This is Info file plotutils.info, produced by Makeinfo version 1.68
from the input file plotutils.texi.

INFO-DIR-SECTION GNU Plotting Utilities
START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* Plotting utilities: (plotutils).      GNU plotting utilities
* graph: (plotutils)graph Invocation.   Plot datasets, possibly in real time
* plot: (plotutils)plot Invocation.     Convert and display plot files
* tek2plot: (plotutils)tek2plot Invocation.   Translate legacy Tektronix data
* spline: (plotutils)spline Invocation. Interpolate between points in datasets
* ode: (plotutils)ode Invocation.       Integrate differential equations
* libplot: (plotutils)libplot.          A library for 2-D vector graphics
* Appendices: (plotutils)Appendices.    More info on the plotting utilities
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY

   This file documents version 2.1.1 of the GNU plotting utilities
package, including GNU libplot 1.1.

   Copyright (C) 1989-1998 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

   Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
preserved on all copies.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that
the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
permission notice identical to this one.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions, except that this permission notice may be stated in a
translation approved by the Foundation.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Top,  Next: Plotutils Intro,  Prev: (dir),  Up: (dir)

   This is the documentation for version 2.1.1 of the GNU plotting
utilities package, including GNU libplot 1.1.  The package consists of
programs and functions for data plotting and vector graphics.

* Menu:

* Plotutils Intro::     GNU plotting utilities
* graph::	        graph, a program for plotting datasets
* plot::        	plot, a plot format conversion program
* tek2plot::		tek2plot, a translator for legacy Tektronix files
* spline::              spline, an interpolation program
* ode::			ode, a differential equation integrator
* libplot::             A library for device-independent 2-D vector graphics
* Appendices::          Additional Information


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Plotutils Intro,  Next: graph,  Prev: Top,  Up: Top

The GNU Plotting Utilities
**************************

   The GNU plotting utilities currently consist of six user-level
programs: `graph', `plot', `tek2plot', `spline', `ode', and `double'.
Distributed along with them is GNU `libplot', a function library for
device-independent two-dimensional vector graphics, including vector
graphics animations under the X Window System.

   `graph' is a program for plotting two-dimensional scientific data.
It reads one or more data files containing datasets, and outputs a plot.
The plot may be directed to a display device or to a file.  Six
different display devices are supported.  The corresponding commands are
`graph -T X', `graph -T ps', `graph -T fig', `graph -T hpgl', `graph -T
tek', and `graph'.

   `graph -T X' pops up a window on an X Window System display, and
draws the plot in it.  `graph -T ps' produces a plot in encapsulated
Postscript format that may be included in another document, edited with
the `idraw' drawing editor, or sent directly to a printer.  `graph -T
fig' produces output that may be displayed and edited with the `xfig'
drawing editor.  `graph -T hpgl' produces a Hewlett-Packard Graphics
Language (HP-GL or HP-GL/2) plot that may be sent to a Hewlett-Packard
LaserJet printer or plotter, or included in another document.  `graph
-T tek' produces output that may be displayed on a Tektronix 4014
terminal or emulator.  `graph' without a `-T' option (referred to as
`raw `graph'') produces output in a device-independent format,
a so-called GNU graphics metafile.  This metafile may be translated
into other formats.

   `graph' can read datasets in both ASCII and binary format, and
datasets in the `table' format produced by the plotting program
`gnuplot'.  It produces a plot with or without axes and labels.  You
may specify labels and ranges for the axes, and you may set the size
and position of the plot on the display device.  The labels may contain
subscripts and subscripts, Greek letters, and other special symbols;
there is also support for Cyrillic script (i.e., Russian) and Japanese.
You may specify the type of plotting symbol used for each dataset, and
such parameters as the style and thickness of the line (if any) used to
connect points in a dataset.  The plotting of filled regions is
supported, as is the drawing of error bars.  `graph' provides full
support for multiplotting.  With a single invocation of `graph', you
may produce a plot consisting of many sub-plots, either side by side or
inset.  Each sub-plot will have its own axes and data.

   `graph -T X', `graph -T tek', and raw `graph' have a feature which
most plotting programs do not have.  They can accept input from a pipe,
and plot data points in real time.  For this to occur, the user must
specify ranges for both axes, so that `graph' does not need to wait
until the end of the input before determining them.

