Computer Club Elmshorn Atari PD/CCE_PD.iso/mac/1100/CCE_1153.ZIP/CCE_1153.PD/BSTAT248.LZH/bstat.248/startup.doc

Text File | 1993-08-02 | 8KB | 140 lines

B/STAT is a general purpose graphics and statistical analysis
package. The first thing to know about B/STAT is that you must
specify both the maximum number of variables and the maximum
number of points in each variable. These are the first questions
asked when you run B/STAT. The reason for asking these questions
is two fold. B/STAT reserves space for calculations based upon
these answers. The smaller the number of data points requested
then the more room that B/STAT makes available for printer
drivers, fonts or other programs. As well B/STAT will tend to
execute faster in some areas if the potential data requirements
are lower.  The second reason for asking the questions is that
there is always a trade off between the number of variables and
the number of points in each. The lower the number of variables,
the more data points in each can be used. This relationship
exists because of the finite amount of memory in your computer.

B/STAT is not intended to be the equivalent of SAS or SPSS or any
other expensive mainframe or IBM PC based statistical analysis
program. It is designed for the more casual user and for the
experienced user who wants to narrow the range of options before
using the larger packages.

In general B/STAT uses a spreadsheet metaphor to display the data
that you enter. Each column of the spreadsheet is taken to be a
variable and each row is taken as a point in the variable. There
are some statistical processes which treat the entire matrix of
numbers in the spreadsheet as a unit but these are few. Each
column of data has a variable name. These default to VAR 1, VAR 2
VAR 3 etc. These names may be changed simply by typing over
them.

There may be individuals who are unfamiliar with spreadsheets. A
spreadsheet is a screen representation of a columnar pad of
paper. It has rows and columns. These columns and rows have
numeric or alphabetic representations. The rows in B/STAT are
numbered from 1 to the maximum which you choose on startup. The
columns are labelled A, B, C etc. After column Z comes Column AA
then AB etc. The individual entries are referred to as cells. A
cell is referenced by its row and column number. The first cell
at the upper left corner is referenced as A1. The active cell is
the one which is shown as a dark rectangle. This dark rectangle
represents the cursor. If you move the cursor keys the active
cell moves. You may also move the active cell by placing the
mouse pointer over the desired cell and clicking it. At the
bottom of the screen is a command line. There is a regular text
cursor in the command line. To enter commands or data you simply
type them on the command line. Nothing is entered to the
spreadsheet until you press the RETURN key. The spreadsheet has
been designed to facilitate variable creation. Since variables
are synonymous with columns many of the commands are column
based. The available commands are discused in the spreadsheet
help file.

To get started simply boot B/STAT. At the introductory two
questions simply click on OK. This is wastefull of space and will
not allow you to use GDOS if it is installed but what the heck.
You are now presented with the main menu screen of B/STAT. Place
the mouse over "Files" and click on create. You will be asked the
type of label to use. Unlike many programs B/STAT will pre create
the labels in a variety of styles. The easiest to use is the
style where you type it yourself. Simply place the mouse over the
first selection and click it. You are now at the spreadsheet.
Move the cursor till it is in the row labelled 1 and the column
which has the word "LABEL" above it. Type "BOB" and press RETURN.
The cursor moves automatically to row 2. Type "DOUG" and press
RETURN. Now type "LARRY" and press RETURN and then type "MOE" and
press RETURN. The spreadsheet cursor should now be in row 5. Move
the cursor to the cell marked "VAR 1". Do this with the cursor
keys or by clicking the mouse in that cell. Now type "ICE CREAM"
and RETURN. Next enter the following numbers with RETURN after
each one: 6,7,3,8. The cursor should now be in column "A" and row
5. Move the cursor to the cell marked "VAR 2". Type "HOT DOGS"
and press RETURN. Now enter the numbers 2,4,5,2 and press RETURN.
Now move the cursor up to the cell marked "VAR 3".Type "POP" and
press RETURN. Next enter the numbers 5,4,7,4 and press RETURN
after each. You have now entered 3 variables with four data
points in each. These represent the sales of four concessionaires
at a baseball game. Move the mouse until it covers the "Misc"
menu drop down. Click on "Graphs". You have now moved to the main
graphics menu where we will create a bar graph of this data.

The first stage in graphing the data is to set up the style of
Graph which we desire. The key drop down menu for this is the one
labelled "Settings". The key item is "Styles". Click on this now.
This dialog box determines what the basic graph will look like.
You may have lines points (markers) and bars. Note that all may
be on for any given variable.  We have three variables so we need
only set the values for these three. Move the mouse under "LINE"
and in the row for variable number 1. Click the mouse. Notice
that the setting changes from REG to STEP. This is a different
style of line as you can see by the form shown in the box under
"LINE STYLE". Click the mouse again and the indicator reads
"OFF". Do the same for the other 2 variables. Now move the mouse
under "BAR" and click on each to turn bars "ON" for each
variable.

The next step is to decide on the patterns for the bars. Move the
mouse under "FILL STYLE" and click on the patterns. As you click
the patterns will change. If you click on the right button as
opposed to the left the order of going through the pattern
reverses. If you are using a color monitor you can select the
color at this time as well.

When you are satisfied click on "OK". You will now be presented
with an identical screen. This covers settings for variables 7 to
12. As we are not going to be doing that much ploting simply
click on "OK".

Now under the "Settings" menu click on "Titles". You have a long
list of titles possible. The cursor rests on the first character
of the "Title". In this case we have not entered a title so the
cursor rests on a blank. Type in "CONCESSION SALES" and press
RETURN. The cursor moves to the next field. You could have
pressed the TAB key or the DOWN ARROW to achieve the same result.
Normally on an ST pressing RETURN on a dialog causes the "OK" or
other high lited button to be activated. I didn't do it because
in a situation where there are rows of data to be typed in I find
myself hitting RETURN and exiting, much to my annoyance. For the
subtitle enter "JULY 1992" and press RETURN. For the left axis
title enter "Dollars (000)" and for the X axis title enter
"SALESMAN". Now click on OK. For now don't worry about the other
lines, you can play with them later.

Next select the menu option "Title Fonts" under the "Settings"
menu. You must now choose a title type for which to set the font.
Select the "Title" by clicking on it. It will be darkened. Now
click on "OK". You will be presented with the font screen. You
can change the size of the font or its attributes. If you have
GDOS installed (it will not be used if you followed this example
exactly) you could change the font. When you are done click on
OK.

Now under GRAPH A select regular. Next click on each of the three
variables. A clustered bar graph of the data is now displayed.
This graph may be saved or printed from this menu. For now return
to the top menu by selecting it under "Misc". Lastly quit the
program and read the doc files taht came with the program.