VisiCalc

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters | check | showblankpositional=1 | unknown = Template:Main other | preview = Page using Template:Infobox software with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y | AsOf | author | background | bodystyle | caption | collapsetext | collapsible | developer | discontinued | engine | engines | genre | included with | language | language count | language footnote | latest preview date | latest preview version | latest release date | latest release version | latest_preview_date | latest_preview_version | latest_release_date | latest_release_version | licence | license | logo | logo alt | logo caption | logo upright | logo size | logo title | logo_alt | logo_caption | logo_upright | logo_size | logo_title | middleware | module | name | operating system | operating_system | other_names | platform | programming language | programming_language | released | replaced_by | replaces | repo | screenshot | screenshot alt | screenshot upright | screenshot size | screenshot title | screenshot_alt | screenshot_upright | screenshot_size | screenshot_title | service_name | size | standard | title | ver layout | website | qid }}Template:Main other

VisiCalc ("visible calculator")<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is the first spreadsheet computer program for personal computers,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> originally released for the Apple II by VisiCorp on October 17, 1979.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is considered the killer application for the Apple II,<ref name=":0" /> turning the microcomputer from a hobby for computer enthusiasts into a serious business tool, and then prompting IBM to introduce the IBM PC two years later.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> More than 700,000 copies were sold in six years, and up to 1 million copies over its history.Template:Citation needed <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Initially developed for the Apple II computer using a 6502 assembler running on the Multics time-sharing system,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> VisiCalc was ported to numerous platforms, both 8-bit and some of the early 16-bit systems. To do this, the company developed porting platforms that produced bug compatible versions. The company took the same approach when the IBM PC was launched, producing a product that was essentially identical to the original 8-bit Apple II version. Sales were initially brisk, with about 300,000 copies sold.Template:Citation needed

VisiCalc uses the A1 notation in formulas.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>https://www.dssresources.com/history/kapor4151999.html</ref>

When Lotus 1-2-3 was launched in 1983, taking full advantage of the expanded memory and screen of the IBM PC, VisiCalc sales declined so rapidly that the company was soon insolvent. In 1985, Lotus Development purchased the company<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and ended sales of VisiCalc.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

History

VISICALC represented a new idea of a way to use a computer and a new way of thinking about the world. Where conventional programming was thought of as a sequence of steps, this new thing was no longer sequential in effect: When you made a change in one place, all other things changed instantly and automatically.

{{#if:Ted Nelson<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>|{{#if:|}}

— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries

}}

{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}

Dan Bricklin conceived of VisiCalc while watching a presentation at Harvard Business School (HBS). The professor was creating a financial model on a blackboard that was ruled with vertical and horizontal lines (resembling accounting paper) to create a table, and he wrote formulas and data into the cells. When the professor found an error or wanted to change a parameter, he had to erase and rewrite several sequential entries in the table. Bricklin realized that he could replicate the process on a computer using an "electronic spreadsheet" to view results of underlying formulae.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Although a HBS professor warned Bricklin that large computers already had much financial modeling software,Template:R Bob Frankston joined Bricklin at 231 Broadway, Arlington, Massachusetts. The pair formed the Software Arts company, and developed the VisiCalc program in two months during the winter of 1978–79. Bricklin wrote:

with the years of experience we had at the time we created VisiCalc, we were familiar with many row/column financial programs. In fact, Bob had worked since the 1960s at Interactive Data Corporation, a major timesharing utility that was used for some of them and I was exposed to some at Harvard Business School in one of the classes.{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries

}}

{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}

Bricklin was referring to the variety of report generators that were in use at that time, including Business Planning Language (BPL) from International Timesharing Corporation (ITS) and Foresight from Foresight Systems. However, these earlier timesharing programs were not completely interactive, and they pre-dated personal computers. Frankston and Bricklin took a bank loan to purchase a Prime minicomputer, on which they wrote the development tools (editor, assembler, linker) they used to write VisiCalc.<ref>http://www.bricklin.com/history/saiproduct1.htm</ref>

Frankston described VisiCalc as a "magic sheet of paper that can perform calculations and recalculations [which] allows the user to just solve the problem using familiar tools and concepts". The Personal Software company began selling VisiCalc in mid-1979 for under Template:US$, after a demonstration at the fourth West Coast Computer Faire and an official launch on June 4 at the National Computer Conference. It requires an Apple II with 32K of random-access memory (RAM), and supports saving files to magnetic tape cassette or to the Apple Disk II floppy disk system.<ref name = "InfoWorld Jun 1979">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Many in the microcomputer industry had expected that their products would grow in power until they could run the large software library available for minicomputers, but VisiCalc had no equivalent on bigger computers. It had functionality similar to financial modeling languages that cost $20,000, but did not require learning a language.Template:R VisiCalc was unusually easy to use and came with excellent documentation. Apple's developer documentation cited the software as an example of one with a simple user interface.<ref name="apple1982">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:R Benefiting from personal computers' interactivity, the software uses the familiar metaphor of locations on a spreadsheet and invites iterative development. As a general-purpose application it does not force a particular solution,Template:R and is usable for almost any purpose.Template:R Observers immediately noticed its power. Noting how those new to computers quickly learned the application, Ben Rosen speculated in July 1979 that "VisiCalc could someday become the software tail that wags (and sells) the personal computer dog".Template:R<ref name="brandel19990802">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="rumelt2003">Template:Cite book</ref>

