<s>
As-Easy-As	B-Language
for	O
DOS	O
and	O
As-Easy-As	B-Language
for	O
Windows	O
was	O
a	O
shareware	B-License
32-bit	O
spreadsheet	B-Application
program	I-Application
developed	O
in	O
1986	O
for	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
and	O
later	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
is	O
a	O
play	O
on	O
the	O
phrase	O
"	O
as	B-Language
easy	I-Language
as	I-Language
1-2-3	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
reference	O
to	O
the	O
dominant	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
spreadsheet	B-Application
at	O
that	O
time	O
,	O
Lotus	B-Application
1-2-3	I-Application
with	O
which	O
it	O
competed	O
for	O
a	O
fraction	O
of	O
the	O
contender	O
's	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	O
was	O
developed	O
and	O
sold	O
by	O
(	O
a	O
company	O
founded	O
by	O
David	O
Schulz	O
and	O
Paris	O
Karahalios	O
a	O
Shareware	B-License
pioneer	O
-	O
not	O
to	O
be	O
confused	O
with	O
Tritus	O
,	O
the	O
makers	O
of	O
the	O
Tritus	O
SPF	O
clone	O
of	O
the	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
ISPF	B-Operating_System
interface	O
and	O
editor	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
eventually	O
branched	O
out	O
developing	O
CAD	O
and	O
GIS/Mapping	O
software	O
and	O
SDKs	O
,	O
not	O
focusing	O
on	O
As-Easy-As	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
As-Easy-As	B-Language
is	O
historically	O
significant	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
earliest	O
and	O
most	O
useful	O
shareware	B-License
programs	O
that	O
competed	O
with	O
commercial	O
software	O
on	O
the	O
basis	O
of	O
both	O
price	O
and	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
small	O
businesses	O
and	O
personal	O
users	O
,	O
the	O
price	O
of	O
Lotus	B-Application
1-2-3	I-Application
was	O
prohibitive	O
,	O
and	O
As-Easy-As	B-Language
provided	O
basic	O
spreadsheet	B-Application
functionality	O
for	O
about	O
a	O
tenth	O
of	O
the	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
paradigm	O
of	O
undercutting	O
the	O
spreadsheet	B-Application
market	O
leader	O
would	O
be	O
adopted	O
by	O
Borland	O
's	O
Quattro	B-Application
Pro	I-Application
(	O
which	O
was	O
not	O
released	O
until	O
1990	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subsequent	O
versions	O
of	O
As	B-Language
Easy	I-Language
As	I-Language
became	O
as	O
powerful	O
as	O
any	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
spreadsheet	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
Quattro	B-Application
Pro	I-Application
,	O
As-Easy-As	B-Language
combined	O
some	O
elements	O
of	O
the	O
1-2-3	O
user	O
interface	O
,	O
while	O
modernizing	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cell	O
formulas	O
are	O
very	O
similar	O
to	O
Lotus	B-Application
1-2-3	I-Application
,	O
including	O
the	O
letter-number	O
addressing	O
scheme	O
(	O
A1	O
,	O
B2	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
and	O
the	O
@function	O
syntax	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
@SUM	O
(	O
A1	O
..	O
A10	O
)	O
using	O
the	O
"	O
..	O
"	O
range	O
separator	O
syntax	O
also	O
like	O
Lotus	B-Application
1-2-3	I-Application
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
product	O
included	O
a	O
detailed	O
electronic	O
manual	O
describing	O
the	O
spreadsheet	B-Application
's	O
functions	O
and	O
some	O
basic	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Updated	O
versions	O
of	O
As-Easy-As	B-Language
were	O
made	O
available	O
at	O
frequent	O
intervals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
enabled	O
a	O
user	O
to	O
rapidly	O
create	O
x-y	O
graphs	O
of	O
data	O
,	O
whereas	O
the	O
major	O
commercial	O
spreadsheets	B-Application
of	O
the	O
DOS	O
era	O
(	O
Lotus	B-Application
1-2-3	I-Application
and	O
Quattro	O
)	O
by	O
default	O
produced	O
more	O
business-oriented	O
graphs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
3	O
November	O
2004	O
,	O
Trius	O
discontinued	O
the	O
last	O
version	O
of	O
As-Easy-As	B-Language
for	O
DOS	O
,	O
and	O
on	O
10	O
January	O
2006	O
the	O
last	O
version	O
of	O
As-Easy-As	B-Language
for	O
Windows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
earliest	O
preserved	O
historical	O
version	O
available	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
from	O
the	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
shareware	B-License
era	O
is	O
version	O
3	O
from	O
1987	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
awards	O
As-Easy-As	B-Language
received	O
include	O
:	O
</s>
