This is the manual for the [B/D] programming language. [B/D] is the computer implementation of the Bayes linear methodology developed by Michael Goldstein and myself, initially at the University of Hull, and more recently at the University of Durham. Part of the research and development underlying the program has been funded by the Science and Engineering Research Council, in its various guises over the years, and we are extremely grateful to them for their support.
The manual assumes mostly that you know what Bayes linear methods are, and also that you are conversant with the basic notation used particularly in the two tutorial documents [31] and [48]. A third tutorial document, [49], illustrates using [B/D] to set up and analyse problems involving exchangeable situations, together with details on the creation and interpretation of Bayes linear influence diagrams. Hence, this manual does not tell you what analysis you should perform, but it should hopefully show you how you might go about performing the analysis that you have decided upon.
For newcomers to Bayes linear methods, a comprehensive bibliography is included at the rear of the manual. For the development of the theory, begin with [14] and read on! General overviews of some of the features in the package are given in [47] and [35].
There are different versions of the [B/D] package. For IBM PCs and compatibles there are WINDOWS versions, for machines with and without a co-processor. Further versions are available for running under UNIX and Linux . Our initial test release of [B/D] to the academic community consists of versions which run as Microsoft Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 applications.
The program itself can be regarded as complete and reasonably well (but not extensively) tested. Inevitably bugs will arise as the program is used to handle applications other than our own test macros and applications. Please let us know of any problems or oddities encountered. Further, we may develop or amend features as time permits.
David Wooff
July 1997