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Author here. I agree with your remark but it simply isn't reality. Another issue is that while users may be aware of the core concepts, they are applied differe

Author here. I agree with your remark but it simply isn't reality. Another issue is that while users may be aware of the core concepts, they are applied differently between applications (e.g. a relationship in Excel between tables is based on a VLOOKUP formula whereas in SQL it is a JOIN or carthesian product). I do think data tools can educate users, just like a spreadsheet interface teaches its users about the concept of formulas and relationships between cells.

hammerandtongs 12y ago
It "isn't reality" because it's a very hard problem that hasn't been well solved. That should intimidate you enough to take it seriously but not to keep you from trying. While the concepts are similar the brittleness and bad design of spreadsheets (as I say elsewhere in the thread they should have had tables as first class object from day one) limits the ability to really make them a sane solution. That being said, spreadsheets (some running hedge funds) are a testament that the core concepts are learnable.