st: -devnplot- updated on SSC

[Nick Cox <njcoxstata@gmail.com>]

Thanks to Kit Baum, the program -devnplot- has been updated on SSC. I
fixed a bug that only bit me, so far as I know, and the help file is
updated with a little extra material.

Stata 9 is required.

Not every kind of graph has a distinct and well-known name, but every
distinct Stata program needs a distinct name. The name -devnplot- is a
compromise between -deviationplot-, which I got bored with typing, and
-devplot-, which sounded too much like Klingon.

The central idea is that of plotting values as deviations from some
level and has surfaced in various places. I learned only recently that
graphs similar to those produced by -devnplot- are used in clinical
oncology as "waterfall" charts or plots, although the same name has
been used elsewhere for at least two quite different kinds of graphs.

So, what's in a name? A rose diagram by any other name would be just as bad.

Either way, anyone who (a) plays with -devnplot- and (b) can think of
referenced examples and/or other names in use for the same or similar
graphs is most welcome to contact me directly.

Nick
njcoxstata@gmail.com
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