Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Claudio Vittorio Russo

Christopher John Gross

Andrew Donald Gordon

Johnny S Campbell

Andrew James Becker

Thore Graepel

Christopher E Miles

William Wagner

Margaret Novotny

Jeffrey James Duzak

Thore Kurt Hartwig Graepel

Yelisaveta Pesenson

Aryn Shelander

Sheena Stevens

Nicolas Philippe Marie Rolland

Jacob Miller

Eric Johannes Borgstrom

Examples discussed herein relate to automatically creating lambda functions in spreadsheet applications, e.g., Microsoft Excel&#xae;. In an implementation, a method of automatically creating lambda functions in spreadsheet applications using a lambda shorthand notation is disclosed. The method includes analyzing contents of a cell of a spreadsheet to identify a formulaic expression and determining that the formulaic expression can define a body of a lambda function without using explicit lambda function notation or parameter declarations. The method further includes automatically creating and invoking the lambda function responsive to the determination. As discussed herein, creating the lambda function includes registering the lambda function in a lambda registry using the formulaic expression as the body of the lambda function that evaluates into an output value.

Automatically creating lambda functions in spreadsheet applications

Examples discussed herein relate to rending lambdas in spreadsheet application, e.g., Microsoft Excel&#xae;. In an implementation, a method of rendering lambdas in a spreadsheet application is disclosed. The method includes accessing a data object corresponding to the lambda function. The data object includes a listing of metadata associated with the lambda function and one or more items of the metadata identify rendering functionality for the lambda function. The method further includes creating a visual representation of the lambda function based, at least in part, on the rendering functionality for the lambda function, and rendering, in the cell of the spreadsheet on a display screen of the computing device, the visual representation of the lambda function.

Rendering lambda functions in spreadsheet applications

Systems and methods for inferring user traits based on indirect questions. Indirect questions may be generated based on one or more triggers. The answers to the indirect questions provide cues to a system as to whether a user has one or more attributes associated with a trait. This information may be used to personalize a computing device.

Inferring cues for use with digital assistant

Examples discussed herein relate to creating and handling lambdas in spreadsheet application, e.g., Microsoft Excel&#xae;. As discussed herein, lambdas are user defined functions (UDFs) that are natively creatable and maintainable through the use of a lambda registry in the spreadsheet application. In an implementation, a method of handling lambdas in a spreadsheet application is disclosed. The method includes detecting that a cell of a spreadsheet is populated with an expression that defines a lambda function and registering the lambda function with a lambda registry corresponding to the spreadsheet. The registration includes recording a home cell that identifies a location of the cell of the spreadsheet where the lambda function is defined. The method further includes replacing the expression that defines the lambda function with a reference to the registered lambda function.

Creating and handling lambda functions in spreadsheet applications

In non-limiting examples of the present disclosure, systems, methods and devices for interacting with lambda functions are presented. An indication to store a lambda function may be received. The lambda function may comprise: executable information that is specific to a first spreadsheet application instance, executable information that is generic to spreadsheet application instances, and metadata describing the functionality of the lambda function. The lambda function may be stored, and an indication to apply the stored lambda function to data in a separate spreadsheet application instance may be received. The stored lambda function may be provided to the separate spreadsheet application instance for execution.

Distribution of lambda functions

Database access is described, for example, where data in a database is accessed by an inference engine. In various examples, the inference engine executes inference algorithms to access data from the database and carry out inference using the data. In examples the inference algorithms are compiled from a schema of the database which is annotated with expressions of probability distributions over data in the database. In various examples the schema of the database is modified by adding one or more latent columns or latent tables to the schema for storing data to be inferred by the inference engine. In examples the expressions are compositional so, for example, an expression annotating a column of a database table may be used as part of an expression annotating another column of the database.

Database access

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Girton, United Kingdom

Claudio Vittorio Russo