Abstract
BackgroundTwo-dimensional data needs to be processed and analysed in almost any experimental laboratory. Some tasks in this context may be performed with generic software such as spreadsheet programs which are available ubiquitously, others may require more specialised software that requires paid licences. Additionally, more complex software packages typically require more time by the individual user to understand and operate. Practical and convenient graphical data analysis software in Java with a user-friendly interface are rare.ResultsWe have developed SDAR, a Java application to analyse two-dimensional data with an intuitive graphical user interface. A smart ASCII parser allows import of data into SDAR without particular format requirements. The centre piece of SDAR is the Java class GraphPanel which provides methods for generic tasks of data visualisation. Data can be manipulated and analysed with respect to the most common operations experienced in an experimental biochemical laboratory. Images of the data plots can be generated in SVG-, TIFF- or PNG-format. Data exported by SDAR is annotated with commands compatible with the Grace software.ConclusionSince SDAR is implemented in Java, it is truly cross-platform compatible. The software is easy to install, and very convenient to use judging by experience in our own laboratories. It is freely available to academic users at http://www.structuralchemistry.org/pcsb/. To download SDAR, users will be asked for their name, institution and email address. A manual, as well as the source code of the GraphPanel class can also be downloaded from this site.
Highlights
Two-dimensional data needs to be processed and analysed in almost any experimental laboratory
Based on Java classes developed within our Program Collection for Structural Biology and Biophysical Chemistry [2], we set out to design a simple-to-use and portable Java application for Serial Data Analysis and Regression (SDAR), which enables graphical visualisation, transformation and fitting of two-dimensional data
A new tabbed panel is added with the name of the set showing as label in the tab. These latter panels show the spreadsheet format of the dataset, comprising of the x-y-data in the first columns, as well as any data derived from analysis in SDAR in the following columns
Summary
The main panel tabbed Graph shows graphical x-y-plots of the current datasets. At the bottom of these panels, two functions are provided: Close will delete this dataset from the current session, Save writes the current dataset to an ASCII file compatible with the format of the program Grace; data derived from analysis in SDAR will be saved as remarks (indicated by #) at the top of the file. This class provides a versatile tool for plotting any two-dimensional data either as symbol or line graphs. All graphical features such as line cursors, zoom and integration windows, etc. In contrast to the purely number-based handling of curve fitting and data transformations in other software, SDAR offers a graphical manipulation feature where possible, enabling a visual interaction and assessment of the user with the plotted data. There is an option Export to Grace which will save all current data series in a Grace-compatible input file
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