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From: x51@nikhefh.nikhef.nl (Excursiecommissie)
Newsgroups: eunet.micro.acorn,comp.sys.acorn
Subject: Re: Spreadsheet window in C
Message-ID: <1121@nikhefh.nikhef.nl>
Date: 16 Jan 91 11:37:03 GMT
References: <734@.econ.vu.nl>
Sender: x51@nikhef.nl (Excursiecommissie)
Reply-To: x51@nikhefh.nikhef.nl (Excursiecommissie)
Organization: Nikhef-H, Amsterdam (the Netherlands).
Lines: 22

In article <734@.econ.vu.nl> you write:
>
>  I want to write a kind of spreadsheet program for my Archie (not exactly a
>spreadsheet appliaction but a spreadsheet window is *included* in this appl)
>in ANSI C. I'm wondering what is the best way to program a lot of spreadsheet
>cells in a window. First I thought a lot about writable icons but I think
>it is not good programming to include hundreds of writable icons in a
>window. It would make the program very slow (and it's a bit anti-social).

The approach used in most spreadsheet programs (i.e. Excel, Works) is to use a
separate input 'window', the input bar, on top of the screen, just below 
the menu-bar. This could ofcourse be moved above the icon bar on the
 Archimedes.
In this way you have only one writeable icon, and you only have to update the
cells' contents with a move and print(f) command. What's wrong with the move
and print option, surely it's one of the fastest ways of doing it?

Oh, and another thing: If at all possible, make the width of the cells variable
with the mouse, (Also the standard Mac way), instead of typing in character-
widths, (the standard dos way).

Axel