I think a big problem is reviewing, debugging and editing spreadsheets since they mostly refer to random cell-addresses instead of well thought through variable

I think a big problem is reviewing, debugging and editing spreadsheets since they mostly refer to random cell-addresses instead of well thought through variable names and formulas can be hidden anywhere in the massive grid of cells. Which error would you spot by simply skimming through the code: ´E64 / B2´, or ´rateDifference / rateAverage´. Most of the time you wouldn't even see the code, just a bunch of numbers on top. Being able to switch back and forth between the code and the resulting data would be a huge help. I like what Bret Victor said in his learnable programming series where he tries to build on this principle http://worrydream.com/#!/LearnableProgramming http://worrydream.com/#!/LearnableProgramming (Great read btw if you haven't read it already.) > One of the all-time most popular programming models is the spreadsheet. A > spreadsheet is the dual of a conventional programming language -- a language > shows all the code, but hides the data. A spreadsheet shows all the data, but > hides the code. Some people believe that spreadsheets are popular because of > their two-dimensional grid, but that's a minor factor. Spreadsheets rule because > they show the data.