<chapter id="introduction">
<title>Introduction</title>

<sect1 id="whatiskst">
<title>What is &kst;?</title>
<para>
&kst; is a data plotting and viewing program.  Some of the features include:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>Robust plotting of live "streaming" data.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Powerful keyboard and mouse plot manipulation.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Powerful plugins and extensions support.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Large selection of built-in plotting and data manipulation functions,
such as histograms, equations, and power spectra.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Color mapping and contour mapping capabilities for three-dimensional data.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Monitoring of events and notifications support.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Built-in filtering and curve fitting capabilities.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Convenient command-line interface.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Powerful graphical user interface.</para></listitem>

</itemizedlist>
</para>
</sect1>

<sect1 id="gettingstarted">
<title>Getting Started</title>

<para>
There are two main methods of quickly obtaining plots in &kst;.  The &kst; command-line
interface provides quick access to the main &kst; features, while the graphical data wizard
enables intuitive fine tuning of plot and data settings.
</para>
<para>
We first need a data file.  Copy and paste this simple 40-line set of data into a text file,
and save it as <filename>simpledata.dat</filename>:
</para>
<screen>
-20 100
-19 90.25
-18 81
-17 72.25
-16 64
-15 56.25
-14 49
-13 42.25
-12 36
-11 30.25
-10 25
-9 20.25
-8 16
-7 12.25
-6 9
-5 6.25
-4 4
-3 2.25
-2 1
-1 0.25
0 0
1 0.25
2 1
3 2.25
4 4
5 6.25
6 9
7 12.25
8 16
9 20.25
10 25
11 30.25
12 36
13 42.25
14 49
15 56.25
16 64
17 72.25
18 81
19 90.25
20 100
</screen>

<para>
<filename>simpledata.dat</filename> is an example of an ASCII data file, one of the many file types
&kst; is capable of reading. For further details on file types, see
<link linkend="fileformats">Supported File Formats</link>.  To produce a simple plot using
 the first column (or <quote>field</quote>)
of this file an x vector, and the second column as a y vector, enter the following:
</para>
<para>
<userinput><command>kst -x 1 -y 2 simpledata.dat</command></userinput>
</para>
<para>
&kst; should start with the plot displayed:
</para>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Simpledata plot</screeninfo>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="Screenshot-kst-simpledata.png" format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Simpledata plot</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>

<para>
Numerous other command-line options are available&mdash;using the command-line only, plots of data
can be printed directly to files, and simple data manipulation such as creation of
power spectra can be performed as well.  For a complete list of command-line options, see
<link linkend="command-lineoptions">Command Line Usage and Examples</link>.
</para>


<para>
If &kst; is already open, it is often more convenient to use the data wizard for quickly importing data
and producing plots. To start the data wizard, select <guimenuitem>Data Wizard...</guimenuitem> from the
<guimenu>Data</guimenu> menu, or click the corresponding toolbar button. The data wizard walks through
specification of a data file, selection of fields, and selection of plot options.
For detailed descriptions of
the data wizard options and settings, refer to the <link linkend="datawizard">Data Wizard</link> section.
</para>

<para>
Any plot displayed in &kst; can be manipulated.  For example, dragging a rectangle anywhere within a plot
will zoom in to that section of the plot.  Holding <keycap>Ctrl</keycap> or <keycap>Shift</keycap> while
dragging will zoom in on the x or y axis only, respectively, and tapping the arrow keys scrolls a plot.
See
<link linkend="workingwithplotsandwindows">Working with Plots and Window</link> for more details on
manipulating plots and plot layout, as well as the different mouse modes.
</para>



</sect1>

</chapter>
