# Patent

## Title
Parser, code generator, and data calculation and transformation engine for spreadsheet calculations

## Abstract

A system including spreadsheet sheets, makes calculations and data transformations, which is available through a programming interface, and conforms to the grammar and syntax of a target software development language is presented. The system includes an Object Model with Data Structures representing entities involved in spreadsheets. The system includes a Parser and Code Generator that extracts data from a body of spreadsheet data, instantiates instances of Data Structures of the Object Model to represent the spreadsheet data, parses the data and formulas contained in the cells of the spreadsheets, iterates through the instantiated instances of the Data Structures, and generates source code that performs the calculations and data transformations embodied in the spreadsheet data. The system includes a Calculation Engine with software base classes that implement the common structural and data access features of spreadsheet data, and further implement the operations of common spreadsheet functions and operators.

## Background
CROSS-REFERENCE
This application claims the benefit of appln. 60/312,981 filed Aug. 16, 2001.


FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains in general to software based calculation and data transformation engines, and more particularly, to conversion of the calculation and data transformation features of spreadsheet data into source code of a target software development language for independent run-time execution.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Spreadsheet applications for computers, such as IBM's Lotus 123® and Microsoft® Excel, have become very popular analysis and communication tools. Spreadsheets are typically used to perform numerical analyses and ‘what if’ analyses, to simulate complex systems, and to communicate ideas. Many users are familiar with the spreadsheet metaphor. With little or no training, users can create complex, interrelated calculations and data transformations in spreadsheet applications.
The rapid growth and adoption of the Internet has spawned an explosion in web-based distribution of application functionality and server-based applications. Many such distributed and server-based applications have underlying logic that comprises complex calculations and data transformations. Development of such functionality in software language source code can be effort intensive, tedious, and error-prone. Furthermore, creating such functionality requires highly skilled software developers.
Being able to embed the calculations and data transformations of a spreadsheet directly into stand-alone applications, distributed applications, and server-based applications can be very powerful. Some spreadsheet applications have application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow them to provide calculation and data transformation as a service to other applications. But distributing and using spreadsheets in this way requires that users have the same or a compatible spreadsheet application as the one in which the spreadsheet was created.
Using spreadsheet applications as calculation engines in server-based applications also has limitations. Background art spreadsheet applications are meant for single users and cannot scale to support high-volume server-side processing. Also, the User Interface and display features of spreadsheet applications carry significant overhead.
There are background art spreadsheet components available that can read and write spreadsheet data created by popular spreadsheet applications and perform calculations at runtime. These components do facilitate the integration of spreadsheet functionality into other distributed applications or server-based applications. But these components operate internally in the same way spreadsheet applications do: they interpret Cell formulas at runtime. Runtime interpretation of Cell formulas is generally considered to be a desirable feature because it allows Cell formulas to be changed at runtime. But in many application scenarios, calculations and data transformations need to remain unchanged at runtime. So when a spreadsheet component is used as a calculation engine in such an application, then the runtime Cell formula interpretation feature adds memory and processing overhead without adding any value. Background art spreadsheet components are typically larger than 1 Megabyte in size.
When using background art spreadsheet components in server-based applications, the overhead associated with the User Interface and runtime cell formula interpretation features can negatively impact server performance, both from processing speed and memory usage standpoints. When using background art spreadsheet components in distributed applications, the overhead can also significantly degrade download performance.
Some spreadsheet applications and spreadsheet components use mechanisms to represent simple cell formulas as machine code during idle time processing. While this can reduce the negative performance impact related to run-time cell formula interpretation, it maintains the memory overhead and it can limit the spreadsheet application or spreadsheet component to running on only a single platform.
It would be desirable to provide a facility for automatically generating source code from spreadsheet data such that the generated source code embodies the calculations and data transformations embodied in the spreadsheet data. The generated source code may then be integrated into a wide variety of different types of applications or other utilization mechanisms. The calculations and data transformation may allow features to be accessed by users who do not have a spreadsheet application or spreadsheet component, or who have a spreadsheet application or spreadsheet component that is incompatible with the original spreadsheet application. The calculations and data transformation may protect features from being modified accidentally or deliberately. Thus, spreadsheet applications may be used as design tools for creating and testing complex, interrelated calculation functionality for use in a wide variety of applications. The calculations and data transformation allows features to be embedded into high-volume server architectures, such as mainframe computers or super computers, that are not fully supported by background art spreadsheet applications or components. Moreover, the calculations and data transformation may allow features to be embedded into disparate or distributed computing environments, such as web-browsers, embedded systems, gaming consoles, cell phones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs), that are not fully supported by background art spreadsheet applications or components.
One of the most labor-intensive aspects of software development is testing to verify that the software meets specifications. In many software development efforts, major parts of the system must be built before any of the parts can be tested. This makes it difficult to localize the origin of errors. But when using a spreadsheet to develop the core logic of a system it is easy to create multiple sets of test data and switch between the sets to test the spreadsheet. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a core functionality that can be verified locally, before deployment and without writing any code.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Developing complex logic in a spreadsheet is much more efficient than hand-coding in a software language. The visual nature of spreadsheets and usability features like drag-copy have been critical to their widespread adoption. When these productivity enhancers are applied to programming, the effects are no less dramatic. Developers can create calculations and data transformation routines in a spreadsheet in a fraction of the time that it takes to do the same in code. Sophisticated systems may incorporate with built-in functions. Beginning developers can be effective at coding logic that might otherwise require a very skilled resource.
Briefly summarized, the present invention relates to source code generator programming interfaces defined to facilitate the analysis of a body of spreadsheet data and the generation of software source code representative of the body of spreadsheet data. The generated software source code embodies structural aspects of the body of spreadsheet data. The calculations and data transformations are performed thorough a plurality of spreadsheet sheets. This makes the calculations and data transformations available through a programming interface. Further, the grammar and syntax is conformed to a target software development language.
A preferred embodiment of the Parser and Code Generator integrated directly into a spreadsheet application. The preferred embodiment optionally generates source code conforming to the syntax of multiple target software development languages, including Java® by Sun Microsystems, C, C++, and others.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a diagram of representative computer system hardware in accordance with a preferred embodiment;
FIG. 2 shows a screen shot of a representative spreadsheet application in accordance with a preferred embodiment;
FIG. 3 shows a screen shot of a control interface displaying user-configurable properties integrated directly into a spreadsheet application, in this case Microsoft® Excel in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 4a is a sample generated source code representative of global aspects of a body of spreadsheet data;
FIG. 4b is a screen shot of generated source code representative of aspects of a single spreadsheet sheet;
FIG. 4c is a sample representative spreadsheet cell formula and representative generated code;
FIG. 5 is a sample representative spreadsheet-like application interfacing with the Calculation Engine for values from an underlying compiled module representative of a body of spreadsheet data to provide calculation and data transformation features of the represented spreadsheet;
FIG. 6 is a sample representative non-spreadsheet-like applet interfacing with the Calculation Engine in a web browser environment for values from an underlying compiled module representative of a body of spreadsheet data to provide calculation and data transformation features of the represented spreadsheet;
FIG. 7 is a Flow Chart depicting overview of Code Generation Operation;
FIG. 8 is a Flow Chart depicting GetColorSchemes sub-operation of Code Generation Operation;
FIG. 9 is a Flow Chart depicting ConnectSheets sub-operation of Code Generation Operation;
FIG. 10 is a Flow Chart depicting ConnectNames sub-operation of Code Generation Operation;
FIGS. 11a–11e are Flow Charts depicting ParseCellFormulas sub-operation of Code Generation Operation;
FIG. 12 is a Flow Chart depicting KDBook.GetCode sub-operation of Code Generation Operation;
FIG. 13 is a Flow Chart depicting KDSheet.GetCode sub-operation of Code Generation Operation;
FIG. 14 is a Flow Chart depicting GetFuncLibCode sub-operation of Code Generation Operation;
FIG. 15 is a Flow Chart depicting DeployCode sub-operation of Code Generation Operation;
FIG. 16 illustrates Use Case diagram depicting the basic high-level use cases for the Calculation Engine;
FIG. 17 is a UML Class diagram depicting basic classes used within the Calculation Engine. Some details, such as the public application programming interface (API) methods, are set forth with reference to the data structures used in the calculation engine;
FIG. 18: In accordance with a preferred embodiment, a UML Sequence Diagram depicting basic operations and classes involved with loading an instance of the Calculation Engine;
FIG. 19 is a UML Sequence Diagram depicting basic operations and classes involved with getting a value within the Calculation Engine; and
FIG. 20 is a UML Sequence Diagram depicting basic operations and classes involved with setting a value within the Calculation Engine.



DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With reference to the figures and particularly FIG. 1, a block diagram of the representative computer hardware is shown illustrating a computer system implementing a source code generator with methods employing a process and computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling the computer system, which comprises a processor or CPU 100 receiving input from a keyed input device 102 or pointing device 104. A display device 106 and printing device 108 are provided for output and volatile storage 110 and non-volatile storage 112 may include computer-readable media and random access memory and the like. As described further below, a spreadsheet application 116 is employed with a plurality of sheets from which a data structure including calculation files are used for corresponding spreadsheet data. A data acquisition interface is used for receiving the spreadsheet data, which is transferable to the calculation files. A parser and source code generator 118 is used for extracting information from the data structure. An information processor facilitated the use of CPU 100 for performing a data transformation of extracted information stored in said data structure through said programming interface to conform to the grammar and syntax of a target software development language. A calculation engine 120 is provided, which has the following benefits:

    
    
        (a) allowing spreadsheet applications to be relied upon to verify well-formedness of cell formulas;
        (b) reducing distribution size by eliminating the overhead of a spreadsheet application or spreadsheet component;
        (c) reducing distribution size by eliminating the overhead of User Interface features and run-time cell formula interpretation features;
        (d) allowing the generated code to be executed on any platform which supports a target software development language;
        (e) improving the performance of the calculations and data transformation features because they are embodied in compiled code rather than being interpreted at runtime;
        (f) improving the performance of the calculations and data transformation features because optimizing compilers can optimize for a target platform;
    
    


Within the field of object orientation, the concepts of encapsulation, polymorphism, and inheritance are well known. A Class is an embodiment of characteristics and behaviors. An instance of a Class is an object that exhibits the characteristics and behaviors of the Class. There are many well-known and widely available references describing object-oriented principles in great detail.
Within the field of computer applications, spreadsheet concepts are well known. In a typical background art spreadsheet application, a body of spreadsheet data comprises a singleton Workbook comprising a plurality of Worksheets. Worksheets comprise a plurality of Cells that can contain literal data values or formulas that are dependent on other Cells. Individual Cells as well as Ranges of Cells can be Named and can be referred to and accessed by Name. There are many well-known and widely available references describing spreadsheet principles and specific spreadsheet applications and components in great detail.
The disclosed invention comprises several data structures that represent the various entities of a spreadsheet. In a preferred embodiment, the data structures are object-oriented software classes that embody characteristics and behaviors of said spreadsheet entities. The Data Structures may be representative of spreadsheet entities, which may be instantiated as Extensible Markup Language (“XML”) data representative of spreadsheet entities. Some of these Data Structures are considered at code-generation time and some are considered at runtime. For the purposes of specification, it is useful to define said data structures:
In a preferred embodiment, the data structures of the Parser and Code Generator comprise the following object oriented software classes: KDBook, KDSheet, KDCell, KDName, KDFunc, KDFuncArg, KDColorScheme, KDEncoder, KDParser, KDCodeSegment, and KDSharedFormula.
In background art spreadsheet applications and components, the global data aspects of a body of spreadsheet data are commonly referred to as a ‘workbook’ or a ‘book’. KDBook is a software Data Structure that represents the global data aspects of a body of spreadsheet data. In a preferred embodiment, KDBook is an object-oriented software class. A singleton instance of KDBook is instantiated.













Description

















Field



Name
The global name of the body of spreadsheet data. The value of



the Name field is derived from the filename of the body of



spreadsheet data.


Sheets
Collection of references to KDSheet instances that represent



the sheets in the body spreadsheet data.


Names
Collection of references to KDName instances that represent



the named cells or ranges of cells defined in the spreadsheet



data.


Method


GetCode
A function that assembles the source code representative of



the global aspects of the body of spreadsheet data.


WriteCode
A function that writes the representative source code to a



file, the name of which may be specified by the user or



derived from the filename of the body of spreadsheet data.









KDSheet is a software Data Structure that represents the aspects of a single spreadsheet sheet within a body of spreadsheet data. In background art spreadsheet applications and components, these are commonly referred to as ‘worksheet’ or ‘sheet’. In a preferred embodiment, KDSheet is an object-oriented software class. An instance of KDSheet is instantiated for each sheet in the body of spreadsheet data.













Description

















Field



SheetName
The name of the spreadsheet sheet represented by the



KDSheet instance.


Index
The one-based index of the spreadsheet sheet repre-



sented by the KDSheet instance.


Book
A reference to the instance of KDBook that represents



the global aspects of the body of spreadsheet data.


StartCell
A reference indicating the Top Left cell of the spread-



sheet sheet for which code is generated. May be set by



the user to limit the range of cells for which code is



generated.


EndCell
A reference indicating the Bottom Right cell of the



spreadsheet sheet for which code is generated. May be



set by the user to limit the range of cells for which



code is generated.


Cells
Collection of KDCell instances that represent the cells



in said sheet.


SharedFormulas
Collection of references to KDSharedFormula



instances that represent the cell formulas of



a plurality of spreadsheet cells.


Method


GetCode
A function that assembles the source code repre-



sentative of the data and calculation aspects of



the sheet of spreadsheet data represented by the



instance of KDSheet.


WriteCode
A function that writes the representative source



code to a file, the name of which may be specified



by the user or derived from the name of the spread-



sheet sheet.









KDCell is a software Data Structure that represents the aspects of a single spreadsheet cell within a spreadsheet sheet. In a preferred embodiment, KDCell is an object-oriented software class. An instance of KDCell is instantiated for each cell on said spreadsheet sheet. The KDCell includes the following members.













Description

















Field



Sheet
A reference to the instance of KDSheet that



represents the aspects of the spreadsheet



sheet which contains the spreadsheet cell



represented by the current instance of



KDCell.


Row
The row of the represented spreadsheet cell.


Col
The column of the represented spreadsheet



cell.


RC
The text based identifier of the represented



spreadsheet cell's row and column.


RawFormula
The text of the raw spreadsheet cell formula



in the syntax of the spreadsheet application.


HasDependents
An indicator of whether other spreadsheet



cells depend on (refer to) the spreadsheet



cell represented by the current instance of



KDCell.


HasDeclaration
An indicator indicating whether a source



code declaration should be generated for



the spreadsheet cell represented by the



current instance of KDCell.


HasFormula
An indicator of whether the spreadsheet



cell represented by the current instance



of KDCell contains a cell formula.


Persistent
An indicator of whether the current



instance of KDCell should be marked as



persistable.


ForeColor
An indicator of the foreground color of



the spreadsheet cell represented by the



current instance of KDCell.


BackColor
An indicator of the background color of the



spreadsheet cell represented by the current



instance of KDCell.


FormulaSourceCode
The source code representative formula of



the spreadsheet cell. Only populated where



the represented spreadsheet cell contains a



cell formula rather than a literal data



value.


CodeSegments
An ordered collection of sub-strings of



source code segments representative of the



function calls and parameters in a cell



formula.


SharedFormula
A reference to an instance of SharedFormula



(defined below) representative of source



code called by source code representative



of cell formulas with similar formula



structures. Only populated where the repre-



sented spreadsheet cell contains a cell



formula similar enough to other cell



formulas that total source code size can be



reduced by having the cells call the shared



formula rather than implement the formula



individually.


SharedFormulaSourceCode
The source code to call a shared formula



representative of the cell formula. Only



populated where the represented spreadsheet



cell contains a cell formula rather than a



literal data value.


Method


GetCode
A function that assembles the source code



representative of the calculation aspects



of the spreadsheet cell represented by the



instance of KDCell. The method is only



executed for cells that contain a formula



rather than a value.


GetDeclaration
A function that assembles the source code



representative of the data and identification



aspects of the spreadsheet cell represented



by the instance of KDCell.









KDName is a software Data Structure that represents the aspects of a named range of spreadsheet cells within a spreadsheet sheet. In a preferred embodiment, KDName is an object-oriented software class. An instance of KDName is instantiated for each named range of spreadsheet cells within said body of spreadsheet data.













Description

















Field



Name
The text name of the named spreadsheet range represented by



the KDName instance.


Cell
A reference the KDCell instance representing the single



spreadsheet cell named by the spreadsheet name represented



by the current instance of KDName. Only populated for



spreadsheet names that name a single spreadsheet cell.


TLCell
A reference to the KDCell instance representing the Top Left



spreadsheet cell of the range of spreadsheet cells named by



the spreadsheet name represented by the current instance of



KDName. For spreadsheet names that represent a single



spreadsheet cell, the KDName.TLCell property is equal to



the KDName.Cell property.


BRCell
A reference to the KDCell instance representing the Bottom



Right spreadsheet cell of the range of spreadsheet cells named



by the spreadsheet name represented by the current instance of



KDName. For spreadsheet names that represent a single



spreadsheet cell, the KDName.BRCell property is equal to



the KDName.Cell property.


