TimeSleuth is a tool for the unsupervised discovery of temporal rules. It 
is based on C4.5 and extends its abilities by allowing it to understand and 
respect temporal order among the input data. The output rules can be either
causal or acausal, and TimeSleuth allows the user to make this distinction.

TimeSleuth's different methods of presentating the results help the user 
discover relationships among the variables. The user can experiment with 
different scenarios concerning the passage of time between the variable 
observations, and thus see if the value of one variable is not only determined 
by other variables observed at the same time, but also by variables observed 
before. The rules generated by C4.5 can also be converted into Prolog 
statements.

The package, including full source code, example files, and online help, is 
available freely from http://www.cs.uregina.ca/~karimi/downloads.html.

TimeSleuth is written in Java, and is runnable any where with a java 
interpreter and a graphical user interface. This includes Microsoft Windows 
and X Window. There is no special installation necessary. Use software such 
as WinZip under windows and unzip under UNIX to unpack the package. In the 
resulting  TimeSleuth-3.31 directory, just type 'timesleuth.bat' to start 
the programme.

You will need a properly installed C4.5 package for TimeSleuth to function. To 
fully use TimeSleuth's abilities, you need to patch C4.5 Release 8 and 
recompile it. Microsoft Windows users can use the modified and compiled C4.5
executable files from the TimeSleuth package. For others, modified C4.5's 
source files are included in the package. Instruction on how to compile
them are included in the "c4.5" directory.  

Once the application in running, use the online help and follow the 
"sample session" link to get started with the program.

I would be glad to receive your comments, bug reports, and questions! 

Kamran Karimi

karimi@cs.uregina.ca
http://www.cs.uregina.ca/~karimi
