The pro Fit application: Summary of the main features and capabilities
pro Fit is an application for scientific data and function analysis on macOS. Its main capabilities are:
- Combination of an easy learning curve and of powerful capabilities for advanced users.
- A full drawing editor for creating graphs and plots.
- Spreadsheets for storing and manipulating data of arbitrary size.
- Extensive, flexible fitting capabilities.
- Customizability through scripting, supporting Python, Applescript, and Pascal.
- Define mathematical functions, even non-analytical, using Python or Pascal, or using an External compiler and compiling them as plug-ins.
- Define scripts for repetitive tasks using Apple Script, Python, or Pascal.
- Many actions are recordable to Apple Script, or two either Python or Pascal.
- Extensive on-line help.
- Extensive metadata support in pro Fit documents. Ability to categorize them using Smartfolders or to find them through Spotlight.
- Several other numerical tools.
Professional drawing, plotting and printing
Create drawings and plots in a powerful drawing editor, draw at various zoom factors, using a wide choice of drawing tools and commands:
- Drawing documents with multiple pages, and multiple graphs
- Graphs with multiple styles, several axes, fully customizable.
- Plot types: functions, scatter plots, bar charts, skyline, boxplots, contour plots, color plots.
- Freely editable axis styles, grids and labels. Axes can have linear, logarithic, probability and 1/x scaling. Inverted axes. Pre- and postfix for labels.
- Style sheets for graphs.
- Text labels with multiple lines, fonts, styles, etc.
- Camera ready quality when printing and when exporting drawings for publications (support of PDF, EPS, and various other formats).
Fitting Features
- Interactive curve fitting by dragging a function curve in the preview window, easily activating/deactivating fit parameters, editing of parameter limits and parameter values.
- Easy, "one-button" curve fitting for simple tasks
- Powerful curve fitting using buit-in and user-defined functions. Up to 128 fit parameters individually controllable, several fit algorithms, one-dimensional and multi-dimensional fitting, support for both x- and y-errors.
- Fitting algorithms: Marquardt-Levenberg, Robust, Polynomial, Linear Regression, and Monte Carlo. Automatic initial parameter guessing, including peak finders for Gaussian, Lorentzian and Voigt peaks.
- Error analysis using covariance matrices or statistical methods.
Editing and transforming data
- Spreadsheets with millions of rows and columns.
- Data types: numerical, text, time, and date (supporting both solar and daylight saving time).
- Built-in commands for statistics, data transformation and data processing. Linear and non-linear transformations, FFT, sorting, data reduction, binning, gridding and more.
- User-definable data transformation algorithms.
- Data can be previewed and edited graphically in the preview window.
Importing and exporting data
- Import and export data by working with files, copying and pasting, or drag and dropping. Most common text-based data formats are automatically recognized.
- Manual import options for reading text-based data files, with support for any kind of separators, headers, and for custom-defined date strings.
User defined functions and programs
- User defined functions for fitting, analysis and plotting.
- User defined scripts and programs for data transformations and scripting.
- Built-in support for complex numbers, strings and characters.
- Powerful, easy-to-learn Pascal-like definition syntax with multiple statements, loops, variables, and subroutines.
- Full support of Python.
- Scripts, functions, and programs can define complex mathematical algorithms, and also can control the operation of pro Fit, thanks to the availability of commands for accessing data, fitting, loading and saving files, drawing, and more.
- A source level debugger for developing complex programs and functions supports both Pascal and Python.
Recording
- Automatic recording of most user actions for generating a script to be replayed later. This works with both Pascal and Pyton, and also, naturally, with Apple Script.
Externally defined functions and programs
- Add plug-ins written with XCode, or Apple Script
- Manual or automatic linking
Display of data and functions in a fully editable 3D Model (based on OpenGL)
- 3D-plotting of functions and data
- Creation of 3D models using a "raw data" input mechanism from pro Fit data windows.
On-line help
- Extensive on-line help for using and programming pro Fit.
- Help tags.
Preview window
- View your data and functions immediately.
- Click and drag a function for varying its parameters.
- Continuously observe a curve fitting process.
- The "Preview" window is of particular significance since it brings a visual, "real-time" method for evaluating the effect of parameter values on data or a function. The value of a function paramter can be changed graphically by dragging the functuion curve. Markers can be used to obvserve the coordinates of data points or functions