Abstract
Spreadsheets and database management systems are two tools for record keeping and data analysis, spreadsheets being by far the more popular of the two. Originally quite distinct in concept and design, they have been adopting functionality and ease-of-use features from each other in recent years. This article explores situations in which one might encounter difficulties using a spreadsheet and discusses how one might overcome them, either by using a database or by taking advantage of the database-like features in modern spreadsheets.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kurtiss J. Gordon is Senior Applications Designer/Developer for the Office of Information Technologies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He holds a Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Michigan and has published more than twenty papers in that field. After teaching astronomy for fourteen years at Hampshire College, he obtained a M.S. in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Massachusetts and collaborated on the design and implementation of RESQME, a graphical environment for building and analyzing extended queueing network models. For the last seven years, he has designed and managed databases and database applications at the Office of Information Technologies. Author’s present address: Information Management Services, Office of Information Technologies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003-4640
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Gordon, K.J. Spreadsheet or database: Which makes more sense?. J. Comput. High. Educ. 10, 111–116 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02948725
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02948725