×

Constraint-based spreadsheet system capable of displaying a process of execution of programs

  • US 5,799,295 A
  • Filed: 11/10/1997
  • Issued: 08/25/1998
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/29/1993
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
Patent Images

1. A computer program product for controlling a computer to execute a spreadsheet program using tables including a plurality of cells, the computer program product comprising:

  • first calculating means for obtaining a calculation flow among the plurality of cells based on an input value and a formula which serve as constraint conditions for each cell of the plurality of cells;

    second calculating means for obtaining cell dependency information by using at least one of

         1) formulas within a table including the plurality of cells and

         2) formulas between a plurality of tables including the plurality of cells, according to the calculation flow obtained by the first calculating means;

    generating means for generating information related to an execution flow within the table or between the plurality of tables based on the cell dependency information obtained by the second calculating means; and

    displaying means for displaying the information related to the execution flow generated by the generating means,wherein the second calculating means includesan inference engine which executes the constraint conditions as substitutions when the first calculating means succeeds in obtaining the calculation flow among the cells, andconstraint processing means for solving the constraint conditions as simultaneous equations when the first calculating means fails to obtain the calculation flow.

View all claims
  • 0 Assignments
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×