SpreadsheetAsaRelational.PDFVIP

Spreadsheet As a Relational Database Engine Jerzy Tyszkiewicz Institute Informatics, University of Warsaw Banacha 2, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland jty@.pl ABSTRACT Keywords Spreadsheets are among the most commonly used applica- spreadsheets, relational databases, relational algebra, SQL, tions for data management and analysis. Perhaps they are performance even among the most widely used computer applications of all kinds. However, the spreadsheet paradigm of computa- 1. INTRODUCTION tion still lacks su?cient analysis. In this paper we demonstrate that a spreadsheet can play Spreadsheets are the end-user computing counterpart of the role of a relational database engine, without any use of databases and OLAP in enterprise-scale computing. They macros or built-in programming languages, merely by utiliz- serve basically the same purpose — data management and ing spreadsheet formulas. We achieve that by implementing analysis, but at the opposite extremes of the data quantity all operators of relational algebra by means of spreadsheet scale. functions. At the same time spreadsheets are a great success, and Given a de?nition of a database in SQL, it is therefore are often described as the very ?rst “killer app” for personal possible to construct a spreadsheet workbook with empty computers. Today they are used to manage home budgets, worksheets for data tables and worksheets ?lled with for- but also to create, manage and examine extremely sophisti- mulas for queries. From then on, when the user enters, al- cated models and data arising in business and research. For ters or deletes data in the data worksheets, the fo