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One interesting aspect of Excel is how a sheet can be shared in a way that a compiled executable can not. Even with all the various viruses floating around, op
by j_s 9y ago
One interesting aspect of Excel is how a sheet can be shared in a way that a compiled executable can not.
Even with all the various viruses floating around, opening a spreadsheet is a common and allowed task as opposed to downloading, installing, and running software.
Edit: I suppose this point is mostly about the ubiquity of Excel as a platform. The interesting thing to me was that even otherwise prorietary models are more accessible distributed as Excel sheets than better-secured inside a custom tool.
- saagarjha 9y agoWell, Excel is interpreted, so a better comparison would be made against interpreted languages…
- j_s 9y agoFew are willing to run random programs in interpreted languages. Most wouldn't have the required runtime(s), and things like PowerShell have a stigma that an .XLSX does not.
- PurpleRamen 9y agoEveryone has a javascript-interpreter installed.
- j_s 9y agoIf you are talking about the browser, they are all locked down to prevent JavaScript execution from local files. If you are talking about WScript on Windows (I doubt it), it has an even worse reputation than PowerShell.
- PurpleRamen 9y agoYes, browser. Are you talking about Same-Origin-Policy? This shouldn't prevent a script being executed local. It only limits what it can do. Because of security, there is heavy sandboxing with javascript. Anyway, it wouldn't be hard to transform browsers in full fledged local scripting-engines, without dismanteling security.