RangeRC
The text, in the syntax of the spreadsheet application, that



specifies the range of spreadsheet cells named by the spread-



sheet name.


RefersTo
An indicator of whether the represented spreadsheet name



refers to a single spreadsheet cell or a range of spread-



sheet cells. One of rtCell, rtVerticalVector,



rtHorizontalVector, rtMatrix, rtCellList.


Method


<<none>>
In a preferred embodiment, KDName has no member



methods.









KDFunc is a software Data Structure that represents the aspects of built-in or user-defined spreadsheet functions that can be used in spreadsheet cell formulas. In a preferred embodiment, KDFunc is an object-oriented software class. An instance of KDFunc is instantiated for each supported spreadsheet function. The use of KDFunc allows the present invention to be easily extended to support additional built-in spreadsheet functions and unanticipated user-defined functions by simply adding more instances of KDFunc and KDFuncArg (described below). KDFunc instances representative of built-in spreadsheet functions are included in the invention. KDFunc instances representative of user-defined functions can be dynamically included from an external data source.











Field
Description







SpreadsheetFuncName
The name of the supported function specified in



the syntax of the spreadsheet application.


TargetCodeFuncName
The name of the supported function specified in



the syntax of the target software development



language.


TargetSourceCode
The source code implementation of the supported



built-in or user-defined spreadsheet function



specified in the syntax of the target software



development language.


bUserDefined
A Boolean indicator indicating whether the



Function is used is user-defined. For built-in



spreadsheet functions, the value of this



property is ‘False’. For user-defined



functions, it is ‘True’.


bUsed
A Boolean indicator indicating whether the



Function is used in the spreadsheet and there-



fore requires that the implementation held in



TargetSourceCode be included in the generated



source code. The value of bUsed is initially



‘False’ but is changed to ‘True’ if the function



is encountered in a spreadsheet cell formula



during parsing.


Arguments
An ordered Collection of KDFuncArg instances



that represent the arguments of the represented



built-in or user-defined spreadsheet function.









KDFuncArg is a software Data Structure that represents the aspects of arguments of built-in or user-defined spreadsheet functions that can be used in spreadsheet cell formulas. In a preferred embodiment, KDFuncArg is an object-oriented software class. An instance of KDFuncArg is instantiated for each argument accepted by each supported spreadsheet function. The use of KDFuncArg allows the present invention to easily support the representation of built-in or user-defined spreadsheet functions that take any number of arguments. Some built-in or user-defined spreadsheet functions take no arguments, some take a fixed number of arguments, some have optional arguments, and some can take a variable-length list of arguments.











Field
Description







Func
A reference to the instance of KDFunc that represents the



aspects of the built-in or user-defined spreadsheet



function, an argument of which is represented by the



current instance of KDFuncArg.


N
The sequence ordinal of the argument represented by the



current instance of KDFuncArg. For the first argument,



the value of this property is ‘1’; for the second



argument, the value of this property is ‘2’, and so on.


ArgumentType
An indicator of the type of argument of the current



argument of the supported spreadsheet function. One of:



argCellRef, argExpression, argOptional, or argList.



argCellRef indicates that the Nth argument must be a



reference to a spreadsheet cell or a name of a single



spreadsheet cell.



argExpression indicates that the Nth argument can be any



expression that has a value, including a static value,



a reference to another cell, or a call to another built-in



or user-defined spreadsheet function.



argOptional indicates that there may or may not be an



Nth argument in the built-in or user-defined spreadsheet



function. If an instance of KDFuncArg is defined with



ArgumentType = argOptional then every instance of



KDFuncArg that follows said instance (if any) must have



its ArgumentType property equal to argOptional.



argList indicates that the built-in or user-defined



spreadsheet function takes a variable-length list of



arguments. If the function takes a variable length list



of arguments, then one and only one instance of



KDFuncArg should be instantiated for the built-in or



user-defined spreadsheet function, and its



ArgumentType field must be equal to argList.









KDCodeSegment is a software Data Structure that represents the aspects of a segment of code in a cell formula. In a preferred embodiment, KDCodeSegment is an object-oriented software class. An instance of KDCodeSegment is instantiated for each contiguous code segment or parameterizable reference in a cell formula. The use of KDCodeSegment allows the output of present invention to be optimized by identifying spreadsheet cells with cell formulas similar enough that total generated source code size can be reduced by having multiple cells call the shared formula rather than implement the formula individually.











Field
Description







Code
The source code characters in the KDCodeSegment.


Type
An indicator of the type of the KDCodeSegment. One of: segCode,



segName, segRCRangeRef, or segRCCellRef.



segCode indicates that the segment is source code.



segName indicates that the segment represents a reference to a



named cell or range.



segRCRangeRef indicates that the segment represents a reference



to a range of cells.



segRCCellRef indicates that the segment represents a reference to a



cell.









KDSharedFormula is a software Data Structure that represents the aspects of a cell formula formation that is common to multiple cells. In a preferred embodiment, KDSharedFormula is an object-oriented software class. An instance of KDSharedFormula is instantiated where at least two cells are similar enough that total generated source code size can be reduced by having multiple cells call a shared formula rather than implement the formula individually.











Field
Description







SharedFormulaName
The name of the source code function repre-



sented by SharedFormula.


SharedFormulaDefinition
The source code definition of the function



represented by SharedFormula.









KDColorScheme is a software Data Structure that represents the aspects of a particular combination of colors of spreadsheet cell features. In a preferred embodiment, KDColorScheme is an object-oriented software class. An instance of KDColorScheme is instantiated for each color scheme defined by the user in said body of spreadsheet data. The KDColorScheme allows the user to indicate which spreadsheet cells should be included in code generation, excluded from code generation, and marked as persistent, by specifying the foreground and background colors of the spreadsheet cell.











Field
Description







BackColor
Identifier of the background color of the spreadsheet cell.


ForeColor
Identifier of the foreground (font) color of the spreadsheet



cell.









KDEncoder is a software Data Structure that represents the aspects of a parser and code generator that generates software source code representative of a body of spreadsheet data. In a preferred embodiment, KDEncoder is an object-oriented software class. A singleton instance of KDEncoder is instantiated to generate said software source code.













Description

















Field



SpreadsheetBook
A reference to a spreadsheet application single-



ton object that comprises the global aspects of



the body of spreadsheet data.


Book
A reference to the singleton instance of



KDBook instantiated to represent the global



aspects of the body of spreadsheet data.


OutputLocation
The user-specified file system path to the folder



or directory where generated source code files



are to be deposited.


PackageName
A preferred embodiment of the present



invention generates source code that conforms



to the Java ® software language



by Sun Microsystems. The



PackageName field directs that said generated



software source code contain the user-



specified PackageName field value as a



Package descriptor consistent with the



Package construct of the Java ®



software language by Sun Microsystems.


ConsiderDependencies
An indicator of whether said source code



generation process should generate source code



for all spreadsheet cells that have dependencies



even if they are otherwise outside of the



inclusion conditions.


SizeOptimize
An indicator of whether said source code



generation process should try to reduce the



size of generated code by replacing individual



implementations of source code representative



of similarly structured cell formulas with



calls to shared functions representative



of said similarly structured cell formulas.


IncludeColorSchemes
Collection of references to KDColorScheme



instances that represent all the color schemes



of spreadsheet cells for which representative



source code should be generated, even if the



spreadsheet cells are otherwise outside of the



inclusion conditions.


ExcludeColorSchemes
Collection of references to KDColorScheme



instances that represent all the color schemes



of spreadsheet cells for which representative



source code should not be generated, even if



the spreadsheet cells are otherwise in most of



the inclusion conditions.


PersistentColorSchemes
Collection of references to KDColorScheme



instances that represent all the color schemes



of spreadsheet cells for which representative



source code will be generated and for which



said representative source code will indicate



that the cells should be marked as persistent.


Parser
A reference a KDParser instance that is used



to generate source code representative of



individual spreadsheet cell formulas.


Method


ConnectBook
A function that instantiates an instance of



KDBook and connects it via a property



reference to the spreadsheet application



singleton object that comprises the global



aspects of the body of spreadsheet data.


ConnectSheet
A function that is called for each spreadsheet



sheet in the body of spreadsheet data to



instantiate an instance of KDSheet and



connect it via a property reference to the



represented spreadsheet sheet. The properties



of the KDSheet instances are also populated



with relevant fields that describe the spread-



sheet sheet, and with a reference to the single-



ton instantiated KDBook instance.


ConnectNames
A function that is called for each spreadsheet



name in the body of spreadsheet data to



instantiate an instance of KDName and connect



it via a property reference to the represented



spreadsheet name. The properties of the



KDName instances are also populated with



relevant fields that describe the spreadsheet



name, and with a reference to the singleton



instantiated KDBook instance.


