation.

The following is an example of a simple spreadsheet for child minding.

Day of Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Child to Mind	James	Charlotte	Craig	Nick	Jane

This example could just be written on a piece of paper and stuck to the fridge.

But suppose if you looked after twenty children during the week and they came and went at different times then you would need a large piece of paper and a larger fridge!

By now some people would be reaching for the calculator and possibly changing parts of the spreadsheet using a rubber or white out to correct mistakes.

If we converted the example to an electronic spreadsheet we could use the spreadsheet program to make all the calculations for us and use its editing facilities to make changes to the spreadsheet without picking up a pencil.

As a general rule if you have to change the figures that you use more than twice and you have more than four rows and four columns in your paper spreadsheet then you should be using an electronic spreadsheet.

A spreadsheet program gives you the ability to
- enter data into a predefined layout consisting of rows and columns.
- editing facilities so as to correct mistakes or change data at will.
- compute answers to calculations for you and to place the answer anywhere you want it.

---