20/20 (spreadsheet software)

Summary

20/20 is a discontinued spreadsheet program developed by Access Technology Inc., of South Natick, Massachusetts, and later sold by CA Technologies. For a while, it was the dominant spreadsheet on VAX minicomputers.[1] It was a direct competitor to Lotus 1-2-3, and was available for more operating systems than 1-2-3. 20/20's performance specifications were similar to those of 1-2-3.

The software was originally titled "Supercomp-20". It was renamed 20/20, and was available for AT&T Unix, DEC VAX, Prime Computers, the IBM RS/6000,[1] Data General and IBM-compatible PCs. It was the first spreadsheet with integrated database and graphics support available for Unix. In 1989, a version was released with real-time data updating.[2] 20/20 also had macros (called "command files" in the documentation),[3] and a goal-seeking facility, which allowed the user to choose a desired value for a result cell, and vary an input cell automatically until the desired result was achieved.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Access Technology Has High Hopes For its 2020 Spreadsheet in New IBM RS/6000 Version". Computer Business Review. July 18, 1991.
  2. ^ "Access Technology Has Real Time Version of 2020 Spreadsheet for City Markets". Computer Business Review. November 9, 1989.
  3. ^ Kent, Allen; Williams, James G., eds. (1988). "Access Technology, Inc.". Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology. Vol. 19. CRC Press. p. 400. ISBN 9780824722692.
  4. ^ "Access Technology Inc.'s 20/20. Is it 1-2-3 for Unix?". Computerworld. XIX (2). January 14, 1985.