GetColorSchemes
A function that searches the body of spread-



sheet data for user-defined color schemes that



indicate which cells are to be included,



excluded, and or marked as persistent in the



generated source code. An instance of



KDColorScheme is instantiated and stored



in the corresponding KDEncoder field for



each color scheme found.


ParseCellFormulas
A function that iterates through each spread-



sheet sheet and each spreadsheet cell within



said sheet to generate and store the source



code representative of the cell formula for



each of said spreadsheet cells.


WriteCode
A function that writes the generated source



code representative of the body of spreadsheet



data to files in the said OutputLocation.


DeployCode
A function that further processes said



generated source code to prepare it for



deployment in a target execution environment.









KDParser is a software Data Structure that represents aspects of a recursive descent expression parser that parses spreadsheet cell formulas and generates software source code representative of the calculations and data transformations of said spreadsheet cell formulas. In a preferred embodiment, KDParser is an object-oriented software class. A singleton instance of KDParser is instantiated to parse said cell formulas and generate said representative source code, All cell formula parsing functionality is embodied in this class. In a preferred embodiment, KDParser panes a cell formula and generates source code conforming to the grammar and syntax of a software development language, such as the Java® language by Sun Microsystems. Various derivations of KDParser support various target software development languages, such as Visual Basic®, VBScript®, Jscript® and Microsoft Visual Basic® for Applications by Microsoft, Basic, Assembler, C++, C#, Fortran, COBOL and other existing arid unanticipated target software development languages.













Description

















Field



Funcs
A collection of KDFunc instances that



represent the built-in and user-defined spread-



sheet functions.


Method


Encode
Function that parses a complete spread-



sheet cell formula and generates representative



source code in a target software development



language. Calls GetSubExprSourceCode for



subexpressions within cell formula.


GetSubExprSourceCode
Recursive method that parses arbitrary-



depth nested subexpressions in spreadsheet



cell formulas.


GetTok
Method that isolates tokens within sub



expressions of cell formulas.


ParseFunc
Method that parses and generates repre-



sentative source code for built-in and user-



defined spreadsheet functions.


ParseArgs
Method that parses and generates repre-



sentative source code for arguments within



built-in and user-defined spreadsheet



functions.


ParseArgList
Method that parses and generates repre-



sentative source code for arguments within



built-in and user-defined spreadsheet



functions where said spreadsheet function



accepts a variable-length list of



arguments.









In a preferred embodiment, the data structures of the Calculation Engine comprise the following object oriented software classes: IKDJEngine, KDJEngine, KDJObject, KDJWorkbook, ‘MyWorkbook’ book, KDJWorksheet, ‘MyWorksheet’ sheet, KDJCell, KDJRange, KDJValue, and KDJExpressionParser, KDJCalcException, KDJFunctionLibrary, and KDJUserDefinedFunctionLibrary.
KDJEngine is a software Data Structure and functions that together represent aspects of a Calculation Engine. KDJEngine implements a public application programming interface (API) that make features of the invention available to calling applications. The methods are directed at loading, getting, and setting values, among other operations. In a preferred embodiment, KDJEngine is an object-oriented software class. A singleton instance of KDJEngine is instantiated at runtime. Note that the list of methods exposed of KDJEngine is exemplary.













Description

















Field



<<none>>
In a preferred embodiment, KDJEngine has no



fields.


Method


getCalcEngine
A method which takes in an identifier of the



generated source code and returns an instance of the



Calculation Engine to work with


forceRecalc
A method which forces the Calculation Engine



to mark the KDJWorkbook dirty so that all



instantiations representing spreadsheet cells



with formulas are recalculated.


getActiveSheet
A method which returns an identifier of the active



instance of KDJWorksheet (defined below).


setActiveSheet
A method which activates an instance of



KDJWorksheet.


getSheetName
A method which takes in a numeric identifier and



returns the name of the represented worksheet.


getSheetNumber
A method which takes in the name of a represented



worksheet and returns a numeric identifier of the



represented active worksheet.


getCellText
A method that takes in a row and column to return



the text interpretation of the represented cell's



value on the represented active worksheet.


setCellText
A method that takes in a row identifier, column



identifier, and text value and sets the represented



cell's value on the represented active



worksheet.


getCellNumber
A method that takes in row and column identifiers



to return the numeric (double) interpretation of the



corresponding represented cell's value on the



represented active sheet.


setCellNumber
A method that takes in a row identifier, a column



identifier, and a numeric (double) value and sets



the represented cell's value on the represented



active worksheet.


getCellLogical
A method that takes in row and column identifiers



to return the Boolean (double) interpretation of



the corresponding represented cell's value on the



represented worksheet.


setCellLogical
A method that takes in a row identifier, a column



identifier, and a Boolean value and sets the repre-



sented cell's value on the represented active



worksheet.


getRangeFromName
A method that takes in a name identifier and returns



a KDJRange instance that represents the cell or cells



associated with the name.


getInputCells
A method which returns a collection of KDJCell



instances which are used for input operations only.



These are indexed by A1 notation.


getOutputCells
A method which returns a collection of KDJCell



instances which are used for output operations only.



These are indexed by A1 notation.


getPersistentCells
A method which returns a collection of the KDJCell



instances which are marked as persistent. These are



indexed by A1 notation.


getSheetCount
A method which returns the number of represented



worksheets in the represented workbook.


clearCell
A method that takes in row and column identifiers



and clears the value of the represented cell.


clearRange
A method which takes in a range identifier and



clears the values in the represented cells.


hasFormula
A method which takes in row and column identifiers



and returns an indicator of whether the represented



cell contains a cell formula.









In a preferred embodiment, KDJObject is an object-oriented software class that has no member data fields or methods, but acts as the root-most class in an inheritance hierarchy. KDJValue, KDJRange, and KDJCell all inherit from KDJObject. Instances of KDJObject are not instantiated directly.













Description

















Field



<<none>>
In a preferred embodiment, KDJObject has no member fields.


Method


<<none>>
In a preferred embodiment, KDJObject has no member



methods.









In background art spreadsheet applications and components, the global data aspects of a body of spreadsheet data are commonly referred to as a ‘workbook’ or a ‘book’. In the present invention, KDJWorkbook is a software Data Structure and functions defined in the target software development language that together represent the global, general data and behavior aspects of a body of spreadsheet data at runtime. In a preferred embodiment, KDJWorkbook is an object-oriented software class from which classes representative of specific spreadsheet workbooks are derived. KDJWorkbook inherits from KDJEngine. KDJWorkbook is not instantiated at runtime.













Description

















Field



Sheets
A collection of references to the contained



KDJWorksheet instances.


ActiveSheet
A reference to the active KDJWorksheet instance.


Names
A collection of data structures representing named



spreadsheet cells and ranges of spreadsheet cells.


dirtyCount
A numeric counter that keeps track of the instance of



KDJWorkbook's state. Each KDJCell object has a



corresponding dirtyCount. If the count on the KDJCell



is not equal to the dirtyCount on the KDJWorkbook,



then the formula attached to the KDJCell must be



recalculated. The dirtyCount is incremented every



time a KDJCell value is set through KDJEngine.


Method


addNamedCell
A method which takes in a name and a KDJCell



reference and makes an association on the



KDJWorkbook that the name refers to the KDJCell



instance.


addNamedRange
A method which takes in a name and KDJRange



reference and makes an association on the book



that the name refers to the KDJRange.


addSheet
A method that takes in a KDJWorksheet reference,



a position, and a name and adds a KDJWorksheet



reference to the KDJWorkbook.


setRecalc
A method which increments the dirtyCount to indicate



that KDJCell instances representing spreadsheet



cells with formulas need to be recalculated.









‘MyWorkbook’book is a software Data Structure and functions defined in the target software development language that together represent global data and behavior aspects of a specific body of spreadsheet data at runtime in the present invention. In a preferred embodiment, ‘MyWorkbook’book is an object-oriented software class that is derived from KDJWorkbook. The source code of this class is generated by the Parser and Code Generator to represent the global data and behavior aspects of a specific body of spreadsheet data. In a preferred embodiment, ‘MyWorkbook’ is derived from the name of a spreadsheet workbook, so if the spreadsheet workbook's name is ‘Financials’ then the name of the generated class is ‘Financialsbook’. A singleton instance of ‘MyWorkbook’book is instantiated at runtime.













Description

















Field



‘myWorksheet1’sheet
An instantiation of the generated source code


. . .
containing the values and formulas in


‘myWorksheetN’sheet
myWorksheet1.


