Re: [office-formula] display position?

[Eike Rathke <erack@sun.com>]

Hi Patrick,

On Saturday, 2010-01-23 12:41:20 -0500, Patrick Durusau wrote:

> Just curious, what is meant by "display position"?
>
>>         1.
>>
>>             Storing a non-scalar result in a matrix is controlled by a
>>             few rules.
>>
>>               1.
>>
>>                   If the display position exists in the source data
>>                   use the source.
>>
>>               2.
>>
>>                   If the source data is 1 column wide the display
>>                   position uses the value in the 1st column. This
>>                   applies to
>>                   - scalars '3'
>>                   - singletons '{3}'
>>                   - column vectors '{1|2|3}'
>>
>>               3.
>>
>>                   If the source data is 1 row high all the display
>>                   position uses the value in the 1st row. This applies to
>>                   - scalars '3'
>>                   - singletons '{3}'
>>                   - row vectors '{1;2;3}'
>>
> It occurs these three times and no where else in the draft.
>
> I am assuming it is a reference to the existence of a location in a  
> matrix for the storage of a value that is part of a matrix result but  
> why call it "display position?" Is there some significance to that?

In a spreadsheet, the result of an array/matrix formula is (or may be)
spread over several matrix cells. The array elements are displayed in
cells, with a position offset corresponding to the offset in the array.

If the array to be displayed is a single element or a vector, the
element respectively vector is repeated, e.g. a 1 row by 3 columns
vector is repeated if the cell matrix displaying it is more than 1 row
high.

Now, it would be easy to say we are not concerned with spreadsheet
displays, but this logic is also applied if a vector is used in
a context where a larger matrix is expected (of same width or height as
the vector), then the corresponding element of the same column/row is
used. We may find another expression than "display position", but what
name would satisfy both uses?

  Eike

-- 
Automatic string conversions considered dangerous. They are the GOTO statements
of spreadsheets.  --Robert Weir on the OpenDocument formula subcommittee's list.

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