...data field...data function..How could PERL be used like spread sheet...

Correct me if I'm wrong but this question asks three separate questions: 1) How can Perl be used like a data field (on a spreadsheet) 2) how can it behave like a Basic program and 3) how can it behave like the embedded formula tools inside of a spreadsheet.

Perl is a language that you can use to build software tools but is not a tool like a spreadsheet. A data field on a spreadsheet represents a collection of objects that fire events that parse your input, maintain state, and offer you a nice and pretty visual representation to interact with. You can build a spreadsheet with Perl but not the other way around (easily). This covers the spreadsheet-related questions.

That leaves how Perl can be like the BASIC language. Well, they are two different languages with different syntax, rules, and purposes. BASIC was designed to teach people programming. The 'B' in BASIC stands for 'Beginner.' It was never meant to be your 'do all be all.' Instead it was designed to introduce you to this stuff of computing and then send you out into the wild. Perl started out with a different set of intentions and thus the syntax and constructs of the language look a lot different.

Programming, like anything, takes time to learn. The excitement comes from mastering techniques, solving problems, and (in the case of Perl) watching people suffer and struggle with their computers trying to do things you can literally whip up in minutes.