<chapter id="workingwithdata">
<title>Working With Data</title>

<sect1 id="fileformats">
<title>Supported File Formats</title>
<para>
Currently, Kst supports ASCII text files, BOOMERANG frame files, and BLAST dirfile
files as data sources, as well as PIOLib and FITS files with the appropriate libraries.
This section describes basic data source concepts common to all file types, and
specifically details the ASCII and BLAST dirfile file types.
</para>

<sect2 id="supportingadditionalfileformatsdatasourceconcepts">
<title>Data Source Concepts</title>
<para>
A data source in &kst; is simply a supported data file.
The following concepts are important in understanding how &kst; works with
different data sources.
Some terminology is also introduced in this section.
</para>

<sect3 id="supportingadditionalfileformatsdatasourceconceptssamples">
<title>Samples</title>
<para>
A sample is considered to be the fundamental unit with respect to data files.
Each sample consists of one data value in the file.  Note, however, that one sample
may not correspond to one value in a data vector in &kst;, due to the concept of
<link linkend="supportingadditionalfileformatsdatasourceconceptsframes">frames</link>.
</para>
</sect3>

<sect3 id="supportingadditionalfileformatsdatasourceconceptsfields">
<title>Fields</title>
<para>
A field usually corresponds to one vector in &kst;.  For example, a column in an
ASCII data file is considered to be one field.  Each field can have an explicit
or implicit name.  Datasource readers provide functions for reading and obtaining
fields and field names.
</para>
</sect3>

<sect3 id="supportingadditionalfileformatsdatasourceconceptsframes">
<title>Frames</title>
<para>
A frame corresponds to a set number of samples, and each field in a data file
can have its own ratio of samples per frame.  The size of a data file
is measured by the number of frames it contains.  For ASCII data files, the number of samples
per frame is 1, but for some data files, there may be multiple samples per frame.  In the below
illustration, the first 3 frames of an imaginary data file are shown.  In this particular data
file, Field 1 has a ratio of 5 samples per frame, Field 2 has a ratio of 2 samples per frame,
Field 3 has a ratio of 3 samples per frame, and Field 4 has a ratio of 1 sample per frame.
</para>
<para>
<inlinemediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="Diagram-kst-frames.png" format="PNG"/>
</imageobject>
</inlinemediaobject>
</para>
<para>
Depending on the specific data vector settings in &kst;, data from files may be read as
frames instead of samples, with either the first sample in a frame or the mean of all the samples in a frame
representing the value of the frame.
</para>
</sect3>

<sect3 id="supportingadditionalfileformatsdatasourceconceptsindex">
<title>INDEX Field</title>
<para>
Some data files may not have a field that represents the x axis of a plot. However, &kst;
implicitly creates an INDEX field for all data sources.  The INDEX field simply contains
integers from 0 to N-1, where N is the number of frames in the data file.
</para>
</sect3>

</sect2>

<sect2 id="creatingascii">
<title>ASCII Input Files</title>
<para>
The simplest input file format is the ASCII text file.  These files are usually human-readable and
can be easily created by hand or simple scripts if desired.  The following is an example of an ASCII input file.
</para>

<informalexample>
<screen>
112.5 3776 428
187.5 5380 429
262.5 5245 345
337.5 2942 184
412.5 1861 119
487.5 2424 138
567.5 2520 162
637.5 1868 144
712.5 1736 211
787.5 1736 211
862.5 2172 292
937.5 1174 377
1000.5 499 623
</screen>
</informalexample>

<para>
Each column of this file represents a field, while each row represents one frame.
Columns are separated by tabs or spaces, and rows are separated by carriage returns.
Note that due to their structure, ASCII files cannot have multiple samples per frame.
Also, since the columns do not have labels, field names are assigned by &kst; based on the
order of the columns (the leftmost column has a field name of <literal>1</literal>).
</para>

<para>
Commented lines in ASCII files start with one of the characters in the set
<literal>{#, !, /, ;, c}</literal>.  All commented lines and empty lines
are ignored by &kst;.  Valid numbers include those with decimals, negative signs,
or <literal>e</literal>, to indicate scientific notation. Invalid numbers (such as
english words) are replaced with 0 by &kst;.
</para>