   The `plot' program is a so-called plot filter.  It can translate GNU
graphics metafiles (produced for example by raw `graph') into the six
supported output formats.  The corresponding commands are `plot -T X',
`plot -T ps', `plot -T fig', `plot -T hpgl', `plot -T tek', and `plot'.
The `plot' program is useful if you wish to produce output in several
different formats while invoking `graph' only once.  It is also useful
if you wish to translate files in the traditional `plot(5)' format
produced by, e.g., the non-GNU versions of `graph' provided with some
operating systems.  GNU metafile format is compatible with the
traditional `plot(5)' format.

   The `tek2plot' program can translate from Tektronix format to any of
the abovementioned output formats.  The corresponding commands are
`tek2plot -T X', `tek2plot -T ps', `tek2plot -T fig', `tek2plot -T
hpgl', and `tek2plot'.  `tek2plot' is useful if you have a legacy
application that produces drawings in Tektronix format.

   Among the other GNU plotting utilities, `spline' does spline
interpolation of scalar or vector-valued data.  It normally uses either
cubic spline interpolation or exponential splines in tension, but like
`graph' it can function as a real-time filter under some circumstances.
Besides splining datasets, it can construct curves, either open or
closed, through arbitrarily chosen points in d-dimensional space.
`ode' provides the ability to integrate an ordinary differential
equation or a system of ordinary differential equations, when provided
with an explicit expression for each equation.  It supplements the
plotting program `gnuplot', which can plot functions but not integrate
ordinary differential equations.  The final plotting utility, `double',
is a filter for converting, scaling and cutting binary or ASCII data
streams.  It is still under development and is not yet documented.

   Distributed along with the plotting utilities is GNU `libplot', the
function library for device-independent two-dimensional vector graphics
on which `graph', `plot', and `tek2plot' are based.  `libplot' can draw
graphics on X Window System displays, and perform smooth,
double-buffered animation.  It can also generate graphical output in
any of five additional formats.  This includes (1) output in
encapsulated Postscript format that may be included in another
document, edited with the `idraw' drawing editor, or sent directly to a
printer, (2) output that may be displayed and edited with the `xfig'
drawing editor, (3) output in HP-GL or HP-GL/2 format that may be sent
to a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet printer or plotter, (4) output that may
be displayed on a Tektronix 4014 terminal or emulator, and (5) output
in the device-independent GNU graphics metafile format.

   `libplot' can draw such objects as lines, open and closed polylines,
arcs (both circular and elliptic), circles and ellipses, points, marker
symbols, and text strings.  The filling of objects other than points,
marker symbols, and text strings is supported (fill color, as well as
pen color, may be set arbitrarily).  The support for drawing text
strings is extensive.  The X Window System, Postscript, and `xfig'
drivers support the 35 standard Postscript fonts, and the HP-GL/2
driver supports the 45 standard PCL 5 fonts.  All drivers, including
the Tektronix and metafile drivers, support a set of 17 Hershey vector
fonts, including HersheyCyrillic.  Text strings may include subscripts
and superscripts, and may include characters chosen from more than one
font in a typeface.  They may include many non-alphanumeric characters.
The entire collection of 1641 `Hershey glyphs' digitized c. 1967 by
Allen V. Hershey at the U.S. Naval Surface Weapons Center, which
includes many curious symbols, is built into `libplot'.  Japanese text
strings in the so-called EUC (Extended Unix Code) format may be also be
drawn.  Such strings may include both syllabic characters (Hiragana and
Katakana) and ideographic characters (Kanji).  A library of over 600
Japanese Kanji digitized by Dr. Hershey is built into `libplot'.

   The drawing editors `idraw' and `xfig' are not distributed along
with the GNU plotting utilities.  However, they are free software, and
you may readily obtain them elsewhere (*note Auxiliary Software::.).


File: plotutils.info,  Node: graph,  Next: plot,  Prev: Plotutils Intro,  Up: Top

The `graph' Utility
*******************

   Each invocation of `graph' reads one or more datasets from files
named on the command line or from standard input, and prepares a plot.
There are many command-line options for adjusting the visual appearance
of the plot.  The following sections explain how to use the most
frequently used options, by giving examples.