Killer app

Rosen was correct. For the first 12 months VisiCalc was only available for Apple II, and became its killer app.Template:R<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> John Markoff wrote that the computer was sold as a "VisiCalc accessory";<ref name="markoff19820705">Template:Cite news</ref> many bought Template:US$ Apple computers to run the $100 software<ref name="mcmullen19840221">Template:Cite news</ref> — more than 25% of those sold in 1979 were reportedly for VisiCalcTemplate:R — even if they already owned other computers.<ref name="barry19811005">Template:Cite news</ref> Steve Wozniak said that small businesses, not the hobbyists he and Steve Jobs had expected, purchased 90% of Apple IIs.<ref name="byte198501">Template:Cite news</ref> Apple's rival Tandy Corporation used VisiCalc on Apple IIs at their headquarters.<ref name="reed">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Other software supports its Data Interchange Format (DIF) to share data.Template:R One example is the Microsoft BASIC interpreter supplied with most microcomputers that ran VisiCalc. This allowed skilled BASIC programmers to write features, such as trigonometric functions, that VisiCalc lacked.Template:Citation needed

Bricklin and Frankston originally intended to fit the program into 16k memory, but they later realized that the program needed at least 32k. Even 32k is too small to support some features that the creators wanted to include, such as a split screen for text and graphics. However, Apple eventually began shipping all Apple IIs with 48k memory following a drop in RAM prices, enabling the developers to include more features. The initial release supported tape cassette storage, but that was quickly dropped.Template:Citation needed

At VisiCalc's release, Personal Software promised to port the program to other computers, starting with those with the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor,Template:R and versions appeared for Atari 8-bit computers and Commodore PET. Both of those were easy, because those computers have the same CPU as Apple II, and large portions of code were reused. The PET version, which contains two separate executables for 40 and 80-column models, was widely criticized for having a very small amount of worksheet space due to the developers' inclusion of their own custom DOS, which uses a large amount of memory.<ref>https://museum.syssrc.com/artifact/800/</ref> The PET only has 32k versus Apple II's available 48k.

Other ports followed for Apple III, the Zilog Z80-based Tandy TRS-80 Model I, Model II, Model III, Model 4, and Sony SMC-70. The TRS-80 Model I and Sony SMC-70 ports are the only versions of VisiCalc without copy protection. The HP 125 and Sony SMC-70 ports are the only CP/M version. Most versions are disk-based, but the PET VisiCalc came with a ROM chip that the user must install in one of the motherboard's expansion ROM sockets. The most important port is for the IBM PC, and VisiCalc became one of the first commercial packages available when the IBM PC shipped in 1981.Template:R It quickly became a best-seller on this platform, though severely limited to be compatible with the versions for the 8-bit platforms. It is estimated that 300,000 copies were sold on the PC, bringing total sales to about 1 million copies.<ref name="langdell19850806">Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal Software renamed itself VisiCorp in 1982.Template:R By that year, VisiCalc's price had risen from $100 to Template:US$.<ref name="tommervik198203">Template:Cite news</ref> Several competitors appeared in the market, such as SuperCalcTemplate:R and Multiplan,Template:R each of which have more features and corrected deficiencies in VisiCalc, but could not overcome its market dominance.

Decline

A more dramatic change occurred with the 1983 launch of Lotus Development Corporation's Lotus 1-2-3, created by former Personal Software/VisiCorp employee Mitch Kapor, who had written VisiTrend and VisiPlot. Unlike the IBM PC version of VisiCalc, 1-2-3 was written to take full advantage of the PC's increased memory, screen, and performance. Yet it was designed to be as compatible as possible with VisiCalc, including the menu structure, to allow VisiCalc users to easily migrate to 1-2-3.Template:Citation needed

1-2-3 was almost immediately successful, and in 1984, InfoWorld wrote that sales of VisiCalc were "rapidly declining", stating, that it was "the first successful software product to have gone through a complete life cycle, from conception in 1978 to introduction in 1979 to peak success in 1982 to decline in 1983 to a probable death according to industry insiders in 1984". The magazine added that the company was slow to upgrade the software, in part due to the choice to focus their update on the ill-fated Apple III; the Advanced Version of VisiCalc for Apple III came out in 1982.<ref>https://winworldpc.com/product/visicalc/advanced-apple-iii</ref> Only in 1983 did a version come out for Apple II, with a version for the IBM PC being announced (but not delivered) in 1984.<ref name="caruso19840402">Template:Cite news</ref> VisiCorp sued Software Arts in September 1983; the lawsuit and countersuit focused on the VisiCalc trademark. The two companies settled in September 1984; VisiCorp paid $500,000 in royalties to Software Arts, which received the VisiCalc trademark but not rights to the "Visi" prefix. VisiCorp could continue to use "Visi" with other software.Template:R By 1985, VisiCorp was insolvent. Lotus Development acquired Software Arts, and ended sales of the application.<ref name="langdell19850806"/>

