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I am setting up a simple model that uses recursion to iterate between known constraints - relaxation, in other words. I need a spreadsheet that allows:

A0 50

A1 =(A0+A2)/2

A2 =(A1+A3)/2

A3 =(A2+A4)/2

A4 100

It should be simple, but OpenOffice and Apple Numbers specifically forbid this. If you know of configuration setting to override this, that would be great too.

nicoguaro
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Peter Brooks
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  • You can compute the iteration in different columns, that way you don't have recursion. I have used to implement Euler's method. Another option is to use a scripting language like Python (I don't know what are the options for Apple counterpart). – nicoguaro Jul 02 '15 at 14:15
  • I think you are struggling with the difference between iteration and bad references. If for row 1 you have the initial values, then in row2 you can have the equations for A1...A3 that you are looking for. – EngrStudent Jul 02 '15 at 19:29
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    You only need to break the "circular reference" in one place. A0 and A4 are given (constants), so we can omit them from the circle (i.e. just put their fixed values into the computation; they don't depend on A1,A2,A3 whatsoever. So (for example) put a starting value in for A1 in (for the sake of irony) cell A1, the formula for A2 in A2, and the formula for A3 in A3. Then in cell B1 (next to cell A1), put the formula for A1. By updating the value in cell A1 for A1 with the computed value in cell B1, you can observe the successive convergence of entries. – hardmath Jul 08 '15 at 01:24

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