</sect2>


<sect2 id="blastdirfiles">
<title>BLAST Dirfiles</title>
<para>
BLAST dirfile data sources are actually directories of files.  Each directory represents
one data source, and each file in the directory, with the exception of a file called
<filename>format</filename>, represents a single field. The file named <filename>format</filename>
lists each field and its properties.  Below is example of such a file:
</para>
<informalexample>
<screen>scount RAW f 1
fcount RAW f 20
sine RAW f 20
ssine RAW f 1
cos RAW f 20</screen>
</informalexample>
<para>
In this example, <literal>scount</literal>, <literal>fcount</literal>, <literal>sine</literal>,
<literal>ssine</literal>, and <literal>cos</literal> are field names.  <literal>RAW</literal> indicates
the file is written in raw format, and the last number in each row is the number of samples per frame.
</para>

<para>
When selecting a BLAST dirfile for use in &kst;, the directory containing the field files should be
selected. &kst; will when automatically look for a <filename>format</filename> file, if it exists,
to determine the fields and their properties.
</para>

</sect2>
</sect1>

<sect1 id="datawizard">
<title>The Data Wizard</title>
<para>
The Data Wizard provides a quick and easy way of creating vectors, curves, power spectra, and plots in &kst; from data files.
  To launch the wizard,
select <guimenuitem>Data Wizard...</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>Data</guimenu> menu.  You will be
prompted to select a data source.  Browse to a valid data file (or enter in the path to a data file) and
click <guibutton>Next</guibutton>.  The following window will be displayed.
</para>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Data Wizard Screen 2</screeninfo>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="Screenshot-kst-datawizard2.png" format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Data Wizard Screen 2</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>

<para>
Select the fields you wish to import into &kst;.  You may filter the list of fields by entering a
string to match (wildcards such as <literal>*</literal> are supported) into the text box above the list.
</para>

<para>
The <guilabel>Data Range</guilabel> section is used to specify the range of data to read from the selected
vectors in the input file. The following discussion assumes knowledge of <quote>frames</quote>.  For a detailed
description of this concept, see <link linkend="fileformats">File Formats</link>.
</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Starting frame</guilabel>, <guilabel>Count from end</guilabel>,
<guilabel>Number of frames</guilabel>, and <guilabel>Read to end</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Using these four settings, the lower and upper boundaries of
the data range can be set. For example, to read from frame 10 to frame 900, enter <userinput>10</userinput> for
<guilabel>Starting frame</guilabel> and <userinput>890</userinput> for <guilabel>Number of frames</guilabel>.
To read from frame 500 to the end of the file, enter <userinput>500</userinput> for <guilabel>Starting frame</guilabel>
and select the <guilabel>Read to end</guilabel> option. To read only the last 450 frames from the file, select the
<guilabel>Count from end</guilabel> option and enter <userinput>450</userinput> for <guilabel>Number of frames</guilabel>.
The combinations used in the previous two examples are often useful for reading data
from a file that is being updated in real time.  Subsequent additions to the file are read, causing associated
vectors to be updated as well.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Read 1 sample per N frames</guilabel> and <guilabel>Boxcar filter first</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
In addition to the lower and upper range boundaries, the samples to read from the selected range can be set.
If <guilabel>Read 1 sample per N frames</guilabel> (where N is the entered value) is not selected,
all samples in the selected range will be read.
Alternatively, frames in the data file can be skipped by selecting <guilabel>Read 1 sample per N frames</guilabel>
The value of the 1 sample that is used to represent a frame depends on whether or not
<guilabel>Boxcar filter first</guilabel> is selected.  If <guilabel>Boxcar filter first</guilabel> is not selected,
the value is the same as the value of the 1st sample in the frame. If <guilabel>Boxcar filter first</guilabel>
is selected, the value is the mean (average) of all the samples in that particular frame.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>



<para>
Power Spectrum and X axis settings can be specified within the <guilabel>Plot Types</guilabel> section.
These settings are described below.
</para>

<variablelist>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>XY</guilabel>, <guilabel>Power Spectrum</guilabel>, and <guilabel>XY and Power Spectrum</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Select whether to plot the power spectrum only, data (XY) only, or both.  If the power spectrum is selected for
plotting, additional settings in this section become available.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>X Axis Vector</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The vector to be used as the independent vector for the plots.  You may select a field from your
data file, or the INDEX vector.  The INDEX
vector is simply a vector containing elements from 0 to N-1, where N is the number of frames in the
data file.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