* Menu:

* Simple Examples::	Simple examples using graph
* Non-Square Plots::	Changing the aspect ratio of a plot
* Multiple Datasets::	Preparing a plot from more than one dataset
* Multiplotting::	Multiple plots on a single page
* Data Formats::	Reading binary and other data formats
* graph Invocation::    Command-line options


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Simple Examples,  Next: Non-Square Plots,  Prev: graph,  Up: graph

Simple examples using `graph'
=============================

   By default, `graph' reads ASCII data from the files specified on the
command line, or from standard input if no files are specified.  The
data are pairs of numbers, interpreted as the x and y coordinates of
data points:

     0.0  0.0
     1.0  0.2
     2.0  0.0
     3.0  0.4
     4.0  0.2
     5.0  0.6

Data points do not need to be on different lines, nor do the x and y
coordinates of a data point need to be on the same line.  However,
there should be no blank lines in the input if it is to be viewed as
forming a single dataset.

   To plot such a dataset with `graph', you could do

     graph -T ps ascii_data_file > plot.ps

or equivalently

     graph -T ps < ascii_data_file > plot.ps

This will produce an encapsulated Postscript file `plot.ps', which you
may include in another document, display on a screen, or send directly
to a printer.  (The `--page-size' option, or the `PAGESIZE' environment
variable, specifies the size of the printed page.  The default is
"letter", i.e., 8.5in by 11in, but "a4" or other ISO or ANSI page sizes
may be specified instead.)

   You may also do

     graph -T fig < ascii_data_file > plot.fig

to produce a file `plot.fig' that you may edit with the the `xfig'
drawing editor, or

     graph -T hpgl < ascii_data_file > plot.hpgl

to produce a file `plot.hpgl' in the Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language
(HP-GL or HP-GL/2) that you may send to a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet
printer or plotter.

   You may use `graph -T X' to pop up a window on an X Window System
display, and display the plot in it.  For that, you would do

     graph -T X < ascii_data_file

If you use `graph -T X', no output file will be produced; only a
window.  The window will vanish if you type `q' or click your mouse
in it.

   You may also use `graph -T tek', to display a plot on a device that
can emulate a Tektronix 4014 graphics terminal.  `xterm', the X Window
System terminal emulator, can do this.  Within an `xterm' window, you
would do

     graph -T tek < ascii_data_file

`xterm' normally emulates a VT100 terminal, but when this command is
issued from within it, it will pop up a second window (a `Tektronix
window') and draw the plot in it.  The Japanese terminal emulator
`kterm' should be able to do the same, provided that it is correctly
installed.  Another piece of software that can emulate a Tektronix 4014
terminal is the DOS version of `kermit'.

   `graph' may behave differently depending on the environment in which
it is invoked.  We have already mentioned the `PAGESIZE' environment
variable, which affects the operation of `graph -T ps', `graph -T fig',
and `graph -T hpgl'.  The `DISPLAY' and `BITMAPSIZE' environment
variables affect the operation of `graph -T X', and the `TERM'
environment variable affects the operation of `graph -T tek'.  There
are also several environment variables that affect the operation of
`graph -T hpgl'.  For a complete discussion of the effects of the
environment on `graph', see *Note graph Environment::.  The following
remarks apply irrespective of which display device is specified.

   By default, successive points in the dataset are joined by solid line
segments, which form a polygonal line or polyline that we call simply a
`line'.  You may choose the style of line (the `linemode') with the
`-m' option:

     graph -T ps -m 2 < ascii_data_file > plot.ps

Here `-m 2' indicates that linemode #2 should be used.  If the dataset
is rendered in monochrome, which is the default, the line may be drawn
in one of five distinct styles.  Linemodes #1 through #5 signify solid,
dotted, dotdashed, shortdashed, and longdashed; thereafter the sequence
repeats.  If the `-C' option is used, the dataset will be rendered in
color.  For colored datasets, the line may be drawn in one of 25
distinct styles.  Linemodes #1 through #5 signify red, green, blue,
magenta, and cyan; all are solid.  Linemodes #6 through #10 signify the
same five colors, but dotted rather than solid.  Linemodes #11 through
#16 signify the same five colors, but dotdashed, and so forth.  After
linemode #25, the sequence repeats.  Linemode #0, irrespective of
whether the rendering is in monochrome or color, means that the line is
not drawn.

