CHAPTER 2
Excel As Database and Data Aggregator
Spreadsheets have a long history of making data accessible to ordinary people. This chapter chronicles the evolution of Excel from spreadsheet to powerful database. It then shows how to import data from a variety of sources. Subsequent chapters will demonstrate how Excel with Power BI is now a powerful Business Intelligence tool.
From Spreadsheet to Database
The first spreadsheet program, VisiCalc (a contraction of visible calculator), was released in 1979 for the Apple II computer. It was the first “killer app.” A saying at the time was that “VisiCalc sold more Apples than Apple.” VisiCalc was ...
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