Minor job qualifiers.

Introduction

Qualifiers are described in 4 sections based on frequency of use.
  • general syntax
  • The
    • major qualifiers are !CONTINUE, !CONTRAST, !FCON, !MAXIT, !SUBSET, !SUM and XYplots ( !X !Y !G !JOIN )
  • The qualifiers described here are less frequently required.
    • They include
        (de)selecting multivariate mode: !ASMV, !ASUV
         Spatial arrangement in multienvironment trials: !COLFAC !ROWFAC !SECTION
         ANOVA qualifiers: !DDF
         graphics qualifiers: !DISPLAY, !BMP, !EPS, !HPGL, !PS, !WMF, NODISPLAY
         Missing values in design variables: !MVINCLUDE, !MVREMOVE,
         Setting predict points: !PVAL, !GKRIGE, !PPOINTS
         Setting spline knot points: !SPLINE, !KNOTS,
         Setting covariate grouping levels: !FACPOINTS, !POLPOINTS,
         My basis function: !MBF

    Rarely used qualifiers

    (De)selecting multivariate mode (!ASUV !ASMV)

    !ASUV indicates that while the data structure and linear model are specified in a multivariate form, the residual variance structure is not IDENTITY for units crossed with US for traits. When !ASUV is specified, it is often also necessary to include mv in the linear model and to specify the !S2==1 qualifier on the R-structure lines.

    !ASMV t indicates that while the data structure and linear model are specified in a univariate form, the data is actually arranged in a units by traits form (t nested within n units) and is to be analysed using the residual variance structure IDENTITY for units crossed with US for traits.

    Spatial analysis of a multi-environment trial

    When !SECTION site !ROWFAC row !COLFAC column
    is specified, ASReml generates the R-structure lines to fit an AR1 x AR1 variance structure for each site.
         Read More.

    Denominator degrees of freedom.

    !DDF i gives the user some control of the calculation of the denominator degrees of freedom. The ASReml default action depends on the size and nature of the job.
    !DDF -1 suppresses calculation of the denominator degrees of freedom (and consequently the calculation of significance probablities) for F-statistics reported in the ANOVA table.

    Graphics qualifiers

    Whether ASReml produces graphics and whether they are displayed on the screen is controlled by
  • was the Winteracter graphics library available for this platform,
  • have graphics been turned OFF on the
    • control line,
  • are they only produced in
    • hardcopy.

    Graphics are produced by default unless suppressed. The !DISPLAY i qualifier controls which of four spatial analysis graphics are displayed.

    If you run ASReml from WinASReml, graphics are produces as .cgm files and may then be exported in several formats. Otherwise the default format is postscript.

    The format of these hardcopy files may be changed on the commandline or by specifying one of the following on the datafile line:
         !BMP bitmap
         !EPS encapsulated postscript
         !WMF Windows Meta file
         !PS postscript
         !HPGL HP graphics language
         !HPGL 2 HP graphics language II

    Missing values in the Design

    When missing values occur in design variables (as opposed to the response variable), the user must indicate whether to discard the records with containing the missing values, or whether to treat the missing values as zeros.
    Read More.

    Setting predict points

    When fitting polynomials or splines, it is sometimes desirable to predict the response surface at points other than those for which there is data. Use !PVAL to specify these points before the design matrix is formed so that the extra points have the appropriate covariables generated. Read More.

    Setting spline knot points

    ASReml has a model term spl(x[,k]) which, when fitted as a random term in conjunction with the covariate x fitted as a fixed term generates a cubic smoothing spline model. Several qualifiers modify the defaults with respect to choosing knot points for the spline. Read More.

    Setting covariate grouping levels:

    The fac() and pol() model terms need to classify a covariate into discrete classes. This is usually done on the basis of unique covariate values. However, ASReml will actually consider close points as being the same. This is controlled by !FACPOINTS and !POLPOINTS qualifiers respectively.

    My Basis function

    The spline function used in ASReml is the common cubic smoothing spline and has a particular basis function. The !MBF qualifier provides a mechanism for a user to specify the spline covariables based on some other basis function. Read More.

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