Figaro II

ZX Computing

Paul Holmes

READERS REVIEWS More of your thoughts about the software you buy. This feature provides you space to air your views on any software, be it for the ZX80, ZX81 or Spectrum. If you've had a good or bad experience with any of the commercial software packages available for your micro, why not write in and tell us? Your reviews should contain your critical thoughts about the software and the relevant details concerning the availability of the package, its price, etc. You should aim to produce something like 250 to 500 words per package, depending, of course, on how enthusiastic you are about the software. Any reviews published in this section of the magazine will be rewarded with the price of the tape you review. So, if you buy a cassette and send in a review which gets published, you'll get your software for free! FIGARO II Saxon Computing Paul Holmes At least, someone has answered my prayers. A program which is not only useful, but has good documentation and loads as well! Figaro II is described as being a numeric database (although I would tend to call it a statistics projection program). For example, it can project next year's sales based on the sales figures for the year preceding. Of course, there is more to it than that - Figaro II seems to do everything for the statistician. The documentation for this program is simply excellent, though I must say a few words about its cover. It is a fancy design comprising a lot of black lines that make your head spin! Once inside the manual, however, the introduction soothes your aching eyes with an explanation of the program - how user friendly it is and what its limits are. Figaro II's system of analysis is based on a series of numbers such as sales figures for a shop for each month in a two year period. Each period (an individual number in a series) has a three character label for use in graphs (eg Jan, Feb, Mar, etc) and has a 10 character label for use in other circumstances. The manual takes you through an example program before unleashing you on the program proper. To appreciate the flexibility of Figaro II at its full potential you'd probably have to be an Oxford mathematician, but luckily for us to use the program you do not. You can plot line graphs, bar charts, averages and a number of other statistical devices. A summary of all its features is given in the back of the manual. Also in the manual, they sensibly advise you to make a security copy and clearly explain how this is done. This program has been well thought out and is a genuine serious applications package for the 48K ZX Spectrum. Figaro II is priced at £14.95.