</variablelist>

<para>
The <guilabel>FFT Options</guilabel> subsection
 in the <guilabel>Plot Types</guilabel> section is available only if a power spectrum
is to be plotted.  The below definitions assume basic knowledge of power spectra&mdash;for further details,
refer to Numerical Recipes in C: The Art of Scientific Computing, published by Cambridge University Press.
</para>

<variablelist>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Interleaved average</guilabel> and <guilabel>FFT Length</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The power spectrum is defined as <quote>the square root of the absolute value of the
mean of the interleaved Fast Fourier Transforms of length <literal>2^x</literal></quote>, where x is the
value entered in the <guilabel>FFT Length</guilabel> selection box.
Selecting <guilabel>Interleaved average</guilabel> allows the length of the interleaved Fast Fourier
Transforms to be specified.  If <guilabel>Interleaved average</guilabel> is unchecked, &kst;
will determine the length based on the length of the vector.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Data units</guilabel> and <guilabel>Rate units</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The units specified in these textboxes are used for the purpose of auto-generating axes labels for the plots.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guibutton>Sample rate</guibutton>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The sample rate is used to generate the X axis of power spectrum plots.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Appodize</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
If this option is selected, the data is appodized using a Hanning window, to reduce bin-to-bin leakage.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Remove Mean</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Select this option to remove the mean from the selected data (i.e. translate the data so that the mean is zero).
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<para>
Once you are satisfied with all the settings, click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> to advance to the next window.
Select any filters you wish to apply to the data, and click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> to advance to the final
window.
</para>

<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Data Wizard Screen 3</screeninfo>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="Screenshot-kst-datawizard3.png" format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Data Wizard Screen 3</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>

<para>
From here, you can change general plotting settings.  Most of the settings are self-explanatory.
A brief overview of each section is provided below.
</para>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Curve Style</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Select whether to plot data points only, lines connecting the data points only, or both.
By default, lines are continuous with weight 0, and data points are marked using crosses.
Line and data point colours are chosen so that curves with identical colours are minimized.
Note that the curve style settings apply to both Power Spectra
and XY plots.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>



<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Curve Placement</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Select the plots to place the new curves on.  <guilabel>Cycle through</guilabel> distributes the
curves on the plots by cycling through the plots.  Note that the curve placement settings apply
to both Power Spectra and XY plots.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Label Generation</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Select the desired labels and legends to be placed on the plots.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Plot Placement</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Select the desired window(s) to place the new plots on.  New windows can be created for the plots by selecting
<guilabel>In new window</guilabel>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

</variablelist>

<para>
Once you are satisfied with all the settings, click <guibutton>Finish</guibutton> and the plots will be generated.
</para>

</sect1>

<sect1 id="datamanager">
<title>The Data Manager</title>
<para>
The Data Manager provides a central location for adding, deleting, and modifying all the data objects used in &kst;.
It can be accessed by selecting <guimenuitem>Data Manager</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>Data</guimenu> menu.
</para>
<sect2 id="creatingdata">
<title>Creating New Data Objects</title>
<para>
To create a new data object from the Data Manager, click on one of the buttons listed under <guilabel>New:</guilabel>.
A new window will be displayed, allowing options and settings for the data object to be set.</para>

<tip><para>You can also create new curves by right-clicking on a vector and choosing
<guimenuitem>Make Curve...</guimenuitem></para></tip>

<para>
Since you are creating a new data object, you may enter a unique name to identify the object.  The default name
can be used as well (if it is unique).
</para>
<para>
The settings for all plottable data objects except images have two common sections&mdash;Appearance and Placement
(images only have the Placement section).
These sections are described below.  For data-specific settings, see <link linkend="datatypes">Data Types</link>.
</para>
<screenshot>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="Screenshot-kst-curveoptions.png" format="PNG"/>
</imageobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>

<sect3 id="curveappearance">
<title>Appearance</title>
<para>
The Appearance section allows you to change the appearance of the data object when it is plotted.
</para>

<variablelist>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="Widget-kst-colourchooser.png" format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Clicking this button displays a colour chooser dialog box, which can be used to change the colour of
both the lines and points.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Show points</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Selecting this checkbox shows the data points used to plot the data object.  The drop-down list to the right
allows the shape of the points to be changed.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Show lines</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Selecting this checkbox shows the lines joining the data points for the data object.  The thickness of the line
as well as the line style can be changed.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

