SYSTAT 7.0

This release of
SYSTAT (now owned by SPSS) comes with a host of features.
In addition to its exhaustive set of statistical
procedures and functions, this version also includes
Partially Ordered Sets (POSAC), Perceptual Mapping,
Probit, Signal Detection analysis, and few other modules.

Installation is smooth,
except for the long 29-digit license code you have to
input. It opens with four default windows–Main,
Graph, Data, and Command Editor. The main window is for
results and error messages. The menu bar has three main
dropdown lists, each for manipulating data, graphs, and
statistics. The data menu has commands to transform data
or assign values to a variable by applying an expression.
You can use any mathematical expression including
variables, numbers, functions, and operators. You can
also use complex expressions joined by logical operators
AND, OR, NOT to assign values to variables. If you want
to transpose data, you can do it with the click of a
button. Now, the original variable names are stored in a
new variable called label$.

The Data window is the
most important element of the software. This is the
spreadsheet where you input all your tabulated data in
rows and columns. Each row represents one case or one
record, and each column represents one variable, from the
data set. You can specify up to 32,000 variables, and
there is virtually no limit to the number of cases or
records. You can enter data directly into the spreadsheet
or import existing data from dBase, SPSS, Lotus 123,
Excel, ASCII text files, and a few other formats. You can
export data to different file formats using the Save As
option. While importing dBase files, field names become
variable names. In the case of spreadsheets, data from
the first row will become the variable name. The merge
command is a convenient way to combine variables or
records from multiple files for analysis.

Variable names can be upto
12 characters long and are not case-sensitive. A
character variable is represented by a dollar ($) sign at
the end of its name. Once you define a numeric variable,
it cannot be changed to character and vice versa. SYSTAT
data can either be numeric or character strings. Maximum
display width of data is only 12 characters. A character
string cannot exceed this length. SYSTAT can read,
calculate, and store numeric values with more than 12
digits, but these values are either rounded off or
expressed in the exponential form for display in the Data
window. The value label is a convenient way to associate
numeric data with character strings and vice versa for
better understanding.

The Graph window lists all
the graphs created through various statistical procedures
in a sequential order. You have limited control in terms
of graph editing. You can save the charts into BMP, CGM,
EPS, JPEG, PICT, WMF, and SYG (SYSTAT) formats. You can
cut and paste the graphs to change the order.

The Command Editor is
useful once you become familiar with its syntax. This
requires a bit of work. You can record all the commands
that are executed from the Command Editor window for
reuse later. The command log is a temporary file keeping
track of all the commands you initiated during your
current session. You can open, edit, save, and re-execute
all commands stored in the command log at any time during
a session.

Help in SYSTAT is
exhaustive, listing all procedures available. Help also
discusses briefly each statistical procedure and provides
cross-reference. However, organization of Help file could
do with improvements.

This software gives you
complete freedom and flexibility to manipulate your data
through different statistical procedures, and graphs and
plots.