| Some Essential Linux Applications | ||
| Part 6 of the Linux Newbie Administrator Guide | ||
6.2 Spreadsheetoocalc&I currently use the good spreadsheet called calc, which is part of OpenOffice.org. It can be run by clicking an appropriate menu item from your favourite desktop ("K"--"Office"--"OpenOffice.org Calc") or typing in an X terminal: oocalc& I am a very heavy spreadsheet user, so here are some other promising programs I keep my eyes on. In my opinion, Linux does not have an excellent spreadsheet program yet, but oocalc can do a lot. Users can even define their own function in oocalc. For example, i can write in the editor ("Tools"-"Macros"-"Edit") such a function: REM ***** BASIC ***** REM This function calculates an area of a donut with radii r1 and r2 Function my_function(r1,r2) REM return the value using the variable called like the function my_function=abs(pi()*r1^2 - pi()*r2^2) End function and then use it from my spreadsheet using something like: =my_function(2;3) Currently (Nov.2002, ver.1.01) oocalc supports 256 columns (A .. IV), 32000 rows (1 .. 32000), and up to 256 sheets ("sheet1", "sheet2", etc, named dynamically and be re-named). Work is in progress to increase the number of rows and columns. It has hundreds of build-in functions (covering compatiblity with anything found in MS Excel). The user interface is sometimes awkward. For example, adding a new data series to a chart requires highlighting a spreadsheet range, and then dragging and dropping it onto the chart with a mouse. Still, the chart component supports (for XY graphs) two Y axes, two X axes, good selection of line types, bitmaps for data points, error bars, regression fits, etc. Really powerful if you learn how to use it--to my taste too much of careful mouse clicking is required. I would really enjoy a giant dialog box with all the options for the chart typed into it for me to modify when required. Next > 6.2.1 gnumeric
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