</variablelist>


</sect3>

<sect3 id="curveplacement">
<title>Placement</title>
<para>
The Placement section specifies the plotting location of new plottable data objects.
</para>

<variablelist>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Plot window</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Specify the window in which to plot the data object.  You may create a new window by clicking the <guibutton>New...</guibutton> button.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Place in existing plot</guilabel>, <guilabel>Place in new plot</guilabel>
and <guilabel>Do not place in any plot</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
You can choose whether or not to immediately plot the data object on a new or existing plot.  If
<guilabel>Place in new plot</guilabel> is selected, you can also choose to re-arrange the layout of the
plots by selecting <guilabel>re-grid</guilabel> and entering the number of columns to use for the
new layout grid.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>

</term>
<listitem>
<para>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

</variablelist>

<para>
Once all the desired settings for the new data object have been set, click the <guibutton>OK</guibutton>
button to create the new data object.
</para>

</sect3>

</sect2>

<sect2 id="editinganddeletingdata">
<title>Editing and Deleting Existing Data Objects</title>
<para>
To edit an existing data object, simply highlight it in the Data Manager window and click the <guibutton>Edit</guibutton>
button.  The settings window for the selected object will be displayed.  This window is identical to the one displayed
when creating new data objects (with the exception that the Placement section may be absent), so refer to <link linkend="creatingdata">Creating New Data Objects</link> for more information
on the settings and options.
</para>
<para>
To delete a data object, highlight it in the Data Manager window and click the <guibutton>Delete</guibutton> button.
Note that the entry in the <guilabel># Used</guilabel> column for an object must be 0 before the object can be
deleted.  The <guilabel># Used</guilabel> column indicates the number of times that a particular data object and its children
(if any) are used by either other data object or by plots.
Listed below are some consequences of this restriction to keep in mind when attempting to delete data objects.
</para>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
All plottable objects (curves, equations, histograms, power spectra, and images) must be removed from plots before they can be
deleted.  An object can be removed from a plot by right-clicking on it in the Data Manager window and selecting the desired
plot from the <guisubmenu>Remove From Plot</guisubmenu> submenu.
</para>
</listitem>

<listitem>
<para>
All data objects that use a particular data vector must be deleted before the data vector can be deleted.
</para>
</listitem>

<listitem>
<para>
All children of a parent data object must be unused before the parent data object can be deleted.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<para>
After a sequence of deletions and removals of plottable data objects from plots, you may find that there are numerous unused data objects
displayed in the Data Manager.  To quickly remove these objects, you can click the <guibutton>Purge</guibutton> button.
</para>



</sect2>

</sect1>

<sect1 id="datatypes">
<title>Data Types</title>

<para>
There are nine main types of data objects in &kst;.  Data objects can contain other data objects,
as represented by the tree structure view in the
Data Manager.  The following diagram illustrates the relationships between the different data types.
</para>

<para>
<inlinemediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="Diagram-kst-datatypes.png" format="PNG"/>
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>&kst; Data Types</phrase>
</textobject>
</inlinemediaobject>
</para>

<para>
As can be seen from the above diagram, the curve, equation, histogram, power spectrum and image data objects
are the only data objects that are plottable.  All data objects (other than vectors) have the capability of
using vectors, while equations, power spectra, events, and plugins all contain slave vectors.
</para>

<para>
Descriptions of each data type are provided below, along with overviews of the settings and options
available when creating or editing each type of data object.  Settings common to almost all data types have been
omitted&mdash;see <link linkend="creatingdata">Creating New Data Objects</link> for more information.
</para>

<sect2 id="vectors">
<title>Vectors</title>
<para>
Vectors are one of the most often-used data objects in &kst;.  As their name implies, vectors are simply ordered
lists of numbers.  Most often they contain the x or y coordinates of a set of data points.
</para>
<para>
As vectors can be potentially quite large, it is a good idea to be aware of the amount of memory &kst; has
allocated for use.  The current available memory is displayed in the lower right corner of the status bar
of the main &kst; window.
</para>
<tip>
<para>
If the status bar is not available, ensure that <guimenuitem>Show Statusbar</guimenuitem> is checked
in the <guimenu>Settings</guimenu> menu.
</para>
</tip>