Method


<<Constructor>>
Sets the default active KDJWorksheet instance 



and adds all of the named KDJCell instances and



KDJRange instances KDJWorkbook.Names.









KDJWorksheet is a software Data Structure that represents the aspects of a single spreadsheet sheet within a body of spreadsheet data. In background art spreadsheet applications and components, these are commonly referred to as ‘worksheet’ or ‘sheet’. In the present invention, KDJWorksheet is a software Data Structure and functions defined in the target software development language that together represent the general data and behavior aspects of a of a single spreadsheet sheet at runtime. In a preferred embodiment, KDJWorksheet is an object-oriented software class from which classes representative of specific spreadsheet sheets are derived. KDJWorksheet is not instantiated at runtime.













Description

















Field



sheetName
The name of the spreadsheet sheet represented by the



KDSheet instance.


sheetIndex
The one-based index of the spreadsheet sheet repre-



sented by the KDSheet instance.


columns
A collection of data structures representing the



columns of the spreadsheet. Each representative



column comprises a collection of data structures



that represent the rows in the column data.


Method


addCellReference
A method which takes in a reference to an instance



of KDJCell and row and column identifiers to add



the reference to the KDJWorksheet.columns



collection.


getCell
A method which takes in row and column identifiers



and returns a reference to the KDJCell instance



at that location.


getRange
A method which takes in top left row, top left



column, bottom right row, bottom right column



identifiers and returns a reference to the



KDJRange instance at that location.


getValue
A method which takes in a native-type value such



as a double, Boolean, or String and returns a



KDJValue instance initialized to the input value.


getCellValue
A method which takes in row and column identifiers



to return the KDJValue instance representing the



value of the referenced KDJCell instance.


rowColToA1
A method that takes in row and column identifiers and



returns a String representing the row and column in



A1 notation. For example, the call rowColToA1(1,1)



would return the string “A1”.









‘MyWorkbook’book is a software Data Structure and functions defined in the target software development language that together represent data and behavior aspects of a specific spreadsheet sheet at runtime in the present invention. In a preferred embodiment, ‘MyWorksheet’sheet is an object-oriented software class that is derived from KDJWorksheet. The source code of this class is generated by the Parser and Code Generator to represent the data and behavior aspects of a specific spreadsheet sheet. In a preferred embodiment, ‘MyWorksheet’ is derived from the name of a spreadsheet sheet, so if the spreadsheet sheet is named ‘Revenue’ then the name of the generated class would be ‘Revenuesheet.’ An instance of ‘MyWorksheet’sheet is instantiated at runtime for each spreadsheet sheet in the spreadsheet workbook.













Description

















Field



‘MyWorksheet’book
A reference to the instance of KDJBook that repre-



sents the global aspects of the body of spreadsheet



data.


A1
A reference to the KDJCell instance at row, column


. . .
location 1,1 with the specified initial value. For


IVN
example, if the represented spreadsheet sheet



contains a cell B3 that contains a literal value



rather than a cell formula, then the representative



‘MyWorksheet’sheet class will have a member



‘B3’ of type KDJCell.


Method


<<Constructor>>
Creates the parent-child relationship between the



KDJWorkbook and KDJWorksheet.


B1e
A method which representing the formula contained


. . .
in the cell and returns a resultant Value instance. For


IUNe
example, if the represented spreadsheet sheet



contains a cell B4 that contains a cell formula



rather than a literal value, then the repre-



sentative ‘MyWorksheet’sheet class will have a



member method ‘B4e’ that returns an instance of



KDJValue.









KDJCell is a software Data Structure and functions defined in the target software development language that together represent data and behavior aspects of a spreadsheet cell at runtime in the present invention. In a preferred embodiment, KDJCell is an object-oriented software class. Source code declaring a static instance of this class is generated by the present invention to represent the data aspects of each spreadsheet cell that contains a literal value rather than a cell formula. Instances of KDJCell are instantiated at runtime by the present invention to represent data and behavior aspects of each spreadsheet cell that contains a cell formula rather than a literal value.













Description

















Field



Sheet
A reference to the instance of ‘MyWorksheet’sheet that



represents the aspects of the spreadsheet sheet which con-



tains the spreadsheet cell represented by the current instance



of KDJCell.


Row
Read-only property containing the row of the represented



spreadsheet cell.


Col
Read-only property containing the column of the repre-



sented spreadsheet cell.


value
A reference to a KDJValue object that stores the text,



numeric, Boolean, or error values for a cell.


persistent
An indicator of whether the current instance of KDCell



should be marked as persistable.


hasFormula
An indicator of whether or not the cell has a formula



associated with it.


dirtyCount
A numeric counter that keeps track of the cell's state.



If the count on the cell is not equal to the dirtyCount on



the workbook, then the formula attached to the cell must be



recalculated.


Method


getValue
A method which returns the KDJValue of the KDJCell



instance. If the KDJCell's dirtyCount is not equal to the



dirtyCount on the KDJWorkbook, then the formula is



recalculated on request, otherwise, a cached result is



returned.


setValue
Sets the value reference of the KDJCell instance.


clear
A method which clears the KDJCell's value.


getText
A method which returns the text representation of



the KDJCell's KDJValue.


setText
A method that takes in a string and sets the KDJCell's



KDJValue to the input string.


getNumber
A method which returns the numeric (double) repre-



sentation of the KDJCell's KDJValue.


setNumber
A method that takes in a number (double) and sets the



KDJCell's KDJValue to the input number.


getLogical
A method which returns the Boolean representation of the



KDJCell's KDJValue.


setLogical
A method that takes in a Boolean and sets the KDJCell's



KDJValue to the input Boolean value.


getError
A method which returns the Error representation of the



KDJCell's KDJValue.









KDJRange is a software Data Structure and functions defined in the target software development language that together represent data and behavior aspects of a range of spreadsheet cells within a spreadsheet sheet. In a preferred embodiment, KDJRange is an object-oriented software class. Instances of KDJRange are instantiated at runtime.













Description

















Field



topLeftRow
An identifier of the location of the KDJRange



instance's top left row.


topLeftColumn
An identifier of the location of the KDJRange



instance's top left column.


bottomRightRow
An identifier of the location of the KDJRange



instance's bottom right row.


bottomRightColumn
An identifier of the location of the KDJRange



instance's bottom right column.


type
An indicator of whether the represented spread-



sheet name refers to a single spreadsheet cell or



a range of spreadsheet cells. One of cellType,



verticalVectorType, horizontalVectorType,



matrixType.


Method


equals
A method which takes in two references to



KDJRange instances and compares them for



equality.









KDJValue is a software Data Structure and functions defined in the target software development language that together represent data and behavior aspects of a KDJCell's value evaluation, whether the cell contains a literal value or a cell formula. KDJValue is also used to represent the results of built-in spreadsheet functions and user-defined functions. In a preferred embodiment, KDJValue is an object-oriented software class. Instances of KDJValue are instantiated at runtime.













Description

















Field



number
A number (double) which stores the numeric representation



of the KDJValue.


text
A string which stores the text representation of the



KDJValue.


bool
A Boolean which stores the Boolean representation of



the KDJValue.


error
A KDJException which stores an Errors associated with the



KDJValue if there is one.


lastSet
An indicator that represents what type of value that was



last set. One of noneType, numberType, textType,



booleanType, or errorType.


logicalValue
An indicator which stores whether the KDJValue represents



a Boolean value or not.


reference
An indicator which stores whether the KDJValue is a



reference to a KDJCell's KDJValue or not.


Method


compareTo
A method that takes in a KDJValue and performs a



comparison of the current instance of the KDJValue with



another. It attempts to perform a numeric comparison and



returns −1 if the parameter is less than the value, 0



is if it is equal to, or 1 if it is greater than. If it



cannot perform a numeric or Boolean comparison, it



performs a lexicographical comparison of the strings



based on Unicode character values.


clone
A method which makes a duplicate KDJValue object in a



new memory space.









KDJCalcException is a software Data Structure and functions that represent aspects of an Exception. In a preferred embodiment, KDJCalcException is an object-oriented software class. Instances of KDJCalcException are instantiated at runtime when an error occurs as the result of any unexpected conditions.













Description

















Field



type
An indicator that tells which type of error has occurred. The



error types are NULL_ERR, DIV0_ERR, VALUE_ERR,



REF_ERR, NAME_ERR, and NA_ERR.


Method



In a preferred embodiment, KDJCalcException has no member



methods.









KDJExpressionParser is a software Data Structure and functions that represent the aspects of an expression parser for use by run-time implementations of built-in spreadsheet functions and user-defined functions that can take quoted regular expressions as arguments. In a preferred embodiment, KDJExpressionParser is an object-oriented software class. Instance of KDJExpressionParser are instantiated at runtime during evaluation of functions such as ‘SUMIF’ and ‘COUNTIF’, for example.













