3: Spreadsheet Varieties

In order to understand how spreadsheet data can be turned into corporate data, we must understand spreadsheets at two levels. The first level can be called the “external” level. The external level of a spreadsheet is the way a spreadsheet looks to the user. When you look at a spreadsheet on the desk or on the computer, you are looking at it “externally.”

The other way a spreadsheet can be examined or understood is “internally”. Almost no one sees this internal view, except for the computer. The spreadsheet looks very different to the computer than it looks to the end user or the analyst.

The reason why it is important to understand what a spreadsheet looks like internally is because the internal view determines much of what can and cannot be accomplished with the data. In order to turn spreadsheet data into corporate data, you need to understand what is happening and why it is happening. Figure 3.1 illustrates...