Formulas and Functions

Chapter 2 Overview of the iWork Functions 35
Term or symbol Meaning
ellipsis (…) An argument followed by an ellipsis can be
repeated as many times as necessary. Any
limitations are described in the argument
denition.
array An array is a sequence of values used by a
function, or returned by a function.
array constant An array constant is a set of values enclosed
within braces ({}) and is typed directly into the
function. For example, {1, 2, 5, 7} or {“12/31/2008”,
“3/15/2009”, “8/20/2010”}.
array function A small number of functions are described as
“array function,” meaning the function returns an
array of values rather than a single value. These
functions are commonly used to provide values
to another function.
Boolean expression A Boolean expression is an expression that
evaluates to the Boolean value TRUE or FALSE.
constant A constant is a value specied directly within
the formula that contains no function calls
or references. For example, in the formula
=CONCATENATE(”cat”, “s”), “cat” and “s” are
constants.
modal argument A modal argument is one that can have one of
several possible specied values. Usually, modal
arguments specify something about the type of
calculation the function should perform or about
the type of data the function should return.
If a modal argument has a default value, it is
specied in the argument description.
condition A condition is an expression that can include
comparison operators, constants, the ampersand
string operator, and references. The contents
of the condition must be such that the result
of comparing the condition to another value
results in the Boolean value TRUE or FALSE.
Further information and examples are included in
“Specifying Conditions and Using Wildcards” on
page 360.