Description

















Field



compVal
A KDJValue instance which stores the value that is



going to be compared.


comparison
The type of comparison being done, EQUAL,



NOT_EQUAL, LESS_THAN, LESS_OR_EQUAL,



GREATER_THAN, or GREATER_OR_EQUAL.


Method


<<Constructor>>
A constructor that takes in a KDJValue object



containing a string which has a comparison operator



and a value for example “>=4”.



GREATER_OR_EQUAL becomes the comparison



and compVal is 4.


compareTo
Compares the KDJValue instance to the compVal



based on the comparison criteria and returns true if



the criteria are met.









KDJFunctionLibrary is a set of functions defined in the target software development language that represent behavior aspects necessary for execution of built-in spreadsheet functions. In a preferred embodiment, KDJFunctionLibrary is an object-oriented software class. All member functions of KDJFunctionLibrary are static and require no instantiation. In a preferred embodiment, KDJFunctionLibrary can be generated and only include implementations of the built-in spreadsheet functions actually used in the specific workbook for which code is generated. This serves to optimize the generated code for size. The entire library of built-in spreadsheet functions can be used if the Calculation Engine is to be shared by modules representing several workbooks, where the used functions may not be known at code-generation-time.
Note: The following list of built-in spreadsheet functions and descriptions contemplated byte invention is in spreadsheet syntax format as defined within the Help System of Microsoft® Excel 2000, a background art spreadsheet application.













Description

















Field



<<none>>
In a preferred embodiment, KDJFunctions has no fields.


Method


Operators:


+
Addition operator, returns the result of adding a number to a number.


−
Subtraction operator, returns the result of a number subtracted from another



number.


*
Multiplication operator, returns the result of multiplying a number by a number.


/
Division operator, returns the result of a number divided by a number.


{circumflex over ( )}
Raise-to-the-power operator, returns the result of a number raised to a power


%
Percent operator, returns the percent of a number (the number multiplied by



0.01).


=
Equivalence comparator compares two values and returns TRUE if they are



exactly the same, FALSE otherwise


>
Greater-than comparator, compares two values and returns TRUE if value 1 is



greater than value 2, FALSE otherwise


<
Less-than comparator, compares two values and returns TRUE if value 1 is less



than value 2, FALSE otherwise


>=
Greater-than-or-equal-to comparator, compares two values and returns TRUE if



value 1 is greater than or equal to value 2, FALSE otherwise


<=
Less-than-or-equal-to comparator, compares two values and returns TRUE if



value 1 is less than or equal to value 2, FALSE otherwise


<>
Not-equal comparator, compares two values and returns FALSE if the values are



equal, TRUE otherwise


&
String join operator, joins two text strings into one text string and returns this



string


Functions:


ABS
Returns the absolute value of a number


ACOS
Returns the arccosine of a number


ACOSH
Returns the inverse hyperbolic cosine of a number


ADDRESS
Creates a cell address as text, given the specified row and colunm numbers


AND
Returns TRUE if all arguments are true; otherwise, returns FALSE if one



argument is false.


AREAS
Returns the number of areas in a reference


ASIN
Returns the arcsine of a number


ASINH
Returns the inverse hyperbolic sine of a number


ATAN
Returns the arctangent of a number


ATAN2
Returns the arctangent from x- and y- coordinates


ATANH
Returns the inverse hyperbolic tangent of a number


AVEDEV
Returns the average of the absolute deviations of the list of arguments


AVERAGE
The average of the values in a list.


AVERAGEA
Mean with text treated as 0 except TRUE = 1


BETADIST
Returns the cumulative beta probability density function according to the



specified parameters


BETAINV
Returns the inverse of the cumulative beta probability density function


BINOMDIST
Returns the individual term binomial distribution probability


CALL
Calls a procedure in a dynamic link library or code resource.


CEILING
Rounds a number to the nearest integer or to the nearest multiple of significance


CELL
Returns information about the formatting, location, or contents of the upper-left



cell in a reference


CHAR
Returns the character specified by a number


CHIDIST
Returns the one-tailed probability of the chi-squared distribution


CHIINV
Returns the inverse of the one-tailed probability of the chi-squared distribution


CHITEST
Returns the value from the chi-squared (γ2) distribution for the statistic and the



appropriate degrees of freedom


CHOOSE
Return the value specified by index number from the list of value arguments


CLEAN
Removes all nonprintable characters from text


CODE
Returns a numeric code, which corresponds to the character set used by your



computer, for the first character in a text string


COLUMN
Returns the column number of the given reference


COLUMNS
Returns the number of columns in an array or reference


COMBIN
Returns the number of combinations for a given number of objects


CONCATENATE
Joins several text strings into one text string and returns this string


CONFIDENCE
Returns the confidence interval for a population mean


CORREL
Returns the correlation coefficient of the array1 and array2 cell ranges


COS
Returns the cosine of a number


COSH
Returns the hyperbolic cosine of a number


COUNT
The number of items in a list. This is the default function for nonnumeric data.


COUNTA
Counts the number of cells that are not empty and the values within the list of



arguments


COUNTBLANK
Counts empty cells in a specified range of cells


COUNTIF
Counts the number of nonblank cells within a range that meet the given criteria


COVAR
Returns covariance, the average of the products of deviations for each data point



pair in two data sets


CRITBINOM
Returns the smallest value for which the cumulative binomial distribution is



greater than or equal to a criterion value


DATE
Returns the serial number that represents a particular date


DATEVALUE
Returns the serial number of the date represented by the text argument


DAVERAGE
Returns the average of selected database entries


DAY
Returns the day of a date, represented by a serial number


DAYS360
Returns the number of days between two dates based on a 360-day year (twelve



30-day months)


DB
Returns the depreciation of an asset for a specified period using the fixed-



declining balance method.


DCOUNT
Counts the cells that contain numbers in a database


DCOUNTA
Counts nonblank cells in a database


DDB
Returns the depreciation of an asset for a specified period using the double-



declining balance method or some other method you specify.


DEGREES
Converts radians into degrees.


DEVSQ
Returns the sum of squares of deviations of the arguments from their sample



mean


DGET
Extracts from a database a single record that matches the specified criteria


DMAX
Returns the maximum value from selected database entries


DMIN
Returns the minimum value from selected database entries


DOLLAR
Converts a number to text using currency format, with the decimals rounded to



the specified place


DPRODUCT
Multiplies the values in a particular field of records that match the criteria in a



database


DSTDEV
Estimates the standard deviation based on a sample of selected database entries


DSTDEVP
Calculates the standard deviation based on the entire population of selected



database entries


DSUM
Adds the numbers in the field column of records in the database that match the



criteria


DVAR
Estimates variance based on a sample from selected database entries


DVARP
Calculates variance based on the entire population of selected database entries


ERRORTYPE
Returns a number corresponding to one of the error values in KDJCalcException



or returns the #N/A error if no error exists for the argument value


EVEN
Rounds a number up to the nearest even integer


EXACT
Compares two text strings and returns TRUE if they are exactly the same,



FALSE otherwise


EXP
Returns e raised to the power of a given number


EXPONDIST
Returns the exponential distribution of a function


FACT
Returns the factorial of a number


FACTDOUBLE
Returns the double factorial of a number


FALSE
Returns the logical value FALSE


FDIST
Returns the F probability distribution


FINV
Returns the inverse of the F probability distribution


FISHER
Returns the Fisher transformation at x


FISHERINV
Returns the inverse of the Fisher transformation


FIND
FIND finds one text string (the first argument) within another text string (the



second argument), and returns the number of the starting position of the first



argument, from the first character of the second argument


FIXED
Rounds a number to the specified number of decimals, formats the number in



decimal format either using or not using a period and commas, and returns the



result as text


FLOOR
Rounds a number down, towards zero, to the nearest multiple of significance


