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Absent = "A feature may be present or absent in an artifact or assemblage.  Using the feature parameters Earlier, Later, Blanks and Zeroes, a user may indicate when blank data or a zero should be considered as indicating the absence of a feature."

Active = "Active is a parameter that allows the user to specify the data set and seriation to use."

Artifacts = "Artifacts are the items or objects being seriated (ordered). OptiPath has been developed as a tool for archaeology although it can be used in other applications as well. In deference to archaeologists, we use the term 'artifact' instead of 'object' or 'item'."

Assemblages = "Assemblages are collections of artifacts. Archaeologists often deal with assemblages rather than individual artifacts. For example, an investigator might be concerned with dating all of the artifacts found together in a particular stratigraphy layer rather than trying to date the individual items themselves"

Blank = "Values in the data may be blank."

Blanks = "Blanks is a feature parameter that lets the user tell OptiPath how to interpret blanks in the data (as zeroes, as absences or as unknowns)."

Classed = "Classed data can be any alphanumeric value ('red', '-78', 'large', '3.14159', '0', 'absent', 'dentate', etc.). The feature parameter Data can be used to specify that a feature should use classed data."

Custom = ""

Data = "The values or measurements associated with the features for each artifact."

DataSets = "A data set is a single set, or sample, of archaeological artifacts which you are trying to seriate."

Discrete = ""

Distance = "Distance is a measure of how much the features of one artifact differ from another. Distance is measured according to a distance function, or metric (Euclidean, Manhattan or Hamming)."

DistanceFunction = "A distance function is a metric. The feature parameter Metric lets the user tell OptiPath which distance function (Euclidean, Manhattan or Hamming) to use in computing the feature's contribution to the distance between two artifacts."

Earlier = "Earlier is a feature parameter that lets the user tell OptiPath what assumptions to make about artifacts earlier than those in the data set."

Earliest = "Earliest is a seriation parameter that lets the user tell OptiPath the earliest allowable date for all artifacts."

Euclidean = "Euclidean distance is a distance function where the distance between two items (artifacts) is the square root of the sum of the squared differences in all of the dimensions (features) in which the items differ."

Exclude = "Exclude is a parameter that lets the user tell OptiPath exclude features, artifacts or assemblages from the current seriation without removing them permanently from the data."

Excel = "OptiPath supports importing a data table from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet."

Features = "Features are measurable attributes shared by artifacts. It is assumed in seriation that the evolution of a feature's measure over time is gradual."

Files = "Files are the permanent files retained on your computer even when OptiPath is not running. A file holds all of the data for your data sets and seriations."

Frequency = ""

Hamming = "Hamming distance is a distance function where the distance between two items (artifacts) is the number of dimensions (features) in which the items differ."

Heuristic = "A heuristic is a simplified and approximate method of analyzing a problem (for example, a rule of thumb rather than formal mathematical analysis). Heuristics may not always achieve the optimal outcome, but they are generally much easier to implement than optimal procedures and are generally much faster to execute."

Import = "OptiPath supports importing a data table from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet."

Index = "An index is an integer value assigned to an item that allows users to sort items in a list."

Later = "Later is a feature parameter that lets the user tell OptiPath what assumptions to make about artifacts later than those in the data set."

Latest = "Latest is a seriation parameter that lets the user tell OptiPath the latest allowable date for all artifacts."

Manhattan = "Manhattan distance is a distance function where the distance between two items (artifacts) is the sum of the absolute values of the differences in all of the dimensions (features) in which the items differ."

Measured = "Measured data can be any numerical value including integers (-5, 1, 3, 0, etc.) and fractions expressed as decimals (1.3, -0.43, -3.14159, 2.71828, etc.). The feature parameter Data can be used to specify that a feature should use measured data."

Metric = "Metric is a feature parameter that lets the user tell OptiPath which metric, or distance function, (Euclidean, Manhattan or Hamming) to use in computing the feature's contribution to the distance between two artifacts."

