VisiCalc
In 1979, Harvard student Dan Bricklin was watching his professor correct entries in a table of finance data on a chalkboard. After correcting a mistake in one entry, the professor proceeded to correct the corresponding marginal entries. Bricklin realized that such tedious work could be done much more easily and accurately on his new Apple II microcomputer. This resulted in his invention of VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet computer program for microcomputers. Many agree that that innovation transformed the microcomputer from a hobbyist's game platform to a serious business tool.
The consequence of Bricklin's VisiCalc was a paradigm shift in commercial computing. Spreadsheet calculations, an essential form of commercial data processing, had ...
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Read now
Unlock full access