1) "A computer database is a structured collection of records or data that is stored in a computer system so that a computer program or person using a query language can consult it to answer queries. The records retrieved in answer to queries are information that can be used to make decisions. The computer program used to manage and query a database is known as a database management system (DBMS). The properties and design of database systems are included in the study of information science. A typical query could be a question such as, "How many hamburgers with two or more beef patties were sold in the month of March in New Jersey?". To answer such a question, the database would have to store information about hamburgers sold, including number of patties, sales date, and the region. The central concept of a database is that of a collection of records, or pieces of information. Typically, for a given database, there is a structural description of the type of facts held in that database: this description is known as a schema. The schema describes the objects that are represented in the database, and the relationships among them. There are a number of different ways of organizing a schema, that is, of modeling the database structure: these are known as database models (or data models). The model in most common use today is the relational model, which in layman's terms represents all information in the form of multiple related tables each consisting of rows and columns (the formal definition uses mathematical terminology). This model represents relationships by the use of values common to more than one table. Other models such as the hierarchical model and the network model use a more explicit representation of relationships. The term database refers to the collection of related records, and the software should be referred to as the database management system or DBMS. When the context is ambiguous, however, many database administrators and programmers use the term database to cover both meanings." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database 2) "A spreadsheet is a rectangular table (or grid) of information, often financial information. The word came from "spread" in its sense of a newspaper or magazine item (text and/or graphics) that covers two facing pages, extending across the center fold and treating the two pages as one large one. The compound word "spread-sheet" came to mean the format used to present bookkeeping ledgers—with columns for categories of expenditures across the top, invoices listed down the left margin, and the amount of each payment in the cell where its row and column intersect—which were traditionally a "spread" across facing pages of a bound ledger (book for keeping accounting records) or on oversized sheets of paper ruled into rows and columns in that format and approximately twice as wide as ordinary paper." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spreadsheet 3) The main difference is that a spreadsheet table is a practical form used to make diverse calculations, a database table has a fixed number of columns (the table fields) and so many rows as you have records in this table. In particular, it would be possible, in some cases, to write the contents of a database table on a spreadsheet. But no database queries could be done inside the spreadsheet program.

One handles databases and the other spreadsheets. A spreadsheet is more about formulaes - using data to calculate things. From wikipedia - just the top bits:- A database is a structured collection of records or data that is stored in a computer system so that a computer program or person using a query language can consult it to answer queries[1]. The records retrieved in answer to queries are information that can be used to make decisions. The computer program used to manage and query a database is known as a database management system (DBMS). The properties and design of database systems are included in the study of information science. A spreadsheet is a rectangular table (or grid) of information, often financial information. The word came from "spread" in its sense of a newspaper or magazine item (text and/or graphics) that covers two facing pages, extending across the center fold and treating the two pages as one large one. The compound word "spread-sheet" came to mean the format used to present bookkeeping ledgers—with columns for categories of expenditures across the top, invoices listed down the left margin, and the amount of each payment in the cell where its row and column intersect—which were traditionally a "spread" across facing pages of a bound ledger (book for keeping accounting records) or on oversized sheets of paper ruled into rows and columns in that format and approximately twice as wide as ordinary paper.