Nominal = "Nominal means establishing an identity rather than an ordinal value or seriable magnitude. "

Normalize = "Normalize is a feature parameter that lets the user tell OptiPath to normalize the data for the feature. Normalization is done by converting values to standard deviations."

Occurrence = ""

OptimalPath = "Optimal path is a seriation technique based upon mathematical optimization.  Optimal path seriation relies on the assumption that the artifacts share characteristics or features whose measures evolve gradually over time. The ordering of artifacts that produces the most gradual evolution of all features for all artifacts is considered the optimal seriation. Optimal path seriation was developed by Brett Shepardson and Fred Shepardson and is being documented in a paper to be submitted for publication."

Present = "A feature may be present or absent in an artifact or assemblage."

Randomize = "Randomize is a seriation parameter that lets the user tell OptiPath whether or not to randomize the search for a good seriation when using heuristic solution procedures. Randomizing can lead to better, but not necessarily reproducible, results. Reproducible randomized results can be obtained by setting the Seed."

Ranked = "Ranked data can be any integral value (-78, -5, 1, 3, 0, 42, etc.). The feature parameter Data can be used to specify that a feature should use ranked data."

Ranks = "Ranks is a feature parameter which can be used to place a limit upon the number of categories or classes (ranks) to which a feature can be assigned."

Seed = "Seed is a seriation parameter that lets the user specify a starting point for the random number generator that allows results to be reproduced when using randomized heuristic solution procedures."

Sequence = "Sequence is an artifact or assemblage's sequential (ordinal) position in a seriation."

Seriate = "To seriate is to order or arrange a set of items in a series. For archaeologists a seriation is generally an attempt to arrange items in chronological order."

Seriation = "For archaeologists a seriation is generally an attempt to arrange items in chronological order. In OptiPath, a seriation is a single attempt to order, or seriate, a data set. You may perform, and save, several separate seriations for a single data set."

Seriations = "Seriations are orderings of items or objects, or in our case, of artifacts. OptiPath is a tool for seriating artifacts. The object of seriation is to determine an ordering of a number of artifacts that replicates as closely as possible their historical order of creation. To do this OptiPath relies on the assumption that the artifacts share characteristics or features whose measure evolves gradually over time. The ordering of artifacts that produces the most gradual evolution of all features for all artifacts is considered the optimal seriation."

Table = "Tables are a standard way of presenting data in OptiPath. Keep in mind that any information you enter into a row of a table will not be saved or take effect until you place the cursor in another row!"

Technique = "Technique is a seriation parameter that allows the user to specify the seriation technique (Optimal Path, Occurrence, Frequency, Discrete, Nominal or Custom) to use."

Transition = "Transition penalty is a feature parameter that lets the user tell OptiPath how important it is that a feature appear only once in the archaeological record, rather than appearing multiple times with intervening intervals where the feature is absent"

Unknown = "A blank or zero in the data may indicate that the value of the feature for this artifact is unknown. Using the feature parameters Earlier, Later, Blanks and Zeroes, a user may indicate when blank data or a zero should be considered as having an unknown value."

Value = "Using the feature parameter Zeroes a user may indicate that a zero in the data should be considered the value for the feature (rather than an absence or an unknown value)."

ValueAbsence = "using the feature parameter Zeroes a user may indicate that a zero in the data should be considered both as the value for the feature and as indicating the feature is absent (rather than an unknown value)."

Weight = "Weight is a feature parameter that lets the user tell OptiPath how much importance to give a feature relative to other features."

Weights = "Weights is a seriation parameter that lets the user tell OptiPath whether or not to use weights on features while computing distances between artifacts."

Zero = "Values in the data may be zero. Using the feature parameters Earlier, Later and Blanks, a user may indicate when blank data should be considered as having a value of zero."

Zeroes = "Zeroes is a feature parameter that lets the user tell OptiPath how to interpret zeroes in the data (as values, as absences, as values and absences, or as unknowns)."