The History of the Database and Spreadsheet Modeling, Research Paper Example

While the database has a substantial lead on spreadsheet modeling in terms of age, at least in regards to information storage, indexing, and retrieval, both the database and the spreadsheet have rather close beginning points in their history on the computer.  Both are seen in their onset in the middle of the 20^th century, soon after the advent of the electronic computer.  The database and the spreadsheet have evolved into two extremely important components of business today.

Database

The historical legacy of the computerized database has transformed information in this computer age, or “computerized society” (Lyotard, 1984, p. 3).  In light of the ways in which a database can retrieve information, it has shaped various facets of culture.  According to Manovich, the database may be called “a new symbolic form (1999, p. 1)” of present culture.  From the beginnings of elementary computer databases to the ways in which it transforms areas of culture (see Manovich, 1999, 1 on traditional museum experience) today, the database maintains a prominent role in business constructs and beyond.

The history of the database can be fundamentally traced back to the early days of man.  The manner in which information was stored in containers, scrolls, and stones became the first known physical form of the database.  While this is certainly not the origin of the computer database, these physical and tangible roots of the database can be seen throughout human history.  Of course, as information storage and retrieval evolved into more complex methods before the advent of the computer, the important starting point for the relative history of the database is with the onset of computer software.  This would case the immediate height of the database.

1960’s

The 1960’s saw the first instances of notable computer databases.  Computers were able to handle increasing storage capacities, as well as becoming more cost-effective for private companies.  Two data models were developed in this time: hierarchical (IMS) and network model (CODASYL).  Rewriting the underlying access/modification scheme was necessary for adding an extra field on the database.  In these beginning models, the overall structure was not the emphasis, but rather the records, which were access through low-level pointer operations linking records.

In the 1960’s the first commercial database success was seen perhaps in SABRE, which was a system by IBM and American Airlines.  The system was able to take over all booking functions for the airline.  Based on two IBM 7090 mainframes, the system was a success.  It currently is in used for a large number of companies, such as Eurostar and SNCF.

1970’s

In the early 1970’s the paper “A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks” by E. F. Codd affected the nature of databases.  The theory proposed, which disconnects the logical organization of a database from the physical storage methods, has been the standard to date.  This is known as the relational model for database management.

One of the two main prototypes for relational systems was seen during the middle of the 1970’s.  The Ingres database model was developed at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), utilizing QUEL as query language.  It has led to a number of commercial database applications that exist today.

The other prototype was developed at IBM San Jose Research in the 1970’s.  IBM System R utilized SEQUEL as query language, and was the first implementation of Structured Query Language (SQL), which is now the standard relational data query language.  Additionally, IBM System R was the first system to prove that a relational database management system could maintain a level of good transaction processing performance.

1980’s and 1990’s

In the early part of the decade, the commercialization of relational systems increased significantly in the database market for business.  SQL also become the ultimate standard in this period as well, as other network and hierarchical models disappeared.  However, some legacy systems remained in use as other systems were developed and received the spotlight.

The IBM DB2 became the flagship product for IBM in the middle of the 1980’s.  It was originally released on the MVS mainframe platform, first exclusively available on IBM mainframes.  Many other database companies and products were established in this time period with the development of the IBM PC, such as OS/2 Database Manager, Dbase III, IV (later Foxbase and Visual FoxPro), Watcom SQL, RBASE 5000, and RIM.

With the industry losing companies due to a shakeout, highly-priced products and complex products arose in the early 1990’s.  The focal point of development was on client tools for application development, such as Oracle Developer, VB, and PowerBuilder.  The standard for future business decisions was established in the client-server model.  Additionally, the early 1990’s marked the beginning of the Object Database Management Systems (ODBMS) prototypes, which represent information in the form of objects in object-oriented programming.

The mid-1990’s impacted databases in the wake of the usable Internet and World Wide Web.  Computer systems with legacy data sought a way to allow remote access to such systems.  The client-server model reached desktops of average users as the Internet database scene grew.