<para>
The following is a screenshot of the window displayed when creating or editing vectors.  Explanations of the
settings are listed below.
</para>

<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Edit Vectors</screeninfo>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="Screenshot-kst-vectorwindow.png" format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Edit Vectors</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>

<sect3 id="datavectorparameters">
<title>Data Vector Parameters</title>
<para>
The source file and field to read can be set using the following options.
</para>
<variablelist>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>File name</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The path to the desired data file.  Clicking the button to the right displays a file browser
window that can be used to graphically browse to the file.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Field or column</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The field or column to create a vector from.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</sect3>

<sect3 id="datarange">
<title>Data Range</title>
<para>
This section specifies the range of data to use from the selected field for the data vector.
</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Starting frame</guilabel>, <guilabel>Count from end</guilabel>,
<guilabel>Number of frames</guilabel>, and <guilabel>Read to end</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Using these four settings, the lower and upper boundaries of
the data range can be set. For example, to read from frame 10 to frame 900, enter <userinput>10</userinput> for
<guilabel>Starting frame</guilabel> and <userinput>890</userinput> for <guilabel>Number of frames</guilabel>.
To read from frame 500 to the end of the file, enter <userinput>500</userinput> for <guilabel>Starting frame</guilabel>
and select the <guilabel>Read to end</guilabel> option. To read only the last 450 frames from the file, select the
<guilabel>Count from end</guilabel> option and enter <userinput>450</userinput> for <guilabel>Number of frames</guilabel>.
The combinations used in the previous two examples are often useful for reading data
from a file that is being updated in real time.  Subsequent additions to the file are read, causing associated
vectors to be updated as well.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Read 1 sample per</guilabel> and <guilabel>Boxcar filter first</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
In addition to the lower and upper range boundaries, the samples to read from the selected range can be set.
If <guilabel>Read 1 sample per</guilabel> is not selected, all samples in the selected range will be read.
If <guilabel>Read 1 sample per</guilabel> is selected, only 1 sample per <literal>N</literal> frames will be read,
where <literal>N</literal> is the number entered in selection box to the right.
The value of the 1 sample that is used to represent a frame depends on whether or not
<guilabel>Boxcar filter first</guilabel> is selected.  If <guilabel>Boxcar filter first</guilabel> is not selected,
the value is the same as the value of the 1st sample in the frame. If <guilabel>Boxcar filter first</guilabel>
is selected, the value is the mean (average) of all the samples in that particular frame.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>

</sect3>
</sect2>

<sect2 id="curves">
<title>Curves</title>
<para>
Curves are primarily used to create plottable objects from vectors.  Curves are created from two vectors - an <quote>X axis vector</quote> and a <quote>Y axis vector</quote>, that presumably provide a set of data points.  Thus, a curve can be thought
of as a set of data points and the lines that connect them (even though the points or lines may not be visible on plots).
</para>
<para>
The following is a screenshot of the window displayed when creating or editing curves.  Explanations of the
settings are listed below.
</para>

<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Edit Curves</screeninfo>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="Screenshot-kst-curvewindow.png" format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Edit Curves</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>

<sect3 id="curvecontents">
<title>Curve Contents</title>
<para>
The contents of the curve can be set from this section.
</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>X axis vector</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The vector to use for the independent (horizontal) axis.
</para>
</listitem>

</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Y axis vector</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The vector to use for the dependent (vertical) axis.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>X error bar</guilabel> and <guilabel>Y error bar</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The vectors containing error values corresponding to the X axis vector and Y axis vector, respectively.
The vectors should contain the sizes of the error bars in the same order as the data points.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

</variablelist>
</sect3>
</sect2>

<sect2 id="equations">
<title>Equations</title>
<para>
An equation data object consists of a mathematical expression and an independent variable.  The expression
is built using a combination of scalars, vectors, and operators, and usually represents the values of the
dependent variable.  The independent variable can be an existing vector or it can be generated when the equation
object is created or edited.  Since an equation ultimately consists of a set of data points, an equation object
is plottable.
</para>
<para>
The following is a screenshot of the window displayed when creating or editing equations.  Explanations of the
settings are listed below.
</para>

<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Edit Equation</screeninfo>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="Screenshot-kst-equationwindow.png" format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Edit Equation</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>

