Extension Commands

In addition to the commands available in the Core system and add-on modules, there are numerous extension commands available for use with IBM® SPSS® Statistics. Extension commands are IBM SPSS Statistics commands that are implemented in the Python ^®, R, or Java programming language. For example, IBM SPSS Statistics - Essentials for Python, which is installed by default with IBM SPSS Statistics, includes a set of Python extension commands that are installed with SPSS Statistics. And IBM SPSS Statistics - Essentials for R, which is available from the IBM SPSS Predictive Analytics community at https://developer.ibm.com/predictiveanalytics/predictive-extensions/, includes a set of extension commands that are implemented in the R programming language. Many more extension commands are hosted on the IBM SPSS Predictive Analytics collection on GitHub and available from the Extension Hub, which is accessed from Extensions > Extension Hub.

By convention, extension commands that are authored by IBM Corp. have names that begin with SPSSINC or STATS. Complete syntax help for each of the extension commands is available by positioning the cursor within the command (in a syntax window) and pressing the F1 key. It is also available by running the command and including the /HELP subcommand. For example:

        STATS TABLE CALC /HELP.

The command syntax help is not, however, integrated with the SPSS Statistics Help system and is not included in the Command Syntax Reference. Extension commands that are not authored by IBM Corp. might follow the convention of providing documentation with the HELP subcommand or the F1 key.

Note: The F1 mechanism for displaying help is not supported in distributed mode.

Extension commands require the IBM SPSS Statistics Integration Plug-in(s) for the language(s) in which the command is implemented; Python, R, or Java. For information, see How to Get Integration Plug-Ins.

Note: The IBM SPSS Statistics - Integration Plug-in for Java™ is installed as part of IBM SPSS Statistics and does not require separate installation.

Information on writing your own extension commands is available from the following sources:

The article "Writing IBM SPSS Statistics Extension Commands", available from the IBM SPSS Predictive Analytics community at https://developer.ibm.com/predictiveanalytics/.
The chapter on Extension Commands in Programming and Data Management for IBM SPSS Statistics, which is also available from the IBM SPSS Predictive Analytics community.