These options compare two matrices, either cell by cell, row total by row total or column total by column total (or combinations thereof) and print copious comparison statistics and tables (e.g. of absolute differences) to the line printer file (LPX) with summary statistics to the screen.
Various options are provided:
1) You may list all elements whose absolute differences exceed a specified value; the list appears in the LPX file.
2) You may list the 10 largest absolute differences; this appears both on screen and in the LPX file.
3) You may analyse the whole matrix or selected portions of it.
4) The matrices used may be either external ufm files (either input or output) or the internal matrix, but clearly you need at least two available matrices before this option will appear.
5) In addition, if the internal matrix is “stacked”, i.e., it contains multiple basic square matrices, then the comparison may be made between any two of the internal levels. (E.g., level 2 of matrix 1 vrs level 2 of matrix 2 as opposed to comparing level 1 of matrix 1 vrs. level 3 of matrix 1.) See also the batch procedure MXM2L, 10.20.2.
6) Furthermore, if the matrices are “stacked”, then the comparisons of row totals may be made by aggregating rows over all levels. Equally if the matrices are “blocked” (i.e., multiple sets of columns) then the column comparisons may be done by aggregating columns.
7) Graphical scatterplots of one matrix vrs the other are available.
In earlier versions of SATURN this function was provided by a separate program M2, hence the name. Note that this function is also available through a standard batch file MXM2; see 10.20.2.