<sect3 id="equation">
<title>Equation</title>
<para>
The mathematical expression representing the dependent variable can be modified from this section.
</para>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Operators</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
A list of available operators.  Choosing an operator from the list inserts the operator at the current
insertion point in the <guilabel>Equation</guilabel> text box.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Vectors</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
A list of the current vector objects in &kst;.  Choosing a vector from the list inserts the vector at the current
insertion point in the <guilabel>Equation</guilabel> text box.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Scalars</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
A list of the available scalar values.  This list is composed of both the scalar values in the current &kst;
session as well as some built-in constants.  Choosing a scalar from the list inserts the scalar at the current
insertion point in the <guilabel>Equation</guilabel> text box.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Equation</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The mathematical expression representing the independent variable.  You may manually type in this text box or
you may select items to insert using the above drop-down lists.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="independentvariable">
<title>Independent Variable</title>
<para>
This section is used to specify the source of the values for the independent variable.
</para>
<variablelist>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Use</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Select this option to use an existing vector as the independent variable. Select a vector from the
drop-down list, or quickly create a new one by clicking the button to the right.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Interpolate to highest resolution vector</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Selecting this option interpolates the selected vector to the greatest number of samples possible.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Generate</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Select this to generate a set of values to use as the independent variable. Specify the lowest value
to generate in the <guilabel>From</guilabel> field, and the highest value to generate in the <guilabel>to</guilabel> field.
Set the value for <guilabel>Number of samples</guilabel> to be the number of equally spaced values to generate between the
lowest value and the highest value (inclusive).
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

</variablelist>
</sect3>

</sect2>

<sect2 id="Histograms">
<title>Histograms</title>
<para>
A histogram data object simply represents a histogram of a particular vector.  Histogram objects are plottable.
</para>
<para>
The following is a screenshot of the window displayed when creating or editing histograms.  Explanations of the
settings are listed below.
</para>

<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Edit Equation</screeninfo>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="Screenshot-kst-histogramwindow.png" format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Edit Equation</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>

<sect3 id="histogramproperties">
<title>Histogram Properties</title>
<para>
The source vector, as well as basic histogram properties, can be modified from this section.
You can either manually specify settings or use the <guibutton>Auto Bin</guibutton> button.
</para>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Data vector</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The data vector to create the histogram from.  Although a vector is needed to create a histogram, the
vector is treated as an unordered set for the purposes of creating a histogram.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>From</guilabel> and <guilabel>to</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The <guilabel>From</guilabel> field contains the left bound for the leftmost bin in the histogram.
The <guilabel>to</guilabel> field contains the right bound for the rightmost bin in the histogram.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Num bins</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Enter the total number of bins to use in the <guilabel>Num bins</guilabel> field.

</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guibutton>Auto Bin</guibutton>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Instead of specifying values for <guilabel>From</guilabel>, <guilabel>to</guilabel>, and
<guilabel>Num bins</guilabel>, you can click <guibutton>Auto Bin</guibutton> to automatically generate
values for all three fields based based on the lowest and highest values, as well as the number
of elements found in the source vector.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

</variablelist>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="yaxisnormalization">
<title>Y Axis Normalization</title>
<para>
This section is used to specify the type of normalization used for the y axis of the histogram.
</para>
<variablelist>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Number in bin</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Selecting this option causes the y axis to represent the number of elements in each bin.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Fraction in bin</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Selecting this option causes the y axis to represent the fraction of elements in each bin
out of the total number of elements.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Percent in bin</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Selecting this option causes the y axis to represent the percentage of elements (out of the total
number of elements) in each bin.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Peak bin = 1.0</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Selecting this option causes the y axis to represent the number of elements in each bin divided by
the number of elements in the largest bin (the bin with the greatest number of elements).  In other words,
the y axis is normalized to 1.0.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

</variablelist>
</sect3>


</sect2>

<sect2 id="PowerSpectra">
<title>Power Spectra</title>
<para>
A power spectrum data object represents the power spectrum of a vector, defined as
<quote>the square root of the absolute value of the
mean of the interleaved Fast Fourier Transforms of length <literal>2^x</literal> of the vector</quote>, where x is the
value entered in the <guilabel>FFT Length</guilabel> selection box. The below definitions assume
basic knowledge of power spectra&mdash;for further details,
refer to Numerical Recipes in C: The Art of Scientific Computing, published by Cambridge University Press.
</para>