   If you wish to *fill* the polygon bounded by the line (i.e., shade
it, or fill it with a solid color), you may use the `-q' option.  For
example,

     echo .1 .1 .1 .9 .9 .9 .9 .1 .1 .1 | graph -T ps -C -m 1 -q 0.3 > plot.ps

will plot a square region with vertices (0.1,0.1), (0.1,0.9), (0.9,0.9),
and (0.9,0.1).  The repetition of the first vertex (0.1,0.1) at the end
of the sequence of vertices ensures that the square will be closed: all
four segments of its boundary will be drawn.  The square will be drawn
in red (since the colored version of linemode #1 is requested).  The
interior of the square will be filled with red to an intensity of 30%,
as the `-q 0.3' option indicates.  If the intensity were zero, the
region would be filled with white, and if it were 1.0, the region would
be filled with solid color.  If the intensity were negative, the region
would be unfilled, or transparent (the default).

   You may choose the width of the line, whether it is filled or not, by
using the `-W' option.  For example, `-W 0.01' means that the line
should have a width equal to 0.01 times the width of the display.
Also, you may put symbols at each data point along the line by doing,
for example,

     graph -T ps -S 3 0.1 < ascii_data_file > plot.ps

where the first argument 3 indicates which symbol to plot.  The optional
second argument 0.1 specifies the symbol size as a fraction of the size
of the `plotting box': the square within which the plot is drawn.
Symbol #1 is a dot, symbol #2 is a plus sign, symbol #3 is an asterisk,
symbol #4 is a circle, symbol #5 is a cross, and so forth.  (*Note
Marker Symbols::.)  Symbols 1 through 31 are the same for all display
devices, and the color of a symbol will be the same as the color of the
line it is plotted along.

   Actually, you would probably not want to plot symbols at each point
in the dataset unless you turn off the line joining the points.  For
this purpose, the `negative linemode' concept is useful.  A line whose
linemode is negative is not visible; however, any symbols plotted along
it will have the color associated with the corresponding positive
linemode.  So, for example,

     graph -T ps -C -m -3 -S 4 < ascii_data_file > plot.ps

will plot a blue circle at each data point.  The circles will not be
joined by line segments.  By adding the optional second argument to the
`-S' option, you may adjust the size of the circles.

   `graph' will automatically generate abscissa (i.e., x) values for
you if you use the `-a' option.  If this option is used, no abscissa
values should be given in the data file.  The data points will be taken
to be regularly spaced along the abscissa.  The two arguments following
`-a' on the command line will be taken as the sampling interval and the
abscissa value of the first data point.  If they are absent, they
default to 1.0 and 0.0 respectively.  For example, the command

     echo 0 1 0 | graph -T ps -a > plot.ps

produces exactly the same plot  as

     echo 0 0 1 1 2 0 | graph -T ps > plot.ps

   `graph' will plot data with error bars, if the `-I e' option is
specified.  If it is, the dataset should consist of triples (x,y,error)
rather than pairs (x,y).  A vertical error bar of the appropriate
length will be plotted at each data point.  You may plot a symbol at
each data point, along with the error bar, by using the `-S' option in
the usual way.  The symbol will be the same for each point in the
dataset.  You may use the `-a' option in conjunction with `-I e', if
you wish.  If you do, the dataset should contain no abscissa (i.e., x)
values.

   By default the limits on the x and y axes, and the spacing between
the labeled ticks on each axis, are computed automatically.  You may
wish to set them manually.  You may accomplish this with the `-x' and
`-y' options.

     echo 0 0 1 1 2 0 | graph -T ps -x -1 3 -y -1 2 > plot.ps

will produce a plot in which the x axis extends from -1 to 3, and the y
axis from -1 to 2.  By default, `graph' tries to place about six
numbered ticks on each axis.  By including an optional third argument
to either `-x' or `-y', you may manually set the spacing of these
ticks, also.  For example, using `-y -1 2 1' rather than `-y -1 2' will
produce a y axis with labeled ticks at -1, 0, 1, and 2, rather than at
the locations that `graph' would choose by default.  In general, if a
third argument is present then labeled ticks will be placed at each of
its integer multiples.

   To make an axis logarithmic, you may use the `-l' option.  For
example,

     echo 1 1 2 3 3 1 | graph -T ps -l x > plot.ps

will produce a plot in which the x axis is logarithmic, but the y axis
is linear.  To make both axes logarithmic, you would use `-l x -l y'.
By default, the upper and lower limits on a logarithmic axis are powers
of ten, and the tick marks at these powers of ten, and no other tick
marks, are labeled.  If you need more labeled ticks on a logarithmic
axis, you should specify a tick spacing manually.  For example, `-l x
-x 1 9 2' will produce a plot in which the x axis is logarithmic and
extends from 1 to 9.  Labeled ticks will be located at each integer
multiple of 2, i.e., at 2, 4, 6, and 8.

   You may label the x and y axes with the `-X' and `-Y' options,
respectively.  For example,

     echo 1 1 2 3 3 1 | graph -T ps -l x -X "A Logarithmic Axis" > plot.ps

will label the log axis in the preceding example.  By default the label
for the y axis (if any) will be rotated 90 degrees, unless you use the
`--toggle-rotate-y-label' option.  You may specify a `top label', or
title for the plot, by using the `-L' option.  Doing, for example,

     echo 1 1 2 3 3 1 | graph -T ps -l x -L "A Simple Example" > plot.ps

will produce a plot with a title on top.

   The size of the x axis and y axis labels is specified with the `-f'
option, and the size of the title is specified with the
`--title-font-size' option.  For example,

     echo 1 1 2 3 3 1 | graph -T ps -X "Abscissa" -f 0.1 > plot.ps

will produce a plot in which the font size of the x axis label, and
each of the numerical tick labels, is very large (0.1 times the size of
the plotting box, i.e., the square within which the plot is drawn).

   The font in which the labels specified with the `-X', `-Y', and `-L'
options are drawn may be specified with the `-F' option.  For example,
`-F Times-Roman' will make the labels appear in Times-Roman instead of
the default font (which is Helvetica, unless `-T hpgl' or `-T tek' is
specified).  Font names are case-insensitive, so `-F times-roman' will
work equally well.  The available fonts include 35 Postscript fonts
(for all variants of `graph' other than `graph -T hpgl' and `graph -T
tek'), 45 PCL 5 fonts (for `graph -T hpgl'), and 17 Hershey fonts.  The
Hershey fonts include HersheyCyrillic, for Russian, and HersheyEUC, for
Japanese.  For a discussion of the available fonts, see *Note Text
Fonts::.

   The format of the labels drawn with the `-X', `-Y', and `-L' options
may be quite intricate.  Subscripts, superscripts, square roots, and
switching fonts within a typeface are all allowed.  The above examples
do not illustrate this, but for details, see *Note Text String Format::.

   Each of the preceding examples produced a plot containing the default
sort of grid (a square box, with ticks and labels drawn along its lower
edge and its left edge).  There are actually several sorts of grid you
may request.  The `-g 0', `-g 1', `-g 2', and `-g 3' options yield
successively fancier grids.  What they yield, respectively, is no grid
at all, a pair of axes with ticks and labels, a square box with ticks
and labels, and a square box with ticks, labels, and grid lines.  As
you can see, `-g 2' is the default.  There is also a `-g 4' option,
which yields a slightly different sort of grid: a pair of axes that
cross at the origin.  This last sort of grid is useful if the x or y
coordinates of the data points you are plotting are both positive and
negative.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Non-Square Plots,  Next: Multiple Datasets,  Prev: Simple Examples,  Up: graph

Non-square and displaced plots
==============================

   To alter the linear dimensions of a plot, and also to position it in
a different part of your display, you could do something like

     graph -T ps -h .3 -w .6 -r .1 -u .1 < ascii_data_file > plot.ps

Here the `-h' and `-w' options specify the height and width of the
plotting box, and the `-r' and `-u' options indicate how far up and to
the right the lower left corner of the plotting box should be
positioned.  All dimensions are expressed as fractions of the size of
the graphics display, which by convention is a square.  By default, the
height and width of the plotting box equal 0.6, and the `upward shift'
and the `rightward shift' equal 0.2.  So the above example will produce
a plot that is half as tall as usual.  Compared to its usual position,
the plot will be shifted slightly downward and to the left.

