[OASIS Issue Tracker] Issue Comment Edited: (OFFICE-3436) ODF 1.2CD05 Part 2 6.13.3 CELL Assumptions Too Host-Dependent

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    [ http://tools.oasis-open.org/issues/browse/OFFICE-3436?page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels:comment-tabpanel&focusedCommentId=21302#action_21302 ] 

Dennis Hamilton edited comment on OFFICE-3436 at 9/19/10 8:35 PM:
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Andreas, I'm with you on that.  

I think it is legacy-related but not something that works very well with OpenFormula as an interoperable vehicle abstracted away from specific spredsheet implementations.  Regretably, these definitions are almost exactly those in IS 29500-1:2006 section 18.17.7.34 but for an even more incredible definition in case the optional reference parameter is omitted.

I actually have an use for CELL("CONTENT") on the assumption that it applies to the current cell associated with an evaluation (if any) and is not a circular reference to the result of the formula we haven't finished evaluating yet..

I have a situation where it would be very handy to be able to write

 =MIN(CELL("CONTENT");[.C3]+[.A7])

and have the the evaluation not go crazy or be rejected but instead stop on indempotence (with potential recalculation if .[C3]+[.A7] is changes to a smaller value as sometimes happens).  Actually, the MIN gets longer as more data is worked up.  If MIN works with references to empty cells, all the better.  I'd even be willing to do IF(CELL("CONTENT")>MIN(...); MIN(...); CELL("CONTENT")) though I much prefer writing the MIN(...) exactly once.

(Even if I can do this, what I want to accomplish might not work when formulated this way - I want to calculate shortest paths among elements and <text/> in the grammar that the ODF schema is without resorting to scripts and an external program.)

 - - - - - -
PS: Never mind.  Excel 2007 produces a circular reference warning and, if over-ridden, leaves the wrong value in the cell.  For OpenOffice Calc 3.2 I can't get that far.  Calc does repair the formula to use CELL('content') and CELL('type') but still fails and I am giving up on that idea.  I can do what I want another way.  It remains to be seen whether CELL('CONTENT') without a reference works for anything.

      was (Author: orcmid):
    Andreas, I'm with you on that.  

I think it is legacy-related but not something that works very well with OpenFormula as an interoperable vehicle abstracted away from specific spredsheet implementations.  Regretably, these definitions are almost exactly those in IS 29500-1:2006 section 18.17.7.34 but for an even more incredible definition in case the optional reference parameter is omitted.

I actually have an use for CELL("CONTENT") on the assumption that it applies to the current cell associated with an evaluation (if any) and is not a circular reference to the result of the formula we haven't finished evaluating yet..

I have a situation where it would be very handy to be able to write

 =MIN(CELL("CONTENT");[.C3]+[.A7])

and have the the evaluation not go crazy or be rejected but instead stop on indempotence (with potential recalculation if .[C3]+[.A7] is changes to a smaller value as sometimes happens).  Actually, the MIN gets longer as more data is worked up.  If MIN works with references to empty cells, all the better.  I'd even be willing to do IF(CELL("CONTENT")>MIN(...); MIN(...); CELL("CONTENT")) though I much prefer writing the MIN(...) exactly once.

(Even if I can do this, what I want to accomplish might not work when formulated this way - I want to calculate shortest paths among elements and <text/> in the grammar that the ODF schema is without resorting to scripts and an external program.)


  
> ODF 1.2 CD05 Part 2 6.13.3 CELL Assumptions Too Host-Dependent
> --------------------------------------------------------------
>
>                 Key: OFFICE-3436
>                 URL: http://tools.oasis-open.org/issues/browse/OFFICE-3436
>             Project: OASIS Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) TC
>          Issue Type: Bug
>          Components: OpenFormula, Part 2 (Formulas)
>    Affects Versions: ODF 1.2 CD 05
>            Reporter: Dennis Hamilton
>             Fix For: ODF 1.2 CD 06
>
>
> The CELL function is currently defined with far too man host-dependent characteristics.
> 1. CELL("SHEET") It assumes that sheets are numbered, without further explanation.  (This applies for a great variety of the functions in secction 6.13.)
> 2. The determination of CELL("ADDRESS") is underspecified with regard to sheet and if the current cell is being referenced externally.
> 3. The determination of CELL("FILENAME") is unclear, especially in the context of packages.  This result is apparently always a host-dependent behavior, but it is not clear what is the desired interoperable case were the CELL("FILENAME") used as an IRI Reference, and in what context.  What guidance is there for what value should be provided here and what an user could rely on it for.  Is an IRI always returned, rather than an IRI Reference, for example.
> 4. Does the result of CELL("CONTENT") provide a value of the type of the cell, or does it always provide text that can be interpreted as the appropriate type?
> 5. Is CELL("FORMAT") intended to be comprehensive? Does "-" mean that the color is in lieu of a minus sign in the formatted value?  For the (), see 
> 6. Is CELL("TYPE") meant to be comprehensive?  What about date-type values, currency-type values, and other distinct cell value types that may happen to be supported (Logical, Complex, ... )?
> 7. Is CELL("PARENTHESES") related to the use of parentheses to signify NEGATIVE values in accounting information?  Why does it say POSITIVE here and under CELL("FORMAT")?
> The note at the bottom does not comprehend all forms of references.  There are cuboids and cells whose values are arrays/matrices, yes?

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