for what excel is intended to do - the current formula language is actually perfect - I wouldnt trade it for anything else (being someone who does a lot of work in excel - but also spends plenty of time hacking python & js) - if you really want to do more powerful stuff - you have macros and the like. Theres also Datanitro and other plugins you can add in. Also - if you really just care about using the data in the sheet - just read it into a simple python script and manipulate away. Dont fix something that isn't broken, I say.