On Thu, 2017-11-02 at 17:51 +0000, trent shipley wrote:
> Right, it's not scripting using a classic programming environment,
> like VBA, the BASIC that comes with LibreOffice, or Python.
>
> The idea is that you extend the spreadsheet idiom to program the
> spreadsheet from a sheet or virtual workbook in the spreadsheet
> without leaving the spreadsheet to work in a classical imperative
> programming environment like VBA or Python.
>
>
> |A | B | C |
> 1|PARAMETERS(B1,C1)|<put input here>|<put input here>|
> 2| | | |
> 3|RETURN(B1*C1) | | |
> FUNCTION SHEET("MY_FUNCTION")
That is very reminiscent of Emacs' Org-mode, which has plain text
spreadsheets like the above. With a key stroke or three a "source code
block", a script written in any of a variety of languages, can be fed
such tables and the results captured in the document as text, table,
plot...
There is a cool org-mode document demonstrating genetic drift using R
plots and a little LaTeX for an equation. Here it is rendered for the
web.
http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~davison/software/org-babel/drift.org.html
People use org-mode for everything from literate programming to
reproducible research to organizing their lives (calendars and task
lists).
http://orgmode.org/
It looks like an interesting little tool. As one of it's tricks, it has a built in text spreadsheet you can use with Emacs Calc and Emacs Lisp. Emacs can be SO cool.
How do you use the spreadsheet. Can you program in the spreadsheet?
I didn't mean for my little prototype to imply I'm dreaming of a text tool. I want Scriptsheets to be a GUI environment (by stealing from the likes of GNUmeric or LibreOffice Calc); albeit a minimalist core GUI that can be enhanced with plugins.
Think of it this way. Traditional spreadsheets HAVE a programming language and an environment for the language. Scriptsheets will BE a programming language.
> You have data, it's a spreadsheet.
> The moral equivalent of sequence is referencing another cell,
> including one that contains a function.
> You have selection with the IF() function.
You speak of morality and then call IF a function. Blasphemer!
In a spreadsheet IF() is definitely a function.
> With the addition of just two keywords, PARAMETERS and RETURN you
> have real functions.
What's a "key word"??
Keyword? Reserved word?
There are actually at least three things involved.
*Declaring (or in a GUI marking the property) that a sheet is for a function. This creates a local scope so the effects of the function don't propagate through the workbook, except for the effect of the RETURN(S).
*Declaring cells that will be parameters. In a spreadsheet, that is going to look like a function.
* Returning a result. That looks like a function too.
> You have looping with functions calling themselves (recursion), and
> possibly circular references.
>
> My understanding is that's a complete programming paradigm.
Fun! Can you do it with coconuts?
If you have a very fault tolerant Babbage class computer, you can probably do it with coconuts.
---------------------------------------------------
PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings:
http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss