SigmaPlot is a proprietary software package for scientific graphing

Plot (graphics)

A plot is a graphical technique for representing a data set, usually as a graph showing the relationship between two or more variables. The plot can be drawn by hand or by a mechanical or electronic plotter. Graphs are a visual representation of the relationship between variables, very useful for...

 and data analysis

Data analysis

Analysis of data is a process of inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of highlighting useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision making...

. It runs on Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

.

The software can read multiple formats (such as Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...

 spreadsheets), and can also perform mathematical transforms and statistical analyses.

History

SigmaPlot was developed by Jandel Corporation for Windows 3.1x

Windows 3.1x

Windows 3.1x is a series of 16-bit operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers. The series began with Windows 3.1, which was first sold during March 1992 as a successor to Windows 3.0...

 and maintained by them until version 3.0. In 1996, Jandel Corporation merged into SPSS Inc.

SPSS Inc.

SPSS Inc. was a software house headquartered in Chicago and incorporated in Delaware, most noted for the proprietary software of the same name SPSS. The use of this trademarked name has been the subject of ongoing legal action against the company for many years.In addition to the software which...

 SigmaPlot was maintained by SPSS through version 8. As of version 9, it is owned and maintained by SYSTAT Software. The current version is 12.x for Windows 2000

Windows 2000

Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...

 to Windows 7.

Alternatives and clones

The main concurrent of SigmaPlot is currently Origin

Origin (software)

Origin is a proprietary computer program for interactive scientific graphing and data analysis. It is produced by OriginLab Corporation, and runs on Microsoft Windows...

. Open-source projects inspired by Origin include QtiPlot

QtiPlot

QtiPlot is a platform-independent open-source cross-platform computer program for interactive scientific graphing and data analysis. It is similar to the proprietary programs Origin or SigmaPlot, and is being used to substitute these in universities ....

 and SciDAVis

SciDAVis

SciDAVis is a platform-independent open-source cross-platform computer program for interactive scientific graphing and data analysis...

.

External links

• SigmaPlot, official site