MDeap 2

MDeap 2 is a convivial self contained Windows application capable of calculating basic data envelopment models (DEA). It can calculate CCR and BCC models with input or output orientation. In the case of BCC models, returns to scale can be constant, non increasing, non decreasing, variable or general (bounded). It can also calculate allocative efficiency (cost and revenue). The linear programs are solved with the lp_solve library (included in the installation). The source and documentation for lp_solve (released under the LGPL 2.1 license) can be found at lpsolve.sourceforge.net/5.5/.

The application provides a grid not unlike a spreadsheet to enter and edit data. Multiple DEA models can then be applied against the data set or subsets of it. Specification of models is a point and click operation. Results are shown in a series of tables that can easily be copied to other applications. MDeap 2 can read Win4Deap 2 project files and vice versa.

MDeap 2 is a 32-bit Windows application. It has been tested on Windows and 8.1 (64 bit) but it probably runs on all versions of Windows starting with Windows XP.

DISCLAIMER:

MDeap 2 is free software that is provided as is. The author of the program accepts no responsibility for any damages that could be caused by this software and makes no warranty, whether implied or implicit, about its fitness for any purpose. The user assumes all risks associated with the program. Please read the copyright notice and license agreement for more.

Obtaining MDeap 2

The latest version of MDeap 2 is available here: MDeap2Install-2-0-0-1.exe. Click on the link to start downloading the setup file. Check sums for the installation program are :

Types of installation

MDeap 2 can be run as a "standard" Windows' application or as a "portable" application. Roughly speaking,

a standard application

will associate .mdjson files with itself which requires modifying Windows' configuration information (the registry). Furthermore, the standard folders will be used to store the application's configuration file, and the application's data files.

a portable application

will make no changes to Windows' configuration. By default, the application's configuration file and data files will be stored in the folder containing the application.

Most often, a portable program is installed on removable media such as thumb drives. But it is entirely possible to choose to perform a portable installation in a hard drive's folder. Just make sure that you have full read and write rights on that folder.

The type of installation is specified at the very end of the installation process.

Installing

1. Select the installation language (English or French). This is the language used by the installation program and has nothing to do with the language used in MDeap 2.
2. Read the Welcome screen and click on Next >.
3. Read the License Agreement, select "I accept the agreement" if you do and then click on Next >.
4. Select the destination folder.
   1. For a standard installation, you can probably accept the default location.
   2. For a portable installation, browse to a folder where you have full read and write permissions. That excludes folders Windows, Program Files and, on 64 bit systems, Program files (x86).
5. Select the start menu folder.
   1. For a standard installation, you can probably accept the default location.
   2. For a portable installation, accept the default, it will be ignored in any case as nothing will be added to the Start menu.
6. Select the type of installation (standard or portable). It is also possible to include national language support or not. Currently MDeap 2 is available in two languages: English and French. You can translate it to other languages if you include language support.
7. Finally click on the Install button and, once installation is completed
8. Click on the Finish button.

If a standard installation was chosen, the extension .mdjson will be associated with MDeap 2 which will cause it to be launched whenever a file with that extension is double clicked. Also an uninstall program will be installed. Finally, a menu item will be added to the Start menu. If a portable installation was selected, the file association will not be performed and the uninstall program will not be created.

Example files

Some example project files are provided in MDEAP 2 format (extension .mdjson). They are in a folder called, appropriately, Examples . In a standard installation, that folder will be in a folder called MDeap2 in the user's Document folder. In a portable installation, Examples will be in the folder containing MDeap2.exe.

Instructions for use of MDeap 2

MDeap 2's help file is not complete. Nevertheless it should not be too difficult to figure out how it works.

Press F1 to get contextual help, when available.

WARNING:

MDeap 2 should be considered beta software. Backup data often and in both the native mdjson format and standard CSV formats.

Removing MDeap 2

An uninstall program is installed along with MDeap2.exe. If a standard installation was performed. If a portable installation was chosen, manually delete the installed files. No changes were made to the system in that case.

Acknowledgement

Thanks to Jordan Russell for the Inno Setup Compiler which was used to create the installation program. The setup compiler can be found on the Web at http://www.innosetup.com. Most of the icons are from the Silk icon set by Mark James released under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License:  http://www.famfamfam.com/lab/icons/silk/.

The application's icon was created with the open source application Greenfish Icon Editor Pro:  http://greenfishsoftware.blogspot.ca/.

Latest changes

Version 2.0.0.1 Changed version number to 2 to concord with the application's name and fixed many minor bugs.

Version 0.9.3.2 Many bug fixes including error while importing csv files with prices, errors with filenames with non ascii characters. Completed HTML export of all tables and added saving all model tables to csv files.

Version 0.9.2.11 - first released version