README

h1. Optimus

h2. Archived!

This project is insanely old and may not work right on modern ruby. Use at your own risk!

h5. Turning data into results

Optimus is a set of libraries designed to process behavioral data for use in statistical analysis packages. Think of it as the ultimate scriptable spreadsheet.

Currently, it's geared towards processing files generated by "E-Prime":http://www.pstnet.com/eprime.cfm, but really works with anything that produces spreadsheet-like data.

h2. Installing

We're all set in "RubyGems":http://rubygems.org, so: 

<pre>
sudo gem install optimus-ep
</pre>

should get you set up with Optimus and the required "RParsec":http://docs.codehaus.org/display/JPARSEC/rparsec+overview. I've developed and tested with Ruby 1.8.7, but suspect 1.9.x will work, too.

h2. Command-line tools:

Right now, there's one program recommended for general use:

h3. eprime2tabfile

Turns the text file written by E-Prime (or, really, any file we can read) into a tab-delimited file. It prints to stdout, and should be redirected if you want to save the output.

Usage:

<pre>
Usage: eprime2tabfile [options] INPUT_FILES

    -o, --outfile=OUTFILE            The name of the file to create. If this
                                     isn't specified, print to the standard
                                     output.

    -c, --columns=COLUMN_FILE        A tab-separated file containing the columns
                                     in the order you want your output.

        --filter-columns             Write out only the columns in COLUMN_FILE.
                                     Requires the use of --columns

    -a, --add-filename-line          Print the filename as the first line of
                                     your output, just like E-DataAid.

    -f, --force                      Continue processing even there are errors.

    -h, --help                       Print this message.
</pre>

h2. API Usage

Coming very soon.

h2. License

(The GNU Public License, Version 2)

Optimus: Libraries and utilities for interacting with E-Prime data files
Copyright (C) 2008-09 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of version 2 of the GNU General Public
License as published by the Free Software Foundation.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA.

E-Prime is a registered trademark of Psychology Software Tools, Inc.