Interactive analysis and display of tabular data

A program for simple data analysis and report design is described. The design emphasizes flexibility, ease of use, and rapid interactive response. These considerations are discussed in relation to the choices that may be made in the analysis and display design process. The analysis may be directed and monitored at several points - data selection and calibration, binning, choice of data scaling, choice of graphic variable, and scaling of the graphic variable. Table rows and columns can be re-organized by operators such as ranking, sequencing and grouping, and re-computed from arithmetic combinations of existing rows and columns. Where the raw data represents different cases scored over the same attributes, profile tables can be computed in a systematic fashion. Interactive report design is supported by a variety of page layout and chart annotation directives, which can be used to embellish and adjust the default line, bar and pie charts. The program can be used interactively as well as driven from a prepared script, and uses a device independent graphic system. Although intended to be used primarily with a graphics terminal, at least half the actual use has been conventional report generation on both alphanumeric and graphic terminals.