In this chapter we will discuss programs in the TISEAN software package that correspond to algorithms described in various sections throughout this book. We will skip over more standard and utility routines which you will find documented in most software packages for statistics and data analysis. Rather, we will give some background information on essential nonlinear methods which can rarely be found otherwise, and we will give hints to the usage of the TISEAN programs and to certain choices of parameters.

The TISEAN package has grown out of our efforts to publicise the use of nonlinear time series methods. Some of the first available programs were based on the code that was printed in the first edition of this book. Many more have been added and some of the initial ones have been superseded by superior implementations. The TISEAN package has been written by Rainer Hegger and the authors of this book and is publicly available via the Internet from http://www.mpipks-dresden. mpg.de/∼tisean

Our common aim was to spare the user the effort of coding sophisticated numerical software in order to just try and analyse their data. There is no way, however, to spare you the effort of understanding the methods. Therefore, still none of the programs can be used as a black box routine. Programs that would implement all necessary precautions (such as tests for stationarity, estimates of the minimal required number of points, etc.) would in many cases refuse to attempt, say, a dimension estimate. But, even then, we suspect that such a library of nonlinear time series analysis tools would rather promote the misuse of nonlinear concepts than provide a deeper understanding of complex signals.