   The `graphics display', within which the plotting box is located, is
an abstraction.  For `graph -T X', it is a square window on an
X display, the size of which may be set by using the `--bitmap-size'
option, or by setting the `BITMAPSIZE' environment variable.  For
`graph -T tek', it is a square region occupying the central part of a
Tektronix display.  (Tektronix displays are 4/3 times as wide as they
are high.)  For `graph -T ps', by default it is a square region
centered on an 8.5in by 11in page (US letter size), occupying the full
width of the page with allowance being made for margins.  For `graph -T
fig', by default it is a square region of the same size, positioned in
the upper left corner of an `xfig' display.  For `graph -T hpgl',
by default it is a square region of the same size, with position and
orientation on the page being controlled by environment variables.  The
page size used by `graph -T ps', `graph -T fig', and `graph -T hpgl'
may be set by using the `--page-size' option, or by setting the
environment variable `PAGESIZE'.  For example, setting `PAGESIZE' to
"a4" would position the graphics display appropriately on an A4-size
page (21cm by 29.7cm).

   Changing the width of the plotting box may have unforeseen
consequences.  A number of command-line options specify sizes or
dimensions as fractions of the width of the plotting box.  For example,
`-S 3 .01' specifies that the plotting symbols for the following dataset
should be of type #3, and should have a fractional size equal to 0.01.
If the `-w' option is employed to widen or narrow the plot, such
dimensions or sizes will scale in tandem.  That is presumably the right
thing to do, but may be slightly disconcerting.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Multiple Datasets,  Next: Multiplotting,  Prev: Non-Square Plots,  Up: graph

Preparing a plot from more than one dataset
===========================================

   It is frequently the case that several datasets need to be displayed
on the same plot.  If so, you may wish to distinguish the points in
different datasets by joining them by lines of different types, or by
using plotting symbols of different types.

   A more complicated example would be the following.  You may have a
file containing a dataset that is the result of experimental
observations, and a file containing closely spaced points that trace
out a theoretical curve.  The second file is a dataset in its own
right.  You would presumably plot it with line segments joining
successive points, so as to trace out the theoretical curve.  But the
first dataset, resulting from experiment, would be plotted without such
line segments.  In fact, a plotting symbol would be plotted at each of
its points.

   These examples, and others like them, led us to define a set of seven
*attributes* which define the way in which a dataset should be plotted.
These attributes, which may be set by command-line options, are the
following.

  1. color/monochrome

  2. linemode

  3. linewidth

  4. symbol type

  5. symbol size

  6. symbol font name

  7. fill fraction

Color/monochrome (a choice of one or the other) is the simplest.  This
choice is toggled with the `-C' option.  The `linemode' (i.e., line
style) specifies how the line segments joining successive points should
be drawn; it is specified with the `-m' option.  Linemode #0 means no
linemode at all, for example.  `Linewidth' is self-explanatory; it is
specified with the `-W' option. `Symbol type' and `symbol size', which
are specified with the `-S' option, specify the symbol plotted at each
point of the dataset.  `Symbol font name' refers to the font from which
plotting symbols #32 and above, which are taken to be characters rather
than geometric symbols, are selected.  It is set with the
`--symbol-font-name' option, and is relevant only if `-S' is used to
request such special plotting symbols. Finally, the polygonal line
joining the points in a dataset may be *filled*, to create a filled or
shaded polygon.  The `fill fraction' is set with the `-q' option.
A negative fill fraction means no fill, or transparent; zero means
white, and 1.0 means solid, or fully colored.

   The preceding seven attributes refer to the way in which datasets are
plotted.  Datasets may also differ from one another in the way in which
they are read from files.  The dataset(s) in a file may or may not
contain error bars, for example.  If a file contains data with error
bars, the `-I e' option should occur on the command line before the
file name.  (The `-I' option specifies the input format for the
following files.)

