LINEST

LINEST is a function available in spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. It is used to perform linear regression analysis and return an array of values that describe a line or curve that best fits a given set of data points. The function is designed to calculate statistics for a single linear regression and can also be used for non-linear regression by fitting data to a polynomial.

The LINEST function takes known y-values and known x-values as arguments. Optionally, it can also take additional arguments for constants, which determine if the y-intercept should be forced to zero, and for statistics, which control whether detailed regression statistics are returned. The primary output of LINEST is an array of values that include the slope and intercept of the regression line. When the statistics argument is set to TRUE, the function returns a more comprehensive array including standard errors, R-squared values, and other statistical measures.

LINEST is particularly useful for forecasting trends, understanding relationships between variables, and simplifying complex data sets by fitting them to a linear model. Its ability to provide detailed statistical outputs makes it a powerful tool for data analysis and modeling within spreadsheet environments. The output array's structure and content depend on the arguments provided to the function.