Both can store similar types of information in a neatly labeled and organized way. The advantage lies in where they are used. You have more control over how Fortran arrays are used than how the contents of aspreadsheet are used. In addition for any given operation on an array of numbers, once the Fortran is written, it will do the job much faster than aspreadsheet. On the other hand, when operations are not complex and computer execution time is not a problem using the spreadsheet is probably your best bet.