| Supercalc | |
|---|---|
 SuperCalc 5.1 for MS-DOS. | |
| Developer | Sorcim |
| Initial release | 1980 |
| Stable release | 5.5
|
| Operating system | CP/M; MS-DOS; VMS |
| Type | Spreadsheet |
SuperCalc is a spreadsheet program published by Sorcim in 1980.
History
VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet program, but at first was not available for the CP/M operating system. SuperCalc was created to serve that market.[1] Alongside WordStar, it was one of the CP/M applications bundled with the Osborne 1 portable computer. It quickly became popular[citation needed] and was ported to MS-DOS in 1982.
An improvement over VisiCalc (though using much the same command structure using the slash key), SuperCalc was one of the first spreadsheet programs capable of iteratively solving circular references (cells that depend on each other's results). It would be over 10 years after the introduction of SuperCalc before this feature was implemented in Microsoft Excel, although in Lotus 1-2-3, manual programming of iterative logic could also be used to solve this issue. According to the SuperCalc product manager, iterative calculations were added when Sorcim changed from binary-coded decimal to binary math. Since the precision of the two math packages was different, some IF statements resolved differently, and iterative calculations helped solve this problem.[2]
Versions of SuperCalc were later released for the Apple II, IBM PC compatibles running MS-DOS, and, after Sorcim was bought by CA Technologies in 1985, for Microsoft Windows (under the name CA-SuperCalc). SuperCalc was CA Technologies' first personal computer product.[3] The MS-DOS versions were more popular with many users than the market-leading Lotus 1-2-3, because it was distributed without copy protection,[4] as well as being priced lower.
Peachtree Software licensed SuperCalc's source code to produce PeachCalc.[5]
By the release of version 3 in March 1987, a million users were claimed.[6] New versions were published into the early 1990s, after which Microsoft Excel dominated the spreadsheet market.
In 1993, the Ministry of Railway of Russia signed an agreement with CA Technologies after a Russian employee illegally used SuperCalc for government purposes.[7]
Reception
Testing a prerelease version of SuperCalc for CP/M, InfoWorld in 1981 approved of its screen update speed and 80x24 screen size, built-in help and ease of use, error handling.[1] The magazine in 1986 said that SuperCalc 4 for DOS was "neck and neck with Lotus ... a serious corporate spreadsheet alternative". It approved of its upward and downward compatibility with the previous version, unlike Lotus, and ability to solve to a desired result. InfoWorld concluded that "SuperCalc 4 tackles the toughest competitor of them all on its own terms ... a very equal battle".[4]
Jerry Pournelle of BYTE in 1982 praised Supercalc for CP/M's ease of use and documentation, and predicted that it "is destined to become a classic" like dBASE II, Spellguard, and WRITE.[8] In a 1983 evaluation of eight spreadsheets for Heath/Zenith computers, Sextant stated that SuperCalc, like VisiCalc, caused people to buy computers to run it. The magazine approved of SuperCalc's speed and tutorial documentation, but criticized its inability to import or export data.[5]
Computer Intelligence estimated in 1987 that Computer Associates had 4% of the Fortune 1000 PC financial analysis market, behind Lotus's 85% and Microsoft's 6%.[9] A 1990 American Institute of Certified Public Accountants member survey found that 3% of respondents used SuperCalc as their spreadsheet, and 3% for graphics.[10]
Versions
- 1980: SuperCalc
- SuperCalc 2, which featured a novelty: Split screen with formulas on one side, and graphs on the other[11]
- 1986: SuperCalc 4,[4] evaluated #2 on the spreadsheets market after Excel,[12] with introduction of automatic construction of macros[13]
- 1989: SuperCalc 5
References
- ^ a b Barry, Tim (1981-10-05). "SuperCalc Spread-Sheet Simulator from Sorcim Corp". InfoWorld. p. 30. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ Wally Feigenson's Blog http://feigenson.us/blog/?p=10 Archived October 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "SuperCalc Definition from PC Magazine Encyclopedia". www.pcmag.com. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
- ^ a b c Kallenbach, Rolf (11 August 1986). "SuperCalc 4 Is Serious Competition for Lotus 1-2-3". InfoWorld. Vol. 8, no. 32. Infoworld Magazine. p. 35. Retrieved July 7, 2016 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Patrick, Kenneth A. (Winter 1983). "Eight Spreadsheets Compared: Charting Products to Eliminate Tedious Calculations". Sextant. No. 4. pp. 40–55. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
- ^ C+VG magazine "Extra Bits", issue 65, page 96 http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=C+VG/Issue065/Pages/CVG06500096.jpg [dead link]
- ^ Farish, Robert (13 June 1993). "Science: Russian piracy in a sea of software: Illegal copying of". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
- ^ Pournelle, Jerry (May 1982). "Supercalc, Spelling Programs, BASIC Compilers, and Home-Grown Accounting". BYTE. p. 226. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
- ^ Gates, Bill; Manzi, Jim; Esber, Ed (1987-11-02). "The great software debate". Computerworld (Interview). Vol. XXI, no. 44. Interviewed by Paul Gillin. p. SR7. Retrieved 2025-06-08.
- ^ 1990 AICPA survey of computer usage (Report). 1990. 561. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
- ^ McWilliams, Peter (15 September 1985). "SUPERCALC TO THE RESCUE FOR SPREADSHEETS". Chicago Tribune. Universal Press Syndicate. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
- ^ Walkenbach, John (9 November 1987). "Spreadsheets". InfoWorld. Vol. 9, no. 45. InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. pp. 53–65.
- ^ Sandberg-Diment, Erik (1986-09-16). "Personal Computers; New Supercalc Offered as a Rival to Lotus". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
External links
- SuperCalc 1.00 running on an IBM PC Model 5150 at the System Source Computer Museum.
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