DATAC: a multipurpose biological data analysis program based on a mathematical interpreter

The use of a mathematical command interpreter combined with the structural facility of the C-language allowed us to design a data treatment program having considerable flexibility and being able to handle any types of data (electrophysiological, biochemical and theoretical data). Ensembles of data are treated by the interpreter as if they were simple variables so that an elaborate computation can be performed on the spot by simply writing the appropriate equation on the terminal. These facilities combined with the ability of editing macrocommands at run time provide the user with data treatment possibilities that extend far beyond the possibilities actually implemented in the program. The originality of this program is that the user can easily implement the commands he most often needs, writing them in a language that most scientists will know, algebra.