Editing Spreadsheet (section)

=== Multi-dimensional spreadsheets ===
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, first [[Javelin Software]] and [[Lotus Improv]] appeared. Unlike models in a conventional spreadsheet, they utilized models built on objects called variables, not on data in cells of a report. These multi-dimensional spreadsheets enabled viewing data and [[algorithm]]s in various self-documenting ways, including simultaneous multiple synchronized views. For example, users of Javelin could move through the connections between variables on a diagram while seeing the logical roots and branches of each variable. This is an example of what is perhaps its primary contribution of the earlier Javelin—the concept of traceability of a user's logic or model structure through its twelve views. A complex model can be dissected and understood by others who had no role in its creation.

In these programs, a [[time series]], or any variable, was an object in itself, not a collection of cells that happen to appear in a row or column. Variables could have many attributes, including complete awareness of their connections to all other variables, data references, and text and image notes. Calculations were performed on these objects, as opposed to a range of cells, so adding two-time series automatically aligns them in calendar time, or in a user-defined time frame. Data were independent of worksheets—variables, and therefore data, could not be destroyed by deleting a row, column, or entire worksheet. For instance, January's costs are subtracted from January's revenues, regardless of where or whether either appears in a worksheet. This permits actions later used in [[pivot table]]s, except that flexible manipulation of report tables, was but one of many capabilities supported by variables. Moreover, if costs were entered by week and revenues by month, the program could allocate or interpolate as appropriate. This object design enabled variables and whole models to reference each other with user-defined variable names and to perform multidimensional analysis and massive, but easily editable consolidations.

Trapeze,<ref name="Trapeze">{{cite web|title=Trapeze|url=http://basalgangster.macgui.com/RetroMacComputing/The_Long_View/Entries/2011/3/26_Trapeze.html}}</ref> a spreadsheet on the Mac, went further and explicitly supported
not just table columns, but also matrix operators.