1 Interval Computations on the Spreadsheet

This paper reviews work on using interval arithmetic as the basis for next generation spreadsheet programs capable of dealing with rounding errors, imprecise data, and numerical constraints. A series of ever more versatile computational models for spreadsheets are presented beginning from classical interval arithmetic and ending up with interval constraint satisfaction. In order to demonstrate the ideas, an actual implementation of each model as a class library is presented and its integration with a commercial spreadsheet program is explained. 1 LIMITATIONS OF SPREADSHEET COMPUTING Spreadsheet programs, such as MS Excel, Quattro Pro, Lotus 1{2{3, etc., are among the most widely used applications of computer science. Since the pioneering days of VisiCalc and others, spreadsheet programs have been enhanced immensely with new features. However, the underlying computational paradigm of evaluating arithmetical functions by using ordinary machine arithmetic has remained the same. The work presented in this paper shows that interval techniques provide a new and more versatile basis for spreadsheet computations in many ways. Since exact numbers are intervals of zero width, the generalizations proposed can be made without loosing the possibility of using spreadsheets in the traditional way.