Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by ntxy 2822 days ago
this plagues my sleep. yes, spreadsheets! I always wonder: what's so special about spreadsheets?
2 comments

Mainly that a spreadsheet program is available on most laptop/PCs. And most people have been taught how to use an 'office' package at some point. And the UI is sort of built in and familiar.

Perhaps you will be able to sleep easier when the Raspberry Pi' generation come of age? I recollect that small business people built applications with Hypercard a few decades ago.

https://www.wired.com/2002/08/hypercard-forgotten-but-not-go...

Spreadsheets are the best! They are literally THE killer app for PCs.
They do allow people to walk up and start building models with minimal introduction. Low floor, and, alas, as many know here to their cost, a high ceiling in the sense that spreadsheets often get used for more advanced modelling that would benefit from being constructed in a more maintainable way.