VisiCalc

An example VisiCalc spreadsheet on an Apple II.
Developer(s)	VisiCorp
Stable release	VisiCalc Advanced Version / 1983
Operating system	Apple II, Apple SOS, CP/M, Atari 8-bit family, Commodore PET, TRS-DOS, DOS, HP series 80
Type	Spreadsheet
License	Proprietary EULA
Website	http://www.danbricklin.com/visicalc.htm

VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet computer program, originally released for the Apple II. It is often considered the application that turned the microcomputer from a hobby for computer enthusiasts into a serious business tool. VisiCalc sold over 700,000 copies in six years.

Origins

Conceived by Dan Bricklin, refined by Bob Frankston, developed by their company Software Arts, and distributed by Personal Software in 1979 (later named VisiCorp) for the Apple II computer, it propelled the Apple from being a hobbyist's toy to a useful tool for business, two years before the introduction of the IBM PC.

VisiCalc was, in part, inspired by earlier "row and column" spreadsheet programs in widespread use on systems of several national timesharing companies. Notable among these products were Business Planning Language (BPL) from International Timesharing Corporation (ITS) and Foresight, from Foresight Systems. Dan Bricklin writes, "[W]ith the years of experience we had at the time we created VisiCalc, we were familiar with many row/column financial programs. In fact, Bob had worked since the 1960s at Interactive Data Corporation, a major timesharing utility that was used for some of them and I was exposed to some at Harvard Business School in one of the classes." However, these earlier timesharing spreadsheet programs were not completely interactive, nor did they run on personal computers.

According to Bricklin, he was watching a professor at Harvard Business School create a financial model on a blackboard. When the professor found an error or wanted to change a parameter, he had to erase and rewrite a number of sequential entries in the table. Bricklin realized that he could replicate the process on a computer using an "electronic spreadsheet" to view results of underlying formulae. The development of Visicalc took two months of work by Frankston and Bricklin during the winter of 1978–79. Their original intention was for it to fit in 16k, but this proved impossible and 32k became necessary (some additional features they wanted like a split text/graphics screen still had to be omitted for space reasons). However, Apple eventually began shipping all Apple IIs with 48k following a drop in RAM prices and this was no longer an issue. The initial release supported cassette storage, but it was quickly dropped.

Following Visicalc's release, Bricklin and Frankston developed ports for the Atari 800 and Commodore PET, both of which could be done easily due to sharing 6502 CPUs with the Apple II and being able to recycle large portions of code. The PET version was widely criticized for having a very small amount of worksheet space due to the developers' insistence on including their own custom DOS (which ate a large amount of memory in the computer). Other versions followed for the HP 150 and TRS-80 Model I and II. Finally, Visicalc was ported to the IBM PC and became one of the initial pieces of software available for it on its 1981 launch.

Successors

Charles Babcock of InformationWeek wrote that, in retrospect, "VisiCalc was flawed and clunky, and couldn't do many things users wanted it to do." A host of other spreadsheet programs appeared with more sophisticated features, including the CP/M-based Supercalc (1980), Lotus 1-2-3 (1983), Microsoft Multiplan (1983), Appleworks (1984), and Microsoft Excel (1985). The original Visicalc quickly became obsolete and was discontinued by 1983 while Lotus 1-2-3 became the dominant spreadsheet program on PC compatibles before the Windows era. Wes Hubert created Basicalc in June 1983 as a no-frills spreadsheet for the Zenith 100 in Zbasic.

Reception

Antic reviewer Joseph Kattan wrote, "VisiCalc isn't as easy to use as prepackaged home accounting programs, because you're required to design both the layout and the formulas used by the program. Because it is not pre-packaged, however, it's infinitely more powerful and flexible than such programs. You can use VisiCalc to balance your checkbook, keep track of credit card purchases, calculate your net worth, do your taxes—the possibilities are practically limitless."

See also

• Triumph of the Nerds, A documentary hosted by Robert X. Cringely that featured the creators of VisiCalc and their contribution as the first killer app for the personal computer.
• Timeline of computing 1950–1979

Further reading

• Grad, B. (2007). "The Creation and the Demise of VisiCalc". IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 29 (3): 20–20. doi:10.1109/MAHC.2007.4338439. 
• Campbell-Kelly, M. (2007). "Number Crunching without Programming: The Evolution of Spreadsheet Usability". IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 29 (3): 6–8. doi:10.1109/MAHC.2007.4338438. 

External links

• Dan Bricklin's Own VisiCalc Website – With history information as well as downloadable PC version
• Implementing VisiCalc – By Bob Frankston, on his website
• Was VisiCalc the "first" spreadsheet? – By Dan Bricklin, on his website
• Three Minutes: Godfathers Of The Spreadsheet – PC World  interview with the creators of VisiCalc
• Techdirt: What If VisiCalc Had Been Patented?
• TRS-80 and more