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README.TXT
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1995-08-28
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M A G E S T I C
MAGic Parameter ESTimation for MS ExCel
Logix Consulting, Inc.
Order Toll Free 1-800-900-5541
magestic@lgx.com
==================================================================
Demo release notes:
Table of Contents
Description
Installation
Removing
Running the Demonstrations
Using the Magestic wizard
Limitations of the demo
DESCRIPTION=======================================================
Industrial Strength Data Fitting with a Familiar Face
With the powerful combination of Magestic and Microsoft Excel 5.0, youÆll
be able to fit any data in no time. No languages to learn, no new syntax
or programming commands. Just an interface you already know, backed by a
powerful optimization engine capable of fitting complicated system as
easily as simple equations. If you can express it with an Excel formula
(or an add-on DLL) then you can fit it with Magestic. Unlike math
spreadsheets or symbolic languages, Magestic was engineered to handle the
task of data fitting. Its global optimizer finds hidden solutions when
the competition falls flat. And MagesticÆs search engine is so fast
youÆll find yourself wondering if it somehow cheated.
Pure Wizardry
Setting up new problems with Magestic is a breeze. ThatÆs because it
includes a fitting wizard that makes quick work of defining a new
problem. Within seconds, the wizard will provide a new spreadsheet
button that automates the call to Magestic. Later, you can make changes
by merely selecting the button and re-running the wizard. No other
system can claim this kind of ease of use. With the included tutorial,
youÆll be up to speed in no time.
Animation makes it come alive
With the flick of a switch you can turn on echoing to view the progress
of your fits in real time. Excel graphics let you watch the magic of the
Magestic optimizer as it glides in to the minimum error.
No barriers to the type or size of problems you can handle
Because Magestic was built with a state of the art global search engine,
you can handle problems of all sizes. For especially tough problems,
you can provide Magestic with user-supplied gradients to speed up
Magestic even further. Use the Excel SDK to create your model in C or
C++ for even greater speed (requires the Excel SDK from Microsoft.)
Recall your work and share
Once youÆve used the Wizard to set up your problem and fine tune it,
saving your fitting strategy is as easy as saving an Excel spreadsheet
since everything needed is contained within your workbook. No need to
make copious notes about how you fitted the data. And sharing results
and strategies with others is as simple as sharing a spreadsheet.
Nothing new to learn!
Advanced Features
- Unlimited number of parameters, independent and dependent variables.
- Fast modified-Gauss-Newton + Monte Carlo DLL search engine.
- Fitting Wizard for quick set-up with no programming.
- Automatic global optimization.
- Sequenced fits for automated parameter extractions without programming.
- Parameter and Error masks for restricted sub-fitting.
- Implicit equation fitting without solving.
- Engine suitable for use with Lagrange multipliers for
constr. optimization.
Applications
Virtually every discipline requires data fitting support for research,
engineering, production and process control. In particular, Magestic
is in use in the following fields:
- Astronomy/Meteorology
- Biology/Medicine
- Chemistry/Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Economics/Financial Modeling
- Electrical Engineering
- Geology
- Mechanical Engineering
- Physics
- Marketing Research
- Mathematical Research
- Quality Control
- Social and Behavioral Sciences
Order Info
Magestic is priced less than half of many commercial numerical FORTRAN
libraries, yet it delivers a complete solution for your data fitting
needs. Magestic is currently available for Windows 3.1, Windows 95 and
Windows NT. 32 Bit version requires Excel 5 for NT or Office 95.
32 bit Magestic for NT/Win 95 - $295
Magestic for Windows 3.11 - $295
Order Toll Free 1-800-900-5541
INSTALLATION=======================================================
If you are running a previous version of Magestic, you must first
remove it. See REMOVING below.
You should first move the self-extracting file, magdem32.exe to a
temporary directory.
You must then run Microsoft Excel 5.
In Excel, select File Open and navigate to the directory where
you ran the self-extracting magdem32 program.
Select 'install.xls' in the File Open dialog box.
It will prompt you for the installation directory which you
should leave as the default
It will then prompt for a destination directory which defaults
to c:\magestic. You may change this if you wish.
Finally after it has completed, you will be asked to read the
license agreement and accept it.
REMOVING============================================================
To remove Magestic completely you must follow these steps:
1. Run Excel.
2. Select the Add-in manager by choosing Add-ins under the Tools menu.
3. Look for the Add-in 'Magestic Add-In' and de-select it. (i.e., make
sure that no cross appears to the left of it)
4. Press the OK button
5. Quit Excel. (This must be done to complete the Add-in unloading process).
6. Delete the contents of the magestic directory
7. Delete the contents of the directory \excel\library\lgx. (assuming that
your excel directory is located in \excel).
RUNNING THE DEMONSTRATIONS===========================================
1. Run Excel.
2. Open the file demo.xls that was placed in the c:\magestic directory
during installation.
3. You will see that there are several tabs at the bottom illustrating
various capabilities of Magestic. They are as follows:
Simple - very simple loan calculation problem in which the Magestic
engine is used to calculate the interest backwards from the
loan payment. (Yes this is using a sledgehammer to crack
a peanut, but this is provided just to get your feet wet.)
Diode - a slightly more realistic example of fitting the parameters
of a semiconductor diode. One interesting note here is that
the diode equation with an internal resistor is implicitly
defined. This shows Magestic finding the parameters without
solving the implicit equation.
ChemKinetics - a real world illustration of the use of Magestic from
a familiar chemical kinetics problem. This shows the
use of Magestic to fit several curves at once to a
very nonlinear function.
ResStep 1-4 - This illustrates fitting the familiar resonance equation.
Step 1 is for a single resonance, step 2-4 are for an
uncoupled dual resonance. These steps illustrate the
ability to supply analytic gradients, the use of sequenced
fits, and the ability to use Excel to create production
quality automated parameter fits.
USING THE MAGESTIC WIZARD===============================================
The problems in the demo.xls file were all set up using the magestic
wizard. The wizard makes it very easy to set up and maintain your
fitting problems.
To use the wizard on an existing fit button:
1. Select the button by clicking on it with the RIGHT (not left) mouse
button.
2. Select the Fit Wizard button. The Fit Wizard button was put in the
LGX toolbar during the set up. It is the only button in the bar
and it has blue M in it with a yellow star over the right side
of the M.
3. Explore the various dialogs of the wizard on the problems in the
demo.xls to see how they were set up.
4. If you want, you can set up your own problems in the demo.xls sheet
by selecting the Fit Wizard while no button is selected. This
will create a new button with the information you supply to the
wizard in the wizard dialogs.
LIMITATIONS OF THE DEMO==================================================
The demo is limited in several ways:
- You can only use the spreadsheet named demo.xls. No other will work.
- You can only have 100 data points in your problem. There is no limit
in the commercial version.
- You can fit to no more than 6 parameters simultaneously. There is no
limit in the commercial version.
- There is an upper limit to the number of evaluations the engine
will make for a fit.