Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis with S-Joint

Although some specific packages regarding spatial analysis already exist (see GeoDa, GeoXp etc.), we recently began the development of a new software, called S-Joint, to make it possible the statistical spatial analysis of vector maps (Mucciardi M., Bertuccelli P., 2007). In the meantime, we continued to develop S-Joint to add new capabilities and corrected some bugs present in the earlier version. The most important improvements are the addition of the new index GISA (Global Index of Spatial Autocorrelation) and some changes in the matrix creation tools that contribute to add flexibility to the program. Another important add-on feature is the program ability to recognize if a map is using a geographical or a projected coordinate system, in order to calculate distances between points and polygonal map areas in different ways. On the technical side, we also made a change in the graphic appearance of menus and of widgets (especially tables) by using a latter version of the QT library. However, in this paper, we only illustrate a principal selection of the S-Joint new capabilities.