Internet database connectors boomed in the industry due to the large investment in Internet companies, in the later part of the 1990’s.  This can be seen in several examples, such as Enterprise Java Beans, ColdFusion, Dream Weaver, Front Page, Active Server Pages, JDBC, Java Servlets, and Oracle Developer 2000.  The widespread use of gcc, Apache, MySQL, and cgi was coordinated with the online presence of open source solution.  Additionally, many merchants were able to use  point-of-sale (POS) technology with the arrival of online transaction processing (OLTP) and online analytic processing (OLAP).

21^st Century

The 21^st century has seen a steady growth of database applications.  There are three primary companies that dominate the large database market: Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM (buys Informix).  Other interactive applications appear with the use of POS transactions, consolidation of vendors, and PDAs, for instance.

Spreadsheet Modeling

The role of spreadsheet modeling occupies a clear place in business roles.  By its very definition a spreadsheet model allows one to “analyze decision alternatives before having to choose a specific plan for implementation” (Ragsdale, 2007, 1).  It should be noted that while spreadsheet modeling doesn’t have the role of the database in casual constructs, it maintains its effectiveness for the advanced and common user.  Home users are able to grasp its effectiveness.

Like the database, spreadsheet modeling has existed for a time prior to its appearance in electronic form.  However, unlike the database, the spreadsheet has been around for hundreds of years (and not much longer for the database) for use by accountants.  Mattessich notes that the reference to its non-electronic form is found in the first edition (1952) of Eric L. Kohler’s Dictionary for Accountants, which “refers to a worksheet providing a two way analysis of accounting data” (1).  Mattesich himself pioneered the development of electronic spreadsheets for use in business accounting in the early 1960’s.

Following Mattesich’s lead, the earliest computerized spreadsheets were known as batch spreadsheets.  Batch spreadsheets did not deal with individual cells, but rather the addition or subtraction of entire columns or rows of input variables.  This concept was implemented in 1962 by Brian Walsh at Marquette University, implemented on an IBM 1130, which was written in Fortran.  It was called Business Computer Language (BCL), used to assist business students in learning finance.  Students could manipulate information from the professor to show ratios.

LANPAR

Rene K. Pardo and Remy Landau developed a spreadsheet automatic natural order recalculation algorithm in 1969.  The software was called Language for Programming Arrays at Random (LANPAR).  It was developed out of the ability for users to type out forms in any order, and have the software calculate the results in the correct order.

LANPAR was used by various companies, such as Bell Canada, AT&T, and General Motors.  It allowed natural order recalculation to occur, differentiating it from left to right and top to bottom sequence in the calculation of results, for programs such as Visicalc, Supercalc, and in the first version of Multiplan.  Without it users had to manually recalculate the values.

The LANPAR system was later implemented on GE400 and Honeywell 6000 online timesharing systems.  Users were then able to program remotely from computer terminals and modems. It offered sophisticated features, including logical comparisons and other components.

Other Early Implementations

The Autoplan and Autotab spreadsheet programming language was developed by three former General Electric employees in 1968.  They wrote a program in order to produce tables, initially for their personal use.  It would later turn out to be the first software product offered by Capex Corporation.  Autoplan was the name for the GE’s Time-sharing service, while Autotab was a version that ran on IBM mainframes.  The program was a simple scripting language for spreadsheets.  The user was able to define names and labels for the rows and columns, and then the user would define the formulas that defined each row or column.

Another early spreadsheet was developed in 1976 at the United States Railway Association on an IBM 360/91, running at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, MD.  The application was successful in developing applications, such as financial and costing models for the US Congress and Conrail.  APLDOT solved the same problems which were addressed with paper spreadsheet pads by financial analysts and strategic planners, thus it was dubbed a spreadsheet.

VisiCalc

VisiCalc arose out of Dan Bricklin’s spreadsheet analysis task for a case study report at Harvard Business School.  He wanted a way to visualize the spreadsheet as it was created, instead of using a time-sharing mainframe program or doing it by hand.  Towards the end of the 1970’s, Bricklin had a working prototype of the concept in integer basic.

Bricklin later recruited Bob Frankston, who was an acquaintance at MIT.  Frankston added speed, better arithmetic, and scrolling capabilities to the production code.  He also lessened the amount of memory utilized, so that it could run on a microcomputer.

