Calc

Calc is a free, open-source spreadsheet application that forms part of the LibreOffice suite and, historically, Apache OpenOffice. It is used to create, edit, and analyze tabular data, perform calculations, and generate charts. Calc’s native file format is the OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ODS), and it can import and export a variety of formats, including Microsoft Excel (.xls, .xlsx) and CSV, enabling interoperability with other office software.

Calc originated with the OpenOffice.org project and continued under Apache OpenOffice after the project’s governance shifted. In 2010 a fork led to The Document Foundation’s LibreOffice, where Calc became a core component. It runs on major desktop platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, and is maintained by a large community of developers and contributors.

Key features include a grid of cells for data entry, extensive formulas and functions (covering mathematical, statistical, financial, text, and date/time operations), and support for named ranges and multiple sheets. Users can apply formatting, sorting, filtering, and conditional formatting, as well as data validation and what-if analysis through scenarios. Calc also provides charting capabilities and pivot-table functionality for data analysis. Scripting and automation are supported via LibreOffice Basic, with additional language bindings for Python, JavaScript, and other languages through the UNO API.

Licensing and usage: Calc is distributed under open-source licenses and is freely available to individuals and organizations. It is widely used in education, government, and businesses as a free alternative to proprietary spreadsheet software, with emphasis on interoperability through the OpenDocument standard.