SpectraLab Software and its Help System

SpectraLab (SpLab) is a universal tool for advanced data analysis in (bio)chemical spectroscopy and kinetics. The core of SpectraLab was written in 1988-1991 for an Apple-II computer running under CP/M DOS. The MS-DOS version of SpectraLab that incorporates spectral deconvolution and principal component analysis functions was designed in 1992-1993. Its general design and basic algorithms are described in (Davydov, et al, 1995). Please, refer to the above publication if you use the package in your work. Since then,  SpectraLab has been transferred to the Windows platform and went through several major improvements and substantial re-design.  However, the algorithmic base and the general architecture of the package remained basically the same.
 

The current version of the package is written with the use of Win32Forth and Delphi® (vers. 7). It runs under Windows XP and higher. The package includes most of the mathematical tools needed in the routine work in biochemical spectroscopy and enzyme kinetics. The program is menu-driven and (mostly) self-explanatory.

The help system used in SpectraLab is HTML-based and uses the HELP.EXE browser designed by Camille Doiteau and provided as a part of the Win32Forth package. Besides the SpectraLab user's guide, the help system also contains the information necessary for using Forth-based scripts in SpectraLab. This scripting language provides a versatile tool for automated data processing. The Help system also includes pages describing the Forth programming language and its implementation in Win32Forth. However, the Forth-related help included in SpectraLab is limited to its ANS-compliant kernel. Win32Forth-specific extensions, and object-oriented programming tools, in particular, are not covered. For more in-depth information, the user may want to install Win32Forth and refer to its help system.

Besides a classical help summary tree-view, where you can browse help pages, the SpectraLab help system also includes a glossary for SpectraLab-specific script commands (words) along with a basic subset of Win32Forth words. The glossary is presented in two ways :

• The "Words" tab presents a tree-view where you can find words sorted in different ways. Selecting a word displays quick info in the upper right pane. To see a list of SpectraLab-specific words, the user may follow the "By Source" branch of the tree-view and refer to the word lists defined in SPECARITHM.F and SPL32CRT.F. The basic subset of Forth words may be found in the list of words defined in FKERNEL.F.
  
• The "Index" tab contains an edit box and a list box. You can select the edit box and enter keystrokes; the list will scroll to the first match. Then you can select in the list the word you are looking for. Quick info will be displayed in the upper right pane too.

If encountering any problem with the HELP.EXE browser, the users can specify a path to any internet browser of their choice in the SPECTRALAB-MMX.INI file. However, the Forth-specific help pages and the word list tabs will be unavailable in this case.