Joining Bricklin and Frankston in the development of VisiCalc was Daniel Fylstra, founding Associate Editor of Byte Magazine.  Fylstra, a MIT/HBS graduate, suggested the product would be viable if it was able to run on an Apple micro-computer.  Fylstra helped to run the ad for VisiCalc in Byte Magazine in the late 1970’s.  VisiCalc was named after the phrase “visible calculator.”  It was an instant success for the founders, and represented the first commercial implementation of the computerized spreadsheet.

Lotus 1-2-3

The Lotus Development Corporation was started in the early 1980’s, under the lead of Mitch Kapor, who developed Lotus 1-2-3.  Lotus 1-2-3 became the industry standard after legal conflicts distracted the developers of VisiCalc.  However, the prominence would gradually decline with the development of Microsoft Excel in the middle to late 1980’s.

Lotus 1-2-3 was established as a major data presentation package and complex calculation tool.  It was the first spreadsheet to introduce spreadsheet macros, cell ranges, and the ability to name cells.  It supported EGA and VGA graphics on different versions of the product.  In terms of programming, the macros had syntax and commands similar in complexity to an advanced BASIC interpreter, in addition to string variable expressions.  Later versions were able to support multiple worksheets, which were written in C.  Jeremy Sagan wrote FORTH for the charting and graphing routines.  Paul Funk wrote the printing routines in the program.

Microsoft Excel

Originally, Microsoft had marketed a product named Multiplan for spreadsheets in 1982.  As it was popular on CP/M systems, it lost popularity due to Lotus 1-2-3 on MS-DOS systems.  After releasing Excel for the Mac in 1985, Microsoft introduced Excel 2.05 for Windows in 1987.  As a result of Lotus being slow to provide 1-2-3 on Windows, Microsoft Excel began to outsell it shortly after its introduction.

Excel offered many user interface improvements over earlier electronic spreadsheets.  It became the first to allow the user to define the appearance of spreadsheets, such as character attributes, cell appearance, and fonts.  It also was the first to introduce intelligent cell recomputation, in which only cells dependent on the cell being modified are updated; other previous spreadsheets either recomputed everything all the time or waited for a certain user command.

Recent History

As Microsoft Excel continues to dominate the spreadsheet market, there are a couple of other recent developments in the history of spreadsheets.  Free spreadsheet programs have been introduced, which are compatible with other major programs.  The open-source OpenOffice.org Cal and Gnumeric, part of the GNOME desktop, are two primary examples of this movement.  Additionally, Internet-based spreadsheets have been introduced with newer technologies, such as Ajax.  Some of these programs offer strong multi-user collaboration features and real time updates from remote sources, for example.

It can be seen in the histories of the database and in spreadsheet modeling as to the development and additions in features and technology.  From the role of theory in relational databases to the initial practical features of some early spreadsheet programs, the history of each of these is rich in diversity and practicality.  Each history has interesting components that add to the prominence of the database and spreadsheet today, which has developed at a high rate.

Today the role of the database and spreadsheet is quite high in business and other areas of society.  For instance, today the Human Genome Project utilizes a massive database to identify and map a significant number of sequences that make up DNA.  Advances in spreadsheets allow a formula language based upon logical expressions to be utilized to deductively reason values.  As these technologies continue to develop onto more powerful forms of technology, they will be better able to handle data more effectively and efficiently.  As the histories of both the database and spreadsheet reveal, users will be able to fulfill even more advanced functions in a variety of business and common grounds.

References

Lyotard, J (trans. Bennington, G and Massumi, B). (1984). The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

Manovich, L. (1999). Database as a Symbolic Form. Millennium Film Journal, No. 34 (fall).

Mattessich, R. Spreadsheet: Its First Computerization (1961-1964).  Retrieved from http://www.j-walk.com/ss/history/spreadsh.htm

Ragsdale, C. (2007). Spreadsheet Modeling & Decision Analysis: A Practical Introduction to Management Science, Revised. Mason, OH: South-Western College Publishing.