<P> Pivot tables are related to contingency tables (also known as a cross tabulation or crosstab), but a pivot table is considered more dynamic, and can have operations performed on it, whereas a contingency table is a static display of data . </P> <P> The term pivot table is a generic phrase used by multiple vendors . In the United States, Microsoft Corporation has trademarked the specific compound word form, PivotTable . </P> <P> Pivot tables can be seen as a simplification of the more complete and complex OLAP (online analytical processing) concepts . </P> <P> In their book Pivot Table Data Crunching, Bill Jelen and Mike Alexander refer to Pito Salas as the "father of pivot tables". While working on a concept for a new program that would eventually become Lotus Improv, Salas noted that spreadsheets have patterns of data . A tool that could help the user recognize these patterns would help to build advanced data models quickly . With Improv, users could define and store sets of categories, then change views by dragging category names with the mouse . This core functionality would provide the model for pivot tables . </P>

What is pivot table in excel used for