🚀 go-pugleaf

This message is an update for those of you who followed my saga
re: S and statistical routines.  We have definitely decided to
go the route of integrating S and BMDP.  We have source of both
packages on site (we are an educational institution) and we are
in the process of deciding what statistics we need, and in which
package they currently reside.

When our system is totally in place it will work somewhat as follows:

Patients will be entered into the database when they are scheduled
for appointments.  Results of all tests and procedures are entered
screen forms into the database.  A generalized functional query
language will be used to extract subsets of data from the database.
This data will then be stored as an S dataset.  S (with integrated
BMDP statistics) will be used for analysis and graphics.  The new
troff (with PIC) will be used to write abstracts and research papers.
The database, by the way, is a home-grown system (essentially multi-key
indeces) written in C.

How's that for a unix based research environment?

I will let you all know how things progress.  The two missing pieces
now are the query language and integrated S/BMDP.

					aron shtull-trauring
					harpo!seismo!presby!aron