VisiCalc

• 1979: Apple II
• 1980: Apple III, TRS-80 Model III, Apple II, IBM PC, TRS-80 Model 2, PET CBM-80, HP 125, Atari 8-bit
• 1981: IBM PC, Sony SMC-70

VisiCalc Advanced

• 1982: Apple III<ref name="bricklin">http://www.bricklin.com/history/sailater.htm</ref>
• 1983: Apple IIe<ref name="bricklin"/>
• 1983: TRS-80 Model 4,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Model II (with RAM expansion card) and Model 16.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Used banked memory beyond the base 64 KB.

• 1984: IBM PC<ref>https://winworldpc.com/product/visicalc/advanced-ibm</ref>

Reception

In 1983, Softline readers named VisiCalc tenth overall and the highest non-game on the magazine's Top Thirty list of Atari 8-bit programs by popularity.<ref name="softline198303">Template:Cite news</ref> II Computing listed it second on the magazine's list of top Apple II software as of late 1985, based on sales and market-share data.<ref name="ciraolo198510_11">Template:Cite news</ref>

In its 1980 review, BYTE wrote "The most exciting and influential piece of software that has been written for any microcomputer application is VisiCalc [...] VisiCalc is the first program available on a microcomputer that has been responsible for sales of entire systems".<ref name="ramsdell198011">Template:Cite news</ref> Creative ComputingTemplate:'s review that year similarly concluded, "for almost anyone in business, education, or any science-related field it is [...] reason enough to purchase a small computer system in the first place".<ref name="green198008">Template:Cite news</ref> Compute! reported, "Every Visicalc user knows of someone who purchased an Apple just to be able to use Visicalc".<ref name="budge19800708">Template:Cite news</ref> Antic wrote in 1984, "VisiCalc isn't as easy to use as prepackaged home accounting programs, because you're required to design both the layout and the formulas used by the program. Because it is not pre-packaged, however, it's infinitely more powerful and flexible than such programs. You can use VisiCalc to balance your checkbook, keep track of credit card purchases, calculate your net worth, do your taxes—the possibilities are practically limitless."<ref name="8-Bit Product Reviews: VISICALC">Template:Cite journal</ref> The Addison-Wesley Book of Atari Software 1984 gave the application an overall A+ rating, praising its documentation and calling it "indispensable ... a straight 'A' classic".<ref name="aw1984">Template:Cite book</ref> In 2006, Charles Babcock of InformationWeek wrote that, in retrospect, "VisiCalc was flawed and clunky, and couldn't do many things users wanted it to do", but also, "It's great because it demonstrated the power of personal computing".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1999, HBS put up a plaque commemorating Dan Bricklin in the room where he had studied: "Forever changed how people use computers in business".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Since 2010, the anniversary of the October 17, 1979, launch of VisiCalc has been celebrated as Spreadsheet Day.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Legacy

VisiCalc is one of the earliest examples of metaphor-driven user interface design, due to its resemblance with paper spreadsheets. This metaphor made the program comprehensible and familiar to accountants, economists, and bookkeepers who were not used to using computers, and VisiCalc's release marked the point where "personal computers crossed the line from a hobbyist obsession to a compelling tool". Compared to paper spreadsheets, VisiCalc freed users to change numbers without having to recalculate the whole spreadsheet by hand, which, according to Steven Levy, "changed the perception of a spreadsheet from a document of hard costs into a modeling tool by which one tested business scenarios".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

External links

• Free download of VisiCalc at Dan Bricklin's site

See also

• Visi On
• Triumph of the Nerds, A documentary hosted by Robert X. Cringely featuring the creators of VisiCalc and their contribution as the first killer app for the personal computer.
• Timeline of computing 1950–1979

Further reading

• Template:Cite journal
• Template:Cite journal

External links

• Dan Bricklin's Own VisiCalc Website – With history information as well as downloadable PC version
• Implementing VisiCalc – By Bob Frankston, on his website
• Was VisiCalc the "first" spreadsheet? – By Dan Bricklin, on his website
• Three Minutes: Godfathers Of The Spreadsheet – PC World  interview with the creators of VisiCalc
• Techdirt: What If VisiCalc Had Been Patented?
• TRS-80 and more
• TED Talk – "Dan Bricklin: Meet the inventor of the electronic spreadsheet"
• TEDx Talk – "A Problem That Changed The World | Dan Bricklin | TEDxBeaconStreet"
• VisiCalc (1979) — Internet Archive, runnable in an emulator in the local browser.