The final build for testing of release candidate of v2.1 EpiData Analysis has been placed on the page: http://www.epidata.dk/testing.php

After testing of build 148 by users this will be released as v2.1 replacing current general download version, which has a number of known problems/bugs. Please report any problem with b148 to the list or discuss principles here.

There will be NO further implementation of function before release of v2.1 - only fixing any bugs reported.

Many issues have been solved - among these unification of commands, new lifetable and stattable command and fixing titles for graphs. Among many other extensions the possibility of making box plots for several variables in the same graphs and further user "set" specifications of headers in table and output can be mentioned. The principle of /by variable has been implemented where relevant, and a new reporting oriented command stattable has been introduced, where summary measures can be used.

Unification means that all tables or graphs working with an outcome variable will have this variable first, examples: epicurve outcome timevar lifetable outcome timevar tables outcome exposure ciplot outcome variables

The lifetable takes on two forms with explicit time variable and the possibility of giving as well "date of entry" and "date of exit", plus an option /MT "missing time" to indicate how to handle missing data on the "exit" variable, e.g. when follow-up is still ongoing. Lifetable implements the principles of confidence intervals published by Altman et al in "statistics with confidence" e.g. estimates at specified levels of survival (median and quartiles) or survival with confidence intervals at specified times. The plan is to implement other "Statistics with confidence - CI principles" in the coming year.

All commands are documented in the commands.htm file, which will be shown when hitting the F1 button with an empty command prompt. (But I am quite sure, there could be some deficiencies in the documentation, so please report these).

I wish to give credit for the current extension and intensified development, which is only possible by funding of full time academic programmer for the project by various projects credited on the www.epidata.dk/funding.htm page and the willingness of people to take on tasks. More about the funding sources and staff listing will be revealed when v2.1 is released.

Work now continues with implementation of further SPC (statistical process control) graphs, these will be included for general use accompanied by full implementation of translation in v2.5.

regards Jens Lauritsen EpiData Association