<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Power Spectra Window</screeninfo>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="Screenshot-kst-powerspectrawindow.png" format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Power Spectra Window</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>

<sect3 id="powerspectracurvecontents">
<title>Curve Contents</title>
<para>
The source vector, as well as basic power spectrum properties, can be modified from this section.
</para>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Data vector</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The data vector to create a power spectrum from.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Interleaved average</guilabel> and <guilabel>FFT Length</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Selecting <guilabel>Interleaved average</guilabel> allows the length of the interleaved Fast Fourier
Transforms to be specified.  The length is specified as a power of 2.
  If <guilabel>Interleaved average</guilabel> is unchecked, &kst;
will determine the length based on the length of the vector.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Data units</guilabel> and <guilabel>Rate units</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The units specified in these textboxes are used for the purpose of auto-generating axes labels for the plots.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guibutton>Sample rate</guibutton>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The sample rate is used to generate the X axis of power spectrum plots.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Appodize</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
If this option is selected, the data is appodized using a Hanning window, to reduce bin-to-bin leakage.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Remove Mean</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Select this option to remove the mean from the selected data (i.e. translate the data so that the mean is zero).
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

</variablelist>
</sect3>

</sect2>

<sect2 id="plugins">
<title>Plugins</title>
<para>
A plugin data object represents a &kst; plugin.  All plugins have a common format, and show up as type <quote>Plugin</quote>
in the Data Manager.  For more information about plugins, please see <link linkend="pluginsandfilters">Plugins and Filters</link>
</para>
</sect2>

<sect2 id="events">
<title>Event Monitors</title>
<para>
An event monitor data object represents an instance of an event monitor.  For more information on monitoring of events, see
<link linkend="eventmonitoring">Event Monitoring</link>.
</para>
</sect2>


<sect2 id="arrays">
<title>Matrices</title>
<para>
A matrix represents a set of three-dimensional data points (x, y, z) arranged in a two-dimensional grid.
The z values of the matrix are obtained from a vector, and the grid structure is manually specified using
the Edit or New Matrix dialog.  The descriptions below refer to the following diagram depicting
&kst;'s matrix structure.
</para>
<para>
<inlinemediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="Diagram-kst-matrix.png" format="PNG"/>
</imageobject>
</inlinemediaobject>
</para>
<para>
A screenshot and explanation of the matrix dialog follow.
</para>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Matrix Window</screeninfo>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="Screenshot-kst-matrixwindow.png" format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Matrix Window</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>

<sect3 id="arrayvectorselection">
<title>Vector Selection</title>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Z Vector</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The data vector to obtain the z values from.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</sect3>

<sect3 id="arraygridparameters">
<title>Grid Parameters</title>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>X Minimum</guilabel> and <guilabel>Y Minimum</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The origin of the matrix is specified by the coordinates (X Minimum, Y Minimum).
The location of the origin is represented by a red circle in the above diagram.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>X Step Size</guilabel> and <guilabel>Y Step Size</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
These two values specify the dimensions of each rectangular cell in the matrix grid. All cells
in the matrix have identical dimensions.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Dimensions</guilabel> and <guilabel>Use maximum x length</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Enter the number of steps for the x dimension of the matrix, followed by the number of
steps for the y dimension of the matrix.  If <guilabel>Use maximum x length</guilabel> is
checked, the x dimension of the matrix will be determined based on the length of the vector
and the entered y dimension.  If this option is checked and the length of the vector
subsequently changes, the x dimension of the matrix will be updated accordingly.
</para>
<para>
Note that the minimum allowed y dimension is 1, while the minimum allowed x dimension is 0.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</sect3>

</sect2>

<sect2 id="images">
<title>Images</title>
<para>
Images are graphical representations of <link linkend="arrays">Matrices</link>.  Images can be plotted
as color maps, contour maps, or both.
</para>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Image Window</screeninfo>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="Screenshot-kst-imagewindow.png" format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Image Window</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>

<sect3 id="imagearrayselection">
<title>Matrix Selection</title>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Matrix</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Select the matrix to use for this image.  New matrices can be created by clicking on the button to the right.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</sect3>

