BV4.1 (software)
Encyclopedia
The application software
BV4.1 is a user-friendly tool for decomposing
and seasonally adjusting
monthly or quarterly economic time series
by the so-called Berlin procedure
. It is being developed by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany
. The software is released as freeware
for non-commercial purposes.
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
BV4.1 is a user-friendly tool for decomposing
Decomposing of time series
The decomposition of time series is a statistical method that deconstructs a time series into notional components. There are two principal types of decomposition which are outlined below.-Decomposition based on rates of change:...
and seasonally adjusting
Seasonal adjustment
Seasonal adjustment is a statistical method for removing the seasonal component of a time series that is used when analyzing non-seasonal trends. It is normal to report un-adjusted data for current unemployment rates, as these reflect the actual current situation...
monthly or quarterly economic time series
Time series
In statistics, signal processing, econometrics and mathematical finance, a time series is a sequence of data points, measured typically at successive times spaced at uniform time intervals. Examples of time series are the daily closing value of the Dow Jones index or the annual flow volume of the...
by the so-called Berlin procedure
Berlin procedure
The so-called Berlin procedure is a mathematical procedure for time series decomposition and seasonal adjustment of monthly and quarterly economic time series. The mathematical foundations of the procedure were developed in 1960's at the Technical University of Berlin and the German Institute...
. It is being developed by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany
Federal Statistical Office of Germany
The Federal Statistical Office of Germany is a federal authority of Germany. It is a part of the Federal Ministry of the Interior of the Federal Republic of Germany....
. The software is released as freeware
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
for non-commercial purposes.
Features
The essential features of the BV4.1 software are:- System requirements: Windows PC (Windows NT 4.0/Windows 98+).
- Support of the file formats EXCELExcelExcel may refer to:* Microsoft Excel, a spreadsheet application by Microsoft Corporation* Excel , a brand of chewing gum produced by Wrigley's* Excel , a crossover thrash/punk band from Venice, California...
, ACCESSMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft Office Access, previously known as Microsoft Access, is a relational database management system from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tools. It is a member of the Microsoft Office suite of...
, SQL ServerMicrosoft SQL ServerMicrosoft SQL Server is a relational database server, developed by Microsoft: It is a software product whose primary function is to store and retrieve data as requested by other software applications, be it those on the same computer or those running on another computer across a network...
and CSVComma-separated valuesA comma-separated values file stores tabular data in plain-text form. As a result, such a file is easily human-readable ....
. - User-friendly graphical user interface.
- Analyses of monthly and quarterly time series.
- Possibility of mass production of time series decompositions and seasonal adjustments.
- Various possibilities of graphic evaluations of analysis results.
- Possibility to execute so-called successive analyses, i.e. analyses where the analysis spans are extended gradually by one additional period. This option is useful for examining such revisions of analysis results originating from the BV4.1 procedure itself.