Visual Six Sigma: Making Data Analysis Lean

3.3. Scripts

As we have seen, the menus in JMP can be used to produce an incredible variety of visual displays and analyses. When you are starting out with JMP, you rarely need to look beyond these menus. However, more advanced users sometimes find the need to simplify repetitive tasks, or want to see custom analyses. These tasks can be programmed within JMP by using its scripting language, JMP Scripting Language (JSL).

A JMP script can be saved as a separate file, with a .jsl extension, or it can be saved as part of a data table. Our data table PharmaSales.jmp contains several JMP scripts that are saved as part of the data table in the table panel area. Consider the script Distribution for Three Variables. You can run this script by clicking on the red triangle to the left of the script and choosing Run Script, as shown in Exhibit 3.25.

Figure 3.25. Running the Script Distribution for Three Variables

When you run this script, you obtain the report shown in Exhibit 3.26. This is the stacked layout that we obtained earlier in Exhibit 3.11. Scripts provide an easy way to document your work. When you have obtained a report that you want to reproduce, instead of saving the report, or parts of it, in a presentation file or document, you can simply save the script that produces the report to your data table. So long as the required columns are still in the table, the script will continue ...