A 2013 spreadsheet formula language would look pretty similar to what we see now. The format is simple and relatively easy for people to understand.
If I were able to change it, I may consider adding a left hand side to the formulas (A3=A1+A2 rather than just =A1+A2), which seems verbose but completely obviates the need for the special array formula type (e.g. `{=A1:A2 * B1:B2}`, which would be naturally expressed as C1:C2=A1:A2 * B1:B2). There are other constructions like range unions and intersections that I probably would change, but no obvious replacement comes to mind.
If you want to explore JS in excel formulae further, there are people trying to implement the formula space in JS: https://github.com/sutoiku/formula.js
BTW: if your goal is to attack the spreadsheet space by innovating on formulas, you are probably barking up the wrong tree.
Comments
A 2013 spreadsheet formula language would look pretty similar to what we see now. The format is simple and relatively easy for people to understand.
If I were able to change it, I may consider adding a left hand side to the formulas (A3=A1+A2 rather than just =A1+A2), which seems verbose but completely obviates the need for the special array formula type (e.g. `{=A1:A2 * B1:B2}`, which would be naturally expressed as C1:C2=A1:A2 * B1:B2). There are other constructions like range unions and intersections that I probably would change, but no obvious replacement comes to mind.
If you want to explore JS in excel formulae further, there are people trying to implement the formula space in JS: https://github.com/sutoiku/formula.js
BTW: if your goal is to attack the spreadsheet space by innovating on formulas, you are probably barking up the wrong tree.