#Intsalling pspp statistics license

If you’re in the market for an open source statistical package, there are two reasons PSPP should be on your short list: its new GUI, psppire, and its high degree of compatibility with SPSS syntax.įor many users, the newly introduced GUI is probably the most important new feature in the 0.6 series. It gives Linux a general purpose data analysis tool with the accessibility advantages of its proprietary cousin. PSPP: An open source alternativeĪs an open source alternative, PSPP 0.6 is an incomplete yet compelling product that should grab the attention of developers and end users alike. The cost and licensing provisions of SPSS create an opportunity for our community to develop an alternative.

#Intsalling pspp statistics license

Worse, the license is time-limited - in 2011 my legally purchased license of SPSS 11 will expire. Newer versions of SPSS work on Linux, thanks to the cross-platform magic of Java, but a fully enabled (non-student) license costs nearly $1,700, and annual maintenance costs an additional $425. As the expectations of programmers have evolved, SPSS has offered additional programmability through plugins and language enhancements. SPSS Syntax is an easy to use functional programming language designed specifically for data analysis. SPSS provides users with an interface that is remarkably similar to a spreadsheet, with which analysts can design complex data transforms or build mind-bogglingly detailed cross-tabs.Īlthough the GUI is one of the package’s killer features, SPSS also provides many opportunities for programmers to write scripts. Other statistical packages such as R (open source) and SAS (proprietary) are used almost exclusively by experienced programmers. SPSS’s intuitive GUI makes it accessible to users who have little or no programming experience. SPSS is a remarkable tool because it offers a robust programming language for the analysis of complex data and a user interface that gives less technical users unfettered access to the power of the underlying system. SPSS was originally designed for researchers in the social sciences but is now used in many other fields, and by analysts working for federal and state agencies, large corporations, and academia. SPSS: A proprietary standardīefore introducing you to PSPP, I want to introduce you to SPSS. Until they are released, if you want to try PSPP, you can compile the current version from source, or look on PSPP’s wiki to see if a volunteer has provided a binary for the distribution you’re using. Upcoming versions of Ubuntu, Fedora, and openSUSE include 0.6.0. Major distributions like Fedora and Ubuntu include PSPP in their package repositories, but today they include an outdated version. PSPP is an open-source clone of SPSS, one of the most commonly used proprietary statistical packages.

For projects involving complex research protocols, high-end statistical analysis tools such as SPSS and SAS are useful, but they come with high price tags and proprietary licenses. But, this information is completely useless unless we are able to find and understand the relationships and trends hidden in these mountains. Today’s information systems give organizations and governments the ability to collect and access metaphorical mountains of information.