The pivot table, the spreadsheet’s most powerful tool (2020)

Pivot tables are an incredibly powerful tool for analyzing large datasets, and you don’t need to be a coding expert to use them. Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, was a fan of pivot tables and recognized their value. While developing the NeXT computer, Jobs came across a spreadsheet program called Lotus 1-2-3 that had a unique feature called “flexible views,” which is similar to modern-day pivot tables. Jobs persuaded Lotus to develop this software exclusively for the NeXT computer, and it had a significant influence on spreadsheet programs like Excel. Today, pivot tables are one of the most commonly used tools in data analysis, providing a quick way to summarize large amounts of data.

https://qz.com/1903322/why-pivot-tables-are-the-spreadsheets-most-powerful-tool

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