Re: Need help/advice with NIST dataplot
Scott,
I'm replying to myself so that you can refer to what I've already
written while reading this newer text, below.
On 20101218_065145, Paul E Condon wrote:
> On 20101217_233118, Scott Howard wrote:
> > On Fri, Dec 17, 2010 at 8:05 PM, Aaron M. Ucko <amu@alum.mit.edu> wrote:
> > > Paul E Condon <pecondon@mesanetworks.net> writes:
> > >
> > >> First, maybe I don't need to compile from source --- Is there a
> > >> package for this in Debian? What is the package name?
> > >
> > > I see no sign of any existing package either, but it was a good thought
> > > to check first.
> >
> > Is there a desire/userbase for this package to be included in debian?
> > I have not used it, but can help work on it if this is something
> > interesting to users. (I've never made a fortran library package
> > before, could be interesting...)
> >
> > This is their license statement: "Open source software, as exemplified
> > by the GNU foundation, is becoming incresingly popular. Although
> > Dataplot does not explicitly utilize the GNU license, Dataplot has
> > always made the source code available (Dataplot is trade marked but
> > not copyrighted). Note that we place no restrictions on how you use
> > the source code. You are free to modify it for your own purposes and
> > are free to re-distribute it with your own applications. We
> > appreciate, but do not require, acknowledgement."
> >
> > And from [1]:
> > "Beyond the packages many of us have heard of, this week James
> > J. Filliben of the Statistical Engineering Division of the U.S. National
> > Institute of Standards (NIST) presented software continually developed since
> > they first introduced it in 1978 (yes, that's 20 years) [edit: make
> > that 30]. That software is
> > "DATAPLOT".
> >
> > Three people work on dataplot full time at NIST. They have 1 million lines of
> > code in the program, 17 MB of binaries, and 2000 pages of documentation. They
> > have 70 statistical distributions, probably more than the statistical bastions
> > SAS, SPSS and BMDP. They contain most every experimental design in Box and
> > Jenkins. Their software does Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA), time series
> > analysis, process control, reliability. Their front end is Tcl/Tk and they
> > have extensive graphics. This program is very popular at NIST."
> >
> >
> > Anyone have an opinion or experience with this?
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Scott
> >
> > [1] http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/1997/12/msg01129.html
>
> Scott,
> Thanks for this very enlightening link into the past. I discovered this
>
> http://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handbook/index.htm
>
> while doing a Google search for something else, and it looked to me to
> be an interesting alternative view of how statistics relates to the
> hard sciences. It mentions DATAPLOT (I remember that ancient era when
> all computer stuff was all caps.)
>
> I have never run dataplot, nor ever met someone who has used dataplot.
> So, it is hard for me to whole-heartedly endorse building a Debian
> package. But --- this might really be a REALLY GOOD THING. The
> handbook link, listed above, is to an actively maintained html
> document. I experienced some difficulty reading it because at several
> points, I used Google to look up parts I had just recently read, and
> Google presented pages from an earlier version that had been squirrled
> away somewhere in the cloud.
>
> After reading the stuff you found in debian-user/1997 I am highly
> motivated to get dataplot compiled and running here. And pretty
> confident that I will find it so useful that I will want to have
> access to a properly maintained Debian package.
>
> James J Fillinben, the author of dataplot, is referenced as actively
> engaged in statistical work at NIST in 1999, and may still be
> available for advice and consulting, but I haven't found explicit
> statement of his current whereabouts. He might be retired and relish
> the opportunity to help.
>
> Cheers.
> --
I've succeeded in compiling the main program, but I am foundering on
installing the supporting materials, including the Tcl/Tk GUI. I have
been looking for more detailed instructions for installing this
'extra' stuff, but so far not finding anything that is detailed enough
for me. Nothing that I have seen so far, indicates to me that Dataplot
is anything less than claimed. Since you have offered to package
Dataplot, could you, as a sort of practice problem, write a HowTo for
installing Dataplot from the existing down-loadable tar files? I am
having trouble deciding where to unpack stuff, and really basic issues
like that.
I think that both James Filliben and Alan Heckert are still active at
NIST:
james.filliben@nist.gov
alan.heckert@nist.gov
They should be able to answer intelligent questions. My problem is
with making up my own intelligent questions.
I've already emailed Alan asking for a HowTo, and haven't given him
enough time to respond. But I want to keep you interested in this,
because I think I will need a proper package eventually. (For the
transition to the version following Squeeze at the latest.)
You might just take a look at what is available on the web, thereby
giving Alan a chance to reply. It may be that you will find the
material there to be entirely adequate. But I really don't expect that
Alan's HowTo, will comply with Debian FHS, if it even exists.
Cheers,
Paul
--
Paul E Condon
pecondon@mesanetworks.net
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