Simple Moving Average

Introduction to Simple Moving Average Calculator

The Simple Moving Average (SMA) is a statistical calculation used to analyze data points by creating a series of averages of different subsets of the full data set. It is often used in time series analysis to smooth out short-term fluctuations and highlight longer-term trends or cycles. The formula for SMA involves averaging a set of values (P1, P2, ..., Pn) over a specific period (n).

This tool calculates the SMA based on the user input for the 'period' and the sequential data 'values'. It's particularly useful in financial market analysis, such as stock prices and market indicators.

Parameter usage:

• period= number of data points to calculate the average, must be greater than zero and less or equal to the number of values provided
• ...values= sequence of numbers to be averaged

Example valid values:

• period= 3, with values 2, 4, 6, 8 representing sequential data points
• ...values= 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 indicating time series data

Output:

• The calculated SMA for the specified period

Data validation

Special attention is paid to data validation ensuring that the 'period' is a positive integer and the array of 'values' has at least as many elements as the 'period' specified.

Summary

This calculator provides a simple means of calculating the average value over a specific time frame, given a set of numerical data. It identifies trends by smoothing out the data fluctuations.