Graphical Spreadsheet Research Articles

INTERACTIVE LEARNING MODULES FOR PID CONTROL

This paper describes a collection of interactive learning modules for PID control based on the graphical spread sheet metaphor. The modules are designed to speed-up learning and to enhance understanding of the behavior of loops with PID controllers. The modules are implemented in Sysquake, a Matlab dialect with strong support of interaction. Executable versions of the modules for Mac and PC are available on the web.

Florida DOT Project-Level Bridge Management Models

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is in the process of implementing Pontis, a Bridge Management System, to provide decision support to engineers in the headquarters and district offices as they make routine policy, programming, and budgeting decisions regarding the preservation and improvement of the state's bridges. As part of this effort, an ongoing research program is underway to adapt the system to FDOT needs as well as to advance the state of the art in several areas important to the Department. Most of the research results are organized around a new project-level decision support framework that complements and builds on Pontis' existing network-level analysis. Specific new models include accident risk and user cost due to roadway width and alignment deficiencies; user cost of load capacity and vertical clearance restrictions, and moveable bridge openings; project-level prediction models for bridge element condition and costs; and prediction of economics of scale and scoping possibilities. The new models are built into a highly graphical spreadsheet model for decision support use.

Preface: Volume 30, Issue 4

The characteristics of logic programming languages both necessitate and motivate innovative approaches in the areas of user environments and programming tools. The Tenth Workshop on Logic Programming Environments provided a forum for researchers, developers, programmers, and users to exchange ideas and results on all aspects of environments for logic programming. Contributions coming from Europe, the USA, Australia and Japan addressed debugging (4x), vizualization, graphical spreadsheets, and automated documentation. Coming from a different background, Clinton Jeffery, invited speaker, presented a monitoring environment for C which, we hope, was inspiring for the logic programming community.A special thanks to Enrico Pontelli, ICLP'99 workshop coordinator. Thanks also to Francisco Bueno, Manuel Carro, Erwan Jahier, Sarah Mallet, Julio Marino, and Olivier Ridoux who helped with paper reviewing.

An investigation of different approaches to using a graphical spreadsheet model of population dynamics

An experiment is described involving students using a graphical spreadsheet to simulate population dynamics. It is used in three different ways, labelled ‘prescriptive’, ‘reflective’, and ‘open‐ended’. The clear superiority of the reflective approach is described and possible theoretical reasons for this are discussed. Specific difficulties that students had with using graphical spreadsheets are described and discussed and some conclusions drawn.

Numbers-a medium that counts (spreadsheet software)

The use of spreadsheets to bring hypermedia to the office is proposed. It is argued that the numeric cell is a powerful generic object type, and its use is explored. The application of Hypercalc (a prototype hypermedia spreadsheet constructed by combining an authoring interface with a series of video device drivers written for Informix's Wingz, a graphical spreadsheet with a built-in scripting language) to a business case study is described. The tools of the resulting environment, called Hypercase, are discussed. The limitations of the traditional monomedia approach to business case studies are outlined.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Lotus 123 - a graphical spreadsheet program used for geophysical calculations

With the upsurge of personal computing on microcomputers several spreadsheet programs have been introduced to perform simple business calculations (budgetting, calculation of project costs, etc.). They provide commercial managers with flexible computing facilities without the need to write additional programs or have costly staff available for relatively simple computing problems. The most widely known programs are Visicalc, Multiplan and Lotus 123. The program under discussion, Lotus 123, was originally developed for the IBM-PC (MS-DOS) and compatible 16 bit microcomputers. This article describes the application of the program to filing and simple processing of geophysical data. The following two examples, taken from fieldwork done by students from the State University, Utrecht in southern Portugal during June 1985, will be discussed: (1) processing of VLF data with a five-point first-derivative filter; (2) field processing of gravity data (corrections for instrument drift, height and latitude, and calculation of the Bouguer anomaly). The purpose of this article is to show geophysicists how to use this user-friendly program in their profession. As far as training is concerned, the use of a standard program is profitable. Data entry is always done in the same manner no matter whether, for example, gravity data or VLF data are involved. It is even possible that users are already acquainted with Lotus 123 from other applications, such as business calculations. It is my experience that students with varying computer expertise can handle data entry and processing completely within a few afternoons. A quick start-up of data filing and primary processing can almost be guaranteed. It took me only one afternoon to establish the spreadsheets for both examples after the fieldwork had already begun and the first gathered data were on my desk. Two further days were needed to refine the spreadsheet model, while the field data were already being processed.