Splat! FAQ v2.0
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1. What is Splat?
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Splat! is a multi-function data-analysis program. It was designed to be a easy
to use tool for preliminary analysis of data. As such, there is no output 
formatting. Splat! has a very simple command interface, plotting a set of data
usually requires just two commands: READ filename.ext and PLOT.


2. Splat!'s AVERAGE function doesn't give me the same std. dev. as my calculator!
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In form 3, when Splat! averages data it places the mean value in the Y variable,
and the uncertainity in the mean of Y in the S variable. The uncertainity in the 
mean of Y is related to the standard deviation by a square root of N. To have
Splat! calculate the standard deviation, use AVG/SD.


3. Can I run Splat! with my computer/operating system?
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Probably. Versions of Splat! exist for (1) MS-DOS [works also for Win 3.x,
Win 9x], (2) 32bit Windows [Win 95 and beyond], and (3) Linux. For the
Linux version the graphical output is saved as an HPGL file and hp2xx is 
used to display the results in an X-window.


4. Can I use Splat! for evil?
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No. Splat uses the ANSI ERP 2.3 (Evil Recognition Protocol) system to detect
when Splat! is being used for evil. If evil is detected, Splat! will then 
intentionally generate garbage output in an attempt to foil your dastardly plan.
Note that ERP 2.3 does have a tendency to generate many type II errors 
(believing you are up to evil when you are actually doing good). As a result,
Splat! can often give you the wrong answers for no good reason.


5. What is Splat!'s history?
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The first version of Splat! came out in the summer of 1992. It was written 
in Fortran-77 running on a MircoVAX II system with a VT-52 text terminal. Over
the years, many new features were added to Splat!, including output routines 
for graphics terminals and plotters. A version of Splat! was also exported to
a NeXT computer running UNIX. In 1995 a version of Splat! was exported to the
IBM PC platform running Microsoft Fortran Powerstation. The current version of
Splat! is a direct decendent of the PC flavor. In 2002 Splat! was also recompiled
on a PC running Linux. In 2004 version 4 of Splat! was introduced with enhanced
cross compatability across the DOS, Linux and new Win32 platforms.


6. Who wrote Splat! ?
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Splat! was written by John Boffard. The numerical processing routines (fitting, 
sorting...) are from Numerical Recipes (1st ed). The MATH function is an adaption
of a an example in Fortran 77 for Engineers and Scientists. 

Splat! is not associated with any organization or corporation. Any similarity
in name or appearance is incidental (except for the sound splat).


7. What are these HandleTEMPORARY files?
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Crap left over from Windows, due to a bad Windows compatible Fortran complier.