OpenOffice Calc is fine for most spreadsheet applications, but if you’re looking for better performance and a smaller footprint, try Calc’s lean competitor, Gnumeric.
Spreadsheet applications have always played a special role on the PC. One of the first commercial spreadsheet programs, Lotus 123 was regarded as a benchmark for the compatibility of so-called IBM compatible PCs. Excel came along a few years later, and "Excel file" soon became synonymous with a spreadsheet document.
Of course, spreadsheet applications can do much more than the simple calculations most people use them for. Where spreadsheets really shine is in managing recurring calculations and visualizing the resulting data in the form of easily readable charts. In the world of Linux, the Gnumeric spreadsheet tool (Figure 1) has become an extremely mature application.
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