Re: Warnings exceed limit

[Alan Mead]

On 11/16/2019 1:14 PM, Ben Pfaff wrote:
> Recent SPSS documentation specifies two ways that exceeding MXWARNS
> can be handled. In batch mode, it does what PSPP does here, stopping
> processing if MXWARNS is exceeded. In interactive mode, it just
> suppresses warnings beyond the warning limit. This distinction between
> modes is IMO a nasty aspect of SPSS behavior and I'm never really sure
> which behavior to implement in PSPP when it differs.

This distinction between batch mode and interactive mode has arisen
before (e.g., several years ago I reported that SPSS ran some syntax
differently and this was the reason). I'm sure there are many ways SPSS
is used, but I'm equally sure that the vast majority of uses are
interactive mode. I doubt if I asked any of my colleagues how use SPSS
daily what this distinction is, they wouldn't know that there was one.

I also had the experience of teaching junior colleagues how to use "SPSS
for Windows" when it first appeared and, more recently, students. I'm
sure >99% of that audience only uses interactive mode. You should see
their eyes when I give them syntax to modify and run. It's like I asked
them to leap over the Atlantic (but they're running that in the IDE, so
I think that's interactive mode).

I imagine that also means that if a function isn't exposed in PSPPire,
it doesn't exist for most users.

-Alan

-- 

Alan D. Mead, Ph.D.
President, Talent Algorithms Inc.

science + technology = better workers

http://www.alanmead.org

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efficiently, and die gallantly. Specialization is for 
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