JMP is Not a Spreadsheet

[#1]

It seems to me that a lot of requests appear in these discussions because users attempt to solve a problem or use JMP like a spreadsheet. The rows and columns in a JMP data table resemble a spreadsheet but this appearance is misleading. My intention here is to discuss ways of using JMP, interactively or scripted, that will be rewarding instead of frustrating. I hope that others will join this discussion. Maybe we can reduce the level of frustration in the future that arises from attempts to use JMP in a way that it was not intended.

First of all, a spreadsheet is oriented around a cell. A cell is a location in which to store a value or a formula. It accepts formats. It can be organized with other cells in rows and columns. It is easy to work with rows, columns, or a selection of cells, but they are still individual cells. I can put anything anywhere at any time. That behavior is convenient when working in software that is optimized for consolidating and reporting financial data. JMP, on the other hand, is software for discovery about and between variables using myriad statistical analyses and visualizations. It is oriented around the variable. A data column is a cohesive collection of values for each variable. These related values share the same meaning and, therefore, the same format and other meta-data. A row is also a cohesive collection of values that represent an observation and share row states.

Second, the data table is primarily for storing and organizing data (variables and observations) along with their meta-data. It is not responsible for any kind of analysis. The numerical and graphical analyses happen in the many specialized platforms available through the Analyze and Graph menus. The platforms work with the data table and data filters (change row states). Multiple platforms may be simultaneously opened on the same data set. Multiple platforms maybe combined into a single window when this enhances the analysis.

How else is JMP not a spreadsheet? I will be back with more ideas but it is now your turn.

No software can claim to be all things to all users. I would not expect a word processor to be good at functional data analysis nor would I expect it to be easy to teach it to do so. Many different kinds of software easily and successfully work and play together today so that we may use each of them to their best advantage.

[#2]

Hello @Terri_Denver. Make yourself a simple data table.  I created two columns and asked JMP to generate random integer values in each.  Then simply use the instant column formulas to take a sum. 

What you can see here is that yes!  JMP can sum across the rows of a data table. Specifically, my instant column formula was generated using the "add" function in JMP.  Easy peasy. 

I can even use the "event recorder" new in JMP16 to save my script and share it here with you so you can reproduce it easily:

// New data table
// → Data Table( "Untitled 206" )
New Table( "Untitled 206" );

// New column: Column 1
Data Table( "Untitled 206" ) << New Column( "Column 1",
	Numeric,
	"Continuous",
	Format( "Best", 12 ),
	Formula( Random Integer( Empty() ) )
);

// New column: Column 2
Data Table( "Untitled 206" ) << New Column( "Column 2",
	Numeric,
	"Continuous",
	Format( "Best", 12 ),
	Formula( Random Integer( Empty() ) )
);

// Change column formula: Column 1
Data Table( "Untitled 206" ):Column 1 << Set Formula( Random Integer( 100 ) );

// Change column formula: Column 2
Data Table( "Untitled 206" ):Column 2 << Set Formula( Random Integer( 100 ) );

// Add rows
Data Table( "Untitled 206" ) << Add Rows( 100, At End );

// New formula column: Column 1+Column 2
Data Table( "Untitled 206" ) << New Column( "Column 1+Column 2",
	Numeric,
	"Continuous",
	Format( "Best", 12 ),
	Formula( :Column 1 + :Column 2 )
);

 @PatrickGiuliano