FORECAST
Calculates, or predicts, a future value by using existing values


FREQUENCY
Calculates how often values occur within a range of values, and then returns a



vertical array of numbers


FTEST
Returns the result of an F-test on the two array arguments


FV
Returns the future value of an investment based on periodic, constant payments



and a constant interest rate


GAMMADIST
Returns the gamma distribution


GAMMAINV
Returns the inverse of the gamma cumulative distribution


GAMMALN
Returns the natural logarithm of the gamma function, Γ(x), on argument x


GCD
Returns the greatest common divisor


GEOMEAN
Returns the geometric mean of an array or range of positive data


GETPIVOTDATA
Returns data stored in a PivotTable


GROWTH
Calculates predicted exponential growth by using existing data


HARMEAN
Returns the harmonic mean of a data set


HLOOKUP
Searches for the first argument value in the top row of the specified table or



array of values, and then returns a value in the same column from a row you



specify in the table or array


HOUR
Returns the hour, in integer format ranging from 0 to 23, of a time value


HYPGEOMDIST
Returns the probability of a given number of sample successes, given the sample



size, population successes, and population size


IF
Returns 1st value if True, otherwise returns logical value FALSE


IF
Returns 1st value if True, otherwise returns 2nd Value


INDEX
Returns the value of a specified cell or array of cells within array


INDEX
Returns the value of a specified cell or array of cells within array


INDEX
Returns a reference to a specified cell or cells within reference


INDIRECT
Returns the reference specified by the argument text string


INFO
Returns information about the formatting, location, or contents of the upper-left



cell in a reference


TNT
Rounds a number down to the nearest integer


INTERCEPT
Calculates the point at which a line will intersect the y-axis by using existing x-



values and y-values


IPMT
Returns the interest payment for a given period for an investment based on



periodic, constant payments and a constant interest rate


IRR
Returns the internal rate of return for a series of cash flows represented by the



numbers in the values of the argument


ISBLANK
Returns the logical value TRUE if the argument is a reference to an empty cell;



otherwise it returns FALSE


ISERR
Returns the logical value TRUE if the argument is a reference to any error value



except #N/A; otherwise it returns FALSE


ISERROR
Returns the logical value TRUE if the argument is a reference to any error value;



otherwise it returns FALSE


ISLOGICAL
Returns the logical value TRUE if the argument is a reference to a logical value;



otherwise it returns FALSE


ISNA
Returns the logical value TRUE if the argument is a reference to the #N/A error



value; otherwise it returns FALSE


ISNONTEXT
Returns the logical value TRUE if the argument is a reference to any item that is



not text; otherwise it returns FALSE


ISNUMBER
Returns the logical value TRUE if the argument is a reference to a number;



otherwise it returns FALSE


ISPMT
Calculates the interest paid during a specific period of an investment


ISREF
Returns the logical value TRUE if the argument is a reference to a reference;



otherwise it returns FALSE


ISTEXT
Returns the logical value TRUE if the argument is a reference to text; otherwise



it returns FALSE


KURT
Returns kurtosis of a data set.


LARGE
Returns the k-th largest value in a data set, where the data set is specified by the



first argument and the value of k by the second argument


LCM
Returns the least common multiple


LEFT
Returns the first character or characters in the argument text string, based on the



number of characters you specify


LEN
Returns the number of characters in the argument text string


LINEST
Calculates the statistics for a line by using the “least squares” method to



calculate a straight line that best fits your data, and returns an array that



describes the line


LN
Returns the natural logarithm of a number.


LOG
Returns the logarithm of a number to the base 10


LOG
Returns the logarithm of a number to a specified base


LOG10
Returns the base-10 logarithm of a number


LOGEST
Calculates an exponential curve that fits your data and returns an array of values



that describes the curve


LOGINV
Returns the inverse of the lognormal cumulative distribution function of x,



where ln(x) is normally distributed with parameters mean and standard_dev


LOGNORMDIST
Returns the cumulative lognormal distribution of x, where ln(x) is normally



distributed with parameters mean and standard_dev


LOOKUP
Returns value from one-row, one-col range or an array.


LOOKUP
Looks in a one-row or one-column range (known as a vector) for a value and



returns a value from the same position in a second one-row or one-column range


LOWER
Converts all uppercase letters in the argument text string to lowercase


MATCH
Returns the relative position of an item in an array that matches a specified value



in a specified order


MAX
Returns the largest value in a set of values. Ignores logical values and text.


MAXA
Returns the largest value in a set of values. Does not ignore logical values and



text.


MDETERM
Returns the matrix determinant of an array


MEDIAN
Returns the median of the given numbers


MID
Returns a specific number of characters from the argument text string, starting at



the specified position, based on the specified number of characters


MIN
Returns the smallest value in a set of values. Ignores logical values and text.


MINA
Returns the smallest value in a set of values. Does not ignore logical values and



text.


MINUTE
Returns the minutes, in integer format ranging from 0 to 59, of a time value


MINVERSE
Returns the matrix inverse of an array


MIRR
Returns the modified internal rate of return for a series of periodic cash flows


MMULT
Returns the matrix product of two arrays


MOD
Returns the remainder from division


MODE
Returns the most frequently occurring value in an array or range of data


MONTH
Returns the month, in integer format ranging from 0 to 12, of a date represented



by a serial number


MROUND
Returns a number rounded to the desired multiple


MULTINOMIAL
Returns the multinomial of a set of numbers


N
Returns a value converted to a number


NA
Returns the error value #N/A


NEGBINOMDIST
Returns the probability that there will be number_f failures before the number_s-



th success, when the constant probability of a success is probability_s


NORMDIST
Returns the normal cumulative distribution of the argument value for the



specified mean and standard deviation


NORMINV
Returns the inverse of the normal cumulative distribution for the specified mean



and standard deviation


NORMSDIST
Returns the standard normal cumulative distribution function for a value


NORMSINV
Returns the inverse of the standard normal cumulative distribution


NOT
Reverses the value of its argument


NOW
Returns the serial number of the current date and time


NPER
Returns the number of periods for an investment based on periodic, constant



payments and a constant interest rate


NPV
Calculates the net present value of an investment by using a discount rate and a



series of future payments (negative values) and income (positive values)


ODD
Rounds a number up to the nearest odd integer


OFFSET
Returns a reference to a range that is a specified number of rows and columns



from a cell or range of cells


OFFSET
Returns a reference to a range that is a specified number of rows and columns



from a cell or range of cells and has a specified height


OFFSET
Returns a reference to a range that is a specified number of rows and columns



from a cell or range of cells and has a specified height and width


OR
Returns TRUE if any argument is TRUE; returns FALSE if all arguments are



FALSE


PEARSON
Returns the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient given two data sets


PERCENTILE
Given a data range and a value k, returns the k-th percentile of values in the



range


PERCENTRANK
Returns the rank of a value in a data set as a percentage of the data set


PERMUT
Returns the number of permutations for a given number of objects that can be



selected from number objects


PI
Returns the value of Pi


PMT
Calculates the payment for a loan based on constant payments and a constant



interest rate


POISSON
Returns the Poisson distribution


POWER
Returns the result of a number raised to a power


PPMT
Returns the payment on the principal for a given period for an investment based



on periodic, constant payments and a constant interest rate


PROB
Returns the probability that values in a range are between two limits


PRODUCT
Multiplies its arguments


PROPER
Capitalizes the first letter in the given text string and any other letters in the text



that follow any character other than a letter. Converts all other letters to



lowercase letters


PV
Returns the present value of an investment


QUARTILE
Returns the specified quartile of a data set


QUOTIENT
Returns the integer portion of a division


RADIANS
Converts degrees to radians


RAND
Returns a random number between 0 and 1


RANDBETWEEN
Returns a random number between the numbers you specify


RANK
Returns the rank of a number in a list of numbers


RATE
Returns the interest rate per period of an annuity


REPLACE
Replaces part of a text string, based on the number of characters you specify,



with a different text string


REPT
Returns the given text repeated the specified number of times


RIGHT
Returns the last character or characters in a text string, based on the number of



characters you specify


ROMAN
Converts an Arabic numeral to roman, as text


ROUND
Rounds a number to a specified number of digits


ROUNDDOWN
Rounds a number down, toward zero


ROUNDUP
Rounds a number up, away from zero


ROW
Returns the row number of a reference


ROWS
Returns the number of rows in a reference or array


RSQ
Returns the square of the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient



through data points in the specified ranges of data points


SEARCH
Returns the number of the character at which a specific character or text string is



first found, beginning with the specified number


SECOND
Returns the seconds of a time value


SERIESSUM
Returns the sum of a power series based on the formula


SIGN
Returns the sign of a number


SIN
Returns the sine of the given angle


SINH
Returns the hyperbolic sine of a number


SKEW
Returns the skewness of a distribution


SLN
Returns the straight-line depreciation of an asset for one period


SLOPE
Returns the slope of the linear regression line through data points in the specified



ranges of data points


SMALL
Given a data set and a value k, returns the k-th smallest value in the data set


SQRT
Returns a positive square root


SQRTPI
Returns the square root of (number * Pi)


STANDARDIZE
Returns a normalized value from a distribution characterized by mean and



standard deviation


STDEV
Estimates standard deviation based on a sample


STDEVA
Estimates standard deviation based on a sample, and includes all text and logical



values in its calculation


STDEVP
Calculates standard deviation based on the entire population given as arguments


STDEVPA
Calculates standard deviation based on the entire population given as arguments,



including text and logical values


STEYX
Given a range of dependent data points(y's) and a range of independent data



points(x's), returns the standard error of the predicted y-value for each x in the



regression


SUBSTITUTE
Substitutes new text for old text in a given text string


SUBTOTAL
Returns a subtotal in a list or database


SUM
The sum of the values in a list. This is the default function for numeric data.


