• Mstat Help
• • Introduction
  • Tutorial
  • Reference
  • Additional Information
    • Troubleshooting
    • Platform specifics
    • License
    • Acknowledgments
    • Appendix: J Notation
• Statistics Notes
• Mstat Home

Additional Information

Troubleshooting

This version of Mstat was tested extensively before it was released, but it is inevitable that one or more bugs lay hidden in its more than 15,000 lines of code. Generally, the data that you enter are checked for validity and an error message points out what you need to do to correct the error. If, however, you see an error message that is particularly obscure, you have probably found a bug. Please write down the information on the error message and send it to me by email at norman.drinkwater@wisc.edu. I will post updates to the program at the website
http://oncology.wisc.edu/mstat.

Platform specifics

The Windows, macOS, and Linux versions of Mstat always give the same answers, but there are some minor differences in function on the three platforms.

• The current version of Mstat was tested extensively on Windows 10 and 11; macOS (Apple M1 and Intel) 11 through 14; Ubuntu 20.04 and 22.04; and Debian 11 and 12. The previous version of Mstat (7.0.1) will run on macOS 10.15. On Linux, any distribution with glibc 2.31 or later and Qt 5.12 or later should work. See the Jsoftware website (https://code.jsoftware.com/wiki/Guides/Linux_Installation) for hints on running the software on other Linux distributions.
• As noted in the Introduction, Mstat 8 and later will only run on 64-bit versions of Windows, macOS, or Linux. If you are running 32-bit Windows or Linux, install Mstat 7.0.1 from the Previous versions page.
• The new J engine for 64-bit Intel computers supports the AVX2 instruction set. The correct version of the J engine will be used on Windows and Linux. On macOS, Mstat includes universal binaries that will run natively on Apple M1 or Intel CPUs.
• The Qt toolkit is required for Mstat. On Windows, the required Qt shared libraries (version 6.5.3) will be installed in a subdirectory of your Mstat folder. On macOS, the required Qt libraries are contained within the Mstat app. On Linux, you may need to install the Qt packages for your operating system. See the link to the Jsoftware website above for instructions.
• Plots are printed via an intermediate pdf file and a pdf viewer application must be installed on your system. You can specify which pdf viewer to use via the File>Preferences dialog.
• Beginning with version 7.0.1 of Mstat, all of the executable files and the installer are signed and notarized to comply with macOS security requirements. You may need to adjust your computer's settings to allow installation of software that was not obtained from the Apple AppStore.
• The Windows and Linux versions use accelerator keys, indicated by the underlined character in the label for the control, in most of the dialog boxes. Note that on Windows, you may need to press the Alt key to reveal them. For example, pressing Alt-O is equivalent to pressing the OK button on many dialogs. Alt-accelerator keys are disabled on macOS because the Alt key is used to compose non-ascii characters. As an alternative, most buttons in macOS dialogs are assigned a Cmd-key combination according to a few rules. Any button labeled OK, Done, or Close can be invoked with Cmd-O. The Esc key will invoke a Cancel button. Cmd-L (or Ctrl-L on Windows and Linux) will open the dialog-specific help window. The remaining buttons on a dialog may be invoked by Cmd-letter, where the letter is the first one in the button label that has not been used by an earlier button (starting top left) and is not in the following list: a, c, k, l, o, v, x, y, or z. Finally, note that the Ctrl-key combinations indicated in the menus on the main Mstat window are invoked using Cmd-key on macOS.
• Although all of the files (including data, initialization, and output) used by Mstat are simple text files, the strict file typing imposed by some Mac programs obscures this fact. Output files can be opened by word or text processors by choosing the All files option in the file open dialog box.
• Information may be copied or cut from, or pasted into, edit widgets in most dialogs. To access this feature, the right mouse button or the conventional key combinations may be used.

License

Copyright (c) 1996-2024, Norman Drinkwater. All rights reserved.

Subject to the restrictions listed below, this software may be freely copied and used by anyone. While this software is free, donations to the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research (1111 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53705-2275) would be welcomed; such funds will be used to support graduate training in cancer research at the Laboratory.

Restrictions

1. The Mstat package (the software and its documentation) are copyrighted by Norman Drinkwater. The StatNotes reference material is copyrighted by Norman Drinkwater and Carter Denniston.
2. Redistribution of the Mstat software package is permitted as long as the above copyright notice is retained and all components of the package are included. No part of the package may be modified or used to create derivative works.
3. The J executable and related portions of the package are copyrighted by Jsoftware, Inc. (http://www.jsoftware.com)
4. This software requires the Qt toolkit (http://www.qt.io/), copyright 2020 The Qt Company. The Qt libraries included in the Windows and macOS distributions are licensed under LGPL 3. The zlib library (http://www.zlib.net/), included in the Windows distribution, is copyright 1995-2017 by Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler. The Windows distribution also includes the curl executable (http://curl.haxx.se/), which is subject to the MIT/X open software license, copyright 1996-2019 Daniel Stenberg.
5. Some toolbar icons are from the Fugue icon set (http://p.yusukekamiyamane.com/) and are copyrighted by Yusuke Kamiyamane and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.
6. Use of the software should be acknowledged in any resulting publications.
7. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to my colleagues Rebecca Baus, Andrea Bilger, Jamie Bugni, Rey Carabeo, Teresa Chiaverotti, Brad Clark, Jennifer Drew, Mara O'Brien, Matt Gigot, Tonia Jorgenson, Sean McDermott, Amy Moser, Chris Oberley, Stephanie Peychal, Therese Poole, Rachel Potempa, Sue Schadewald, Arthur Sugden, and Bret Williams, as well as several generations of Oncology 675/Genetics 677 students, for their help in testing the software in this and its earlier versions and for many suggestions regarding new features and usability.

Contacting the Author

Bug reports or other comments should be directed to Norman Drinkwater (norman.drinkwater@wisc.edu). Please indicate the version of the software that you are using (provided in the About box).