<sect3 id="imageimagetype">
<title>Image Type</title>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Color Map</guilabel>, <guilabel>Contour Map</guilabel>, and <guilabel>Color Map and Contour Map</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Select the type of image to be plotted. Changing this selection enables or disables sections of the image dialog
as appropriate.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</sect3>

<sect3 id="imagecolormapparameters">
<title>Color Map Parameters</title>
<para>
A color map represents the z value of each cell in the matrix using a color. This section is only available
if <guilabel>Color Map</guilabel> or <guilabel>Color Map and Contour Map</guilabel> is selected under
<guilabel>Image Type</guilabel>.
</para>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Color palette</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Select the color palette to use for the color map. By default, two palettes suitable for color maps are installed
by &kst;&mdash;Kst Grayscale 256 (a 256 color grayscale palette) and Kst Spectrum 1021 (a 1021 color rainbow
spectrum that ranges from blue to red). Additional palettes can be installed by simply copying
<productname>GIMP</productname> compatible palette files to the <filename>colors</filename> subdirectory of
the user configuration directory (for example, <filename>/usr/share/config/colors/</filename>).  Note that
saved images using a non-default palette may not be viewable by other users of &kst; if they do not have
the required palette. In such cases, a default grayscale palette is used instead.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Lower Z threshold</guilabel>, <guilabel>Upper Z threshold</guilabel> and <guibutton>Auto Threshold</guibutton>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Enter the lower and upper thresholds to use for the mapping of colors.  Palette colors are evenly distributed
between <guilabel>Lower Z threshold</guilabel> and <guilabel>Upper Z threshold</guilabel>.  Any cells in the
selected matrix with z values less than <guilabel>Lower Z threshold</guilabel> are mapped to the first color in the palette.
Any cells in the selected matrix with z values greater than <guilabel>Upper Z threshold</guilabel> are mapped
to the last color in the palette.  Clicking <guibutton>Auto Threshold</guibutton> will fill in the
lower and upper threshold values using the least and greatest z values found in the selected matrix.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</sect3>

<sect3 id="imagecontourmapparameters">
<title>Contour Map Parameters</title>
<para>
A contour map draws a set of lines, with each line representing a certain z value. This section is only available
if <guilabel>Contour Map</guilabel> or <guilabel>Color Map and Contour Map</guilabel> is selected under
<guilabel>Image Type</guilabel>.
</para>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Number of contour levels</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Select the number of contour levels to use.  The contour levels will be distributed evenly between the lowest
and highest z values found in the matrix.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guibutton>Color</guibutton>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Select the color to use for the contour lines.  Clicking this button displays a standard &kde; color chooser
dialog.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>
<guilabel>Weight</guilabel> and <guilabel>Use variable line weight</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Select the weight, or <quote>thickness</quote> of the contour lines.  If <guilabel>Use variable line weight</guilabel>
is selected, contour lines representing higher elevations are drawn thicker than those representing lower elevations.
Use discretion when selecting this option, as images with high contour line densities may become unreadable.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

</variablelist>
</sect3>

</sect2>

</sect1>


<sect1 id="thedatamenu">
<title>The Data Menu</title>
<para>
The <guimenu>Data</guimenu> menu provides quick access to many features related to data objects in
&kst;.  Most of the menu functions duplicate functions found elsewhere, so only brief descriptions are
provided below.
</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Reload</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Reloads all data vectors from their source files.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Data Wizard...</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Displays the <link linkend="datawizard">Data Wizard</link>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Data Manager</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Displays the <link linkend="datamanager">Data Manager</link>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>New</guimenuitem> [data object]</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Displays the corresponding dialog for creating the data object. Refer to
<link linkend="datatypes">Data Types</link> for descriptions of
each dialog.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>View Scalars</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Displays a dialog from which the values of all the scalars in the current &kst; session
can be viewed. The dialog is updated dynamically if the values change.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>View Vectors</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Displays a dialog from which the values in all the current vectors can be viewed. Select
a vector to view using the drop-down list. The dialog
is updated dynamically if the values change.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>View Fit Results</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Displays a dialog which shows all the resulting values from performed fits. Select
a fit result to view using the drop-down list. The dialog
is updated dynamically if the values change.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Change Data File</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Displays a dialog for quickly changing data files that vectors are associated with.   Select the vectors
to change, and then browse to a different data file. Click <guibutton>Apply</guibutton> to save the changes.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>

</sect1>
</chapter>