SUMIF
Adds the cells specified by a given criteria


SUMIF
Adds the cells coinciding with the cells specified by a given criteria


SUMPRODUCT
Returns the sum of the products of corresponding array components


SUMSQ
Returns the sum of the squares of the arguments


SUMX2MY2
Returns the sum of the difference of squares of corresponding values in two



arrays


SUMX2PY2
Returns the sum of the sum of squares of corresponding values in two arrays


SUMXMY2
Returns the sum of squares of differences of corresponding values in two arrays


SYD
Returns the sum-of-years' digits depreciation of an asset for a specified period


T
Returns the text referred to by the given value


TAN
Returns the tangent of a number


TANH
Returns the hyperbolic tangent of a number


TDIST
Returns the Percentage Points (probability) for the Student t-distribution where a



numeric value (x) is a calculated value of t for which the Percentage Points are to



be computed


TEXT
Converts a given value to text in a specific number format


TIME
Returns the decimal number for a particular time represented by an hour, minute,



and second value


TIMEVALUE
Returns the decimal number of the time represented by a text string


TINV
Returns the t-value of the Student's t-distribution as a function of the probability



and the degrees of freedom


TODAY
Returns the serial number of the current date


TRANSPOSE
Returns a vertical range of cells as a horizontal range, or vice versa


TREND
Fits a straight line (using the method of least squares) to the given arrays of y-



values and x-values. Returns the y-values along that line for the array of new x



values that you specify


TRIM
Truncates a number to an integer by removing the fractional part of the number


TRIMMEAN
Returns the mean of the interior of a data set


TRUE
Returns the logical value TRUE


TRUNC
Truncates a number to an integer


TTEST
Returns the probability associated with a Student's t-Test


TYPE
Returns the type of a value


UPPER
Converts the given text to uppercase


VALUE
Converts a text string that represents a number into a number.


VAR
Estimates variance based on a sample


VARA
Estimates variance based on a sample, and includes all text and logical values in



its calculation


VARP
Calculates variance based on the entire population given as arguments


VARPA
Calculates variance based on the entire population given as arguments, including



text and logical values


VDB
Returns the depreciation of an asset for any period you specify, including partial



periods, using the double-declining balance method or some other method you



specify


VLOOKUP
Searches for a value in the leftmost column of a table, and then returns a value in



the same row from a column you specify in the table


VLOOKUP
Searches for a value in the leftmost column of a table, and then returns a value in



the same row from a column you specify in the table. If range_lookup is



FALSE, an exact match will be found. If range_lookup is TRUE, an



approximate match will be found.


WEEKDAY
Returns the day of the week corresponding to a given date


WEIBULL
Returns the Weibull distribution


YEAR
Returns the year corresponding to a given date


ZTEST
Returns the two-tailed P-value of a z-test









Some background art spreadsheet applications and spreadsheet components allow users to define functions that are not built-in. KDJUserDefinedFunctionLibrary is a set of functions defined in the target software development language that represent behavior aspects necessary for execution of user-defined spreadsheet functions. In a preferred embodiment, KDJUserDefinedFunctionLibrary is an object-oriented software class. KDJUserDefinedFunctionLibrary allows unanticipated functions to be made available for use in KDJCell formulas. All member functions of KDJUserDefinedFunctionLibrary must be defined as static and require no instantiation. In a preferred embodiment, KDJUserDefinedFunctionLibrary can be generated and only include implementations of the user-defined spreadsheet functions actually used in the specific workbook for which code is generated. This serves to optimize the generated code for size. The entire library of user-defined spreadsheet functions can be used if the Calculation Engine is to be shared by modules representing several workbooks, where the used functions may not be known at code-generation-time.













Description

















Field



<<none>>
In a preferred embodiment,



KDJUserDefinedFunctionLibrary has no fields.


Method


DollarToWords
A function for converting a currency amount to a word



representation for use in printing checks. For example,



(123.45) would return ‘One Hundred Twenty Three



Dollars and Forty Five Cents’.


. . .
A multitude of unanticipated user-defined functions can



be defined and made available for use by KDJCell



formulas.

## Claims

1. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for implementing a source code generator for use with a computer system the source code generator comprising:
an interface configured to receive a user-specification of spreadsheets that include spreadsheet data for which source code is to be generated, and a specification of spreadsheet cells for which no source code is to be generated where the cells are specified by setting cell attributes as markers for exclusion;
a data acquisition interface configured to receive the spreadsheet data;
a parser configured to extract information from the spreadsheet data received by the data acquisition interface excluding the spreadsheet cells for which the specification was received by the interface; and
an information processor configured to perform a data transformation of the information extracted by the parser into source code representative of the spreadsheet data.

2. A source code generator as recited in claim 1, wherein the source code conforms to a grammar and syntax of a software language.

3. A source code generator as recited in claim 1, comprising data structures representative of entities associated with spreadsheet data.

4. A source code generator as recited in claim 3, wherein said parser instantiates software data structures representative of one or more of spreadsheet sheets, cells, and names.

5. A source code generator as recited in claim 4, where the source code declares and defines object oriented software classes tat implement features of the spreadsheet data where the object oriented software classes can be instantiated at runtime to provide a calculation and data access features of the spreadsheet data.

6. A source code generator as recited in claim 5, wherein the object oriented software class declares an instance of the object oriented software class wherein data member values of the instance are representative of the cell and any source code representative of the cell's formulaic expression.

7. A source code generator as recited in claim 6, wherein the source code generator is configured to generate an object oriented software function as a member of the source code representative of the spreadsheet sheet enclosing the cell.

8. A source code generator as recited in claim 6, wherein the source code representative of a cell's formulaic expression contains direct references to named cells rather than the names.

9. A source code generator as recited in claim 1, further comprising a function descriptor that supports generic generation of code representative of calls to native spreadsheet functions.

10. A source code generator as recited in claim 1, wherein said source code declares and defines member data and functions for accessing run-time-instantiated instances of generated source code representative of said spreadsheet sheets, cells, and names.

11. A source code generator as in claim 10, where said source code comprises a grammar specifying a computer-executable language.

12. A source code generator as recited in claim 1, wherein said parser is a recursive descent software module.

13. A source code generator as recited in claim 1, where the interface is further configured to receive user-specification of a range of spreadsheet cells within each spreadsheet sheet for which source code is to be generated.

14. A source code generator as recited in claim 13, where the interface is further configured to receive spreadsheet cells for which source code is to be generated where the cells are specified by setting cell attributes as markers for inclusion.

15. A source code generator as recited in claim 14, where said marker for inclusion is cell foreground color and cell background color.

16. A source code generator as recited in claim 1, where the marker for exclusion is cell foreground color and cell background color.

17. A source code generator as recited in claim 1, comprising source code implementations representative of built-in spreadsheet functions.

18. A source code generator as recited in claim 1, wherein the source code includes implementations representative of built-in spreadsheet functions only where the built-in spreadsheet functions are referred to in the spreadsheet data.

19. A source code generator as recited in claim 1, comprising source code implementations representative of user-defined spreadsheet functions.

20. A source code generator as recited in claim 1, wherein the source code includes implementations representative of user-defined spreadsheet functions only where the user-defined spreadsheet functions are referred to in the spreadsheet data.

21. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for implementing a source code generator for use with a computer system the source code generator comprising:
a data acquisition interface configured to receive spreadsheet data;
a parser configured to extract information from the spreadsheet data, and
an information processor configured to perform a data transformation of extracted information into source code representative of the spreadsheet data, which excludes implementations of built-in spreadsheet functions that are not referred to in the spreadsheet data.

22. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for implementing a source code generator for use with a computer system the source code generator comprising:
a data acquisition interface configured to receive spreadsheet data;
a parser configured to extract information from the spreadsheet data, and
an information processor configured to perform a data transformation of extracted information into source code representative of the spreadsheet data, which
excludes implementations of user-defined spreadsheet functions that are not referred to in the spreadsheet data.

23. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for implementing a source code generator for use with a computer system the source code generator comprising:
a data acquisition interface configured to receive spreadsheet data;
a parser configured to extract information from the spreadsheet data, and
an information processor configured to perform a data transformation of extracted information into source code representative of the spreadsheet data, including:
identifying and isolating a first spreadsheet cell formula having a similar structure as a second spreadsheet cell formula;
generating parameterized source code representative of the structure;
generating source code representative of the first spreadsheet cell formula that calls the generated parameterized source code; and
generating source code representative of the second spreadsheet cell formula that calls the generated parameterized source code.