what are the special characteristics of each that make them different??
2006-12-08 07:46:35 · 3 answers · asked by pirate666999 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Programming & Design
Spreadsheets work on an single array of data. Great for figures and columns. You sort by columns.
Database is like having a lot of index cards with the data in the same format. You can sort by any data field or combinations of data fields.
The distinction for the typical user is getting vague because the spreadsheets are getting more powerful and most programs can import and export data into either format.
Databases allow the user to create custom interfaces.
2006-12-08 07:51:57 · answer #1 · answered by Aggie80 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Spreadsheets (on computer) are software like Excel and the one from OpenOffice. They are more tuned to numeric calculations, financial and accounting calculations, and so on.
Databases are programs designed to maintain large amounts of data and retrieve it. They are significantly more complex than a simple spreadsheet, designed to hold billions and trillions of rows of data. Designing data to be stored in a database takes some knowledge, and there is a whole field and set of jobs associated with working with databases.
2006-12-08 16:00:49 · answer #2 · answered by csanon 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Spreadsheets are usually for accounting purposes. Each cell in the spreadsheet allows you to enter formula and do some sort of calculation. Database is just bunch of fields with data. Its job is to store data and retrieval of data.
2006-12-08 15:50:35 · answer #3 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