Spreadsheet based data store interface

A computer-implemented method for exploring external data sources includes selecting a first function from a function library in a spreadsheet application based on a first user input, designating a first data source for the first function based on a second user input, wherein the first data source comprises a first dataset stored externally to the spreadsheet application, and arranging a first cell formula comprising the first function and a first identifier for the first data source in a first cell of a spreadsheet. The method further includes selecting an output function from the function library based on a third user input, designating a source function's reference based on a fourth user input, designating an output location in the spreadsheet based on a firth user input, and arranging a second cell formula including the selected output function, the designated source function's reference and the designated output location in a second cell of the spreadsheet. The method further includes translating the first cell formula contained in the first cell referenced as the source function to the output function into a data query for a data engine in response to a refresh action and sending the data query to the data engine, wherein the data engine is configured to execute the data query against the first dataset.