TOWARD A LOGICAL/PHYSICAL THEORY OF SPEADSHEET MODELING

Abstract

In spite of the increasing sophistication and power of commercial spreadsheet packages, we still lack a formal theory of spreadsheets and a methodology that aids their construction and maintenance. Using a new functional relational language, this paper identifies four principal components that characterize any spreadsheet model: Model, Data, Editorial, and Binding. We present a factoring algorithm for identifying and extracting these components from conventional spreadsheets automatically, and a synthesis algorithm that assists users in the construction of executable spreadsheets from reusable components. This approach opens new possibilities for applying object oriented and model management techniques to support the construction, sharing, and reuse, of spreadsheet models in organizations.