Microsoft now allows users to disable automatic date conversion, which means scientists no longer have to worry about using alternative names for genes.

Microsoft Fixes Excel Feature That Forced Scientists to Rename Human Genes::Microsoft now allows users to disable automatic date conversion, which means scientists no longer have to worry about using alternative names for genes.

  • SatyrSackEnglish
    11·
    1 year ago

    Nowhere here is it implied that they were using it instead of a database. They could run into this issue whether or not they were properly using Excel for what it is for.

        • lolcatnip@reddthat.comEnglish
          1·
          1 year ago

          Read the article. IMHO scientists were having problems because they were using it for a task it is ill suited for. The kind of program that is designed for storing large amounts of data and preventing accidental corruption of it is a database.

          • MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            3·
            1 year ago

            I think scientists would use Excel more for finding out information with their data, not for storing it. You know like looking for trends and plotting graphs and whatnot.

            • lolcatnip@reddthat.comEnglish
              1·
              1 year ago

              I think they use it for both. They end up using it as a database because they’re familiar with it from doing data analysis. I’ve also heard of much more egregious examples, like a school using a giant Excel spreadsheet to track the applications of potential students. Need to track up to three references for each student? Make three of each column related to a reference! It’s a really gross way of storing denormalized data without any of the ACID properties databases guarantee.