Splancs: Spatial point pattern analysis code in S-plus

In recent years, Geographical Information Systems have provided researchers in many fields with facilities for mapping and analyzing spatially referenced data. Commercial systems have excellent facilities for database handling and a range of spatial operations. However, none can claim to be a rich environment for statistical analysis of spatial data. We have made some powerful enhancements to the S-Plus system to produce a tool for display and analysis of spatial point pattern data. In this paper we give a brief introduction to the S-Plus system and a detailed description of the S-Plus enhancements. We then present three worked examples: two from geomorphology and one from epidemiology.