SORITEC(ID:7500/)statistical/econometric programming languagestatistical/econometric programming language John Sneed, Full Information Software Econometric modeling, forecasting and statistical analysis. Linear and nonlinear regression, multiequation estimation and simulation, probit, logit, discriminant analysis. Time series analysis including trends, smoothing models, and ARIMA References: time series analysis language that has been available on rnainframes since 1977, is now available on microcomputers. Written in 44,000 lines of FORTRAN, SORITEC includes a wide range of single-equation techniques (ordinary least squares (OLS), ridge regression, stepwise regression, restricted estimation, and nonlinear estirnation) and multiple-equation techniques (OLS, two-stage least squares, three-stage least squares, and full information rnaxirnum likelihood). Time series techniques include autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), multivariate ARMA, Almon and Shiller distributed-lag estimation, and Cochrane- Orcutt and Hildreth-Lu estimation for first- and second- order autocorrelation. Cross-sectional analysis procedures, such as cross-tabs, frequencies, and ANOVA, are also included in SORITEC "' . Other features include recovery and Storage of interrnediate and final results of estirnation procedures, a variety of forecasting and simulation techniques, Monte Carlo simulation, matrix operators, and a variety of cornrnands for cornrnonly used econornetric and time series data transformations. Data may be input from the keyboard or from freefield or formatted disk files, including files downloaded frorn mainframes. A report writer within SORITECT" can be used to generate special-purpose output, and files can be transferred between SORITEC "' and spreadsheet and word processing prograrns using flat file or DIF formats. D0 loops, conditional Statements, and logical operators can be used to prograrn repetitive or special-purpose procedures. User-defined procedures and subroutines may use local and global variables. SORITEC "' is available on a variety of microcomputers, including the IBM PC and XT, COMPAQ, Wang PC, Speny PC, and others. It is also available on most mainframes and rninicomputers. The language is intelligible to both machines and operating Systems so that jobs developed on micros can be submitted to rnainframes for execution on databases too large for microcomputers. A perpetual lease for microcomputers costs S 1,500. Academic User and quantity discounts are available. Introduction and Overview SORITEC was originally released in December 1978 as a mainframe econometric modelling and forecasting system running on CDC Cyber equipment. Until 1981, when mainframe and minicomputer in-house copy leasing was begun, SORITEC was only available on time-sharing networks. In the spring of 1984, the first version of SORITEC for the IBM PC was released. SORITEC was adopted as the standard package for econometric computation at the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the British Treasury. A Windows version of SORITEC was first released in 1996. SORITEC is currently available in two versions: Batch SORITEC and SORITEC for Windows 9x/NT/2000, Version 1.0. This reviewer has used and is reviewing only SORITEC for Windows 9x/NT/2000, both Version 1.0 and Beta Version 1.1, which should be finalized before the review appears in print. However, many of the features (and associated problems) can be viewed as being carried over from earlier mainframe and DOS versions of the software. SORITEC for DOS, which is still advertised on the Full Information Software website, is a classic example of a command-driven program. SORITEC for Windows 9x/NT/2000 represents a step forward for SORITEC by making a point and click version available. Unfortunately, in Version 1.0, only a small portion of the program had been completely integrated with the graphical user interface. In Beta Version 1.1, a much larger portion of the program has been Windows-enabled. The Full Information Software website (http://www.fisisoft.com) labels SORITEC as ?the power tool for econometric and statistical analysis? and states ?It should work like magic even for a neophyte?. Thus, one of the major goals of the SORITEC program is to make powerful econometric tools readily available to a broad range of users. This may be dangerous, particularly when (as in the case of SORITEC Version 1.0) the techniques are minimally documented. The documentation in Beta Version 1.1 is significantly improved; this feature is discussed in detail in Section 8. In evaluating SORITEC, it is helpful to distinguish the analytic capabilities of the program from the user-friendliness and file-handling features of the program. The analytic capabilities of SORITEC are excellent, as far as they go. However, SORITEC has not yet incorporated features commonly found in other econometrics packages (e.g. autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARCH and GARCH), multinomial logit, cointegration tests, Newey?West covariance estimators, recursive residuals, etc.). In addition, the file-handling capabilities of SORITEC still need to be improved to take better advantage of the features of Windows 95 and newer versions of Windows. Resources
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