   The following illustrates how datasets in three different input files
could be plotted simultaneously.

     graph -T ps -m 0 -S 3 file_1 -C -m 3 file_2 -C -W 0.02 file_3 > output.ps

The dataset in `file_1' will be plotted in linemode #0, so successive
points will not be joined by lines.  But symbol #3 (an asterisk) will
be plotted at each point.  The dataset in `file_2' will be plotted in
color, and linemode #3 will be used.  In color plotting, linemode #3 is
interpreted as a solid blue line.  The second `-C' on the command line
turns off color for `file_3'.  The points in the third dataset will be
joined by a black line of width 0.02, as a fraction of the width of the
graphics display.

   The above command line could be made even more complicated by
specifying additional options (e.g., `-q' or `-I') before each file.
In fact the command line could also include such standard options as
`-x' or `-y', which specify the range of each axis.  Such options,
which refer to the plot as a whole rather than to individual datasets,
should appear before the first file name.  For example, you could do

     graph -T ps -x 0 1 0.5 -m 0 -S 3 file_1 -C -m 3 file_2 > output.ps

Note that it is possible to include the special file name `-', which
refers to standard input, on the command line.  So you may produce a
plot in part from files, and in part from input that is piped to
`graph' from another program.

   Each input file may include more than one dataset.  If so, the
command line options preceding a file on the command line will take
effect for all datasets in that file.  There are two exceptions to
this.  By default, the linemode is incremented (`bumped') from one
dataset to the next.  This feature is usually quite convenient.  For
example, if you do

     graph -T ps -m 3 file_1 > output.ps

the first dataset in `file_1' will appear in linemode #3, the second in
linemode #4, etc.  In fact if you do

     graph -T ps file_1 file_2 ... > output.ps

without specifying linemode explicitly, the successive datasets read
from the files on the command line will appear in linemode #1, linemode
#2, ....  If you do not like this feature, you may turn it off, or in
general toggle it, by using the `-B' option.

   You may also control manually the linemode and symbol type used for
the datasets within any file.  You would do this by including
directives in the file itself, rather than on the command line.  For
example, if the line

     #m=-5,S=10

appeared in an ASCII-format input file, it would be interpreted as a
directive to switch to linemode #-5 and symbol type #10 for the
following dataset.  Future releases of `graph' may provide the ability
to set each of the seven dataset attributes in this way.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Multiplotting,  Next: Data Formats,  Prev: Multiple Datasets,  Up: graph

Multiplotting: placing multiple plots on a single page
======================================================

   It is occasionally useful to display several plots at once on a
single page, or on a single graphics display.  We call such a composite
plot a *multiplot*.  One common sort of multiplot is a small plot inset
into a larger one.  Another sort is two or more plots side by side.

   `graph' can draw multiplots consisting of an arbitrarily large
number of sub-plots.  When multiplotting, `graph' draws each sub-plot
in its own `virtual display'.  When a conventional plot is drawn, the
virtual display is the same as the physical display.  But when a
multiplot is drawn, the virtual display may be any smaller square
region.

   The following example illustrates the idea.  For the present
purposes, the physical display is a square with lower left corner
(0.0,0.0) and upper right corner (1.0,1.0).

     graph -T ps data_file_1 --reposition 0.35 0.35 0.3 data_file_2

Here `data_file_1' is plotted in the usual way.  The virtual display is
then shrunk to a square of size 0.3, with lower left corner
(0.35,0.35).  A plot is then prepared from `data_file_2', and drawn.
This plot, as you can see, will be a much smaller plot that is inset
into the first plot.

   By convention, before each sub-plot of a multiplot other than the
first is drawn, a `blankout region' surrounding its plotting box is
erased.  (That is, it is filled with white.)  This erasure prevents the
sub-plots from overlapping and producing a messy result.  By default,
the blankout region is a rectangular region 30% larger in each dimension
than the plotting box for the sub-plot.  This is appropriate if the
sub-plot is a small one that is inset into the first sub-plot.  It may
not be appropriate, however, if you are preparing a multiplot in which
several sub-plots appear side by side.  You may use the `--blankout'
option to adjust this parameter.  For example, specifying `--blankout
1.0' will make the blankout region for a sub-plot coincide with its
plotting box.  Specifying `--blankout 0.0' will prevent any blanking
out from occurring.  The blankout parameter may differ from sub-plot to
sub-plot.

   It should be emphasized that every sub-plot in a multiplot is a plot
in its own right.  All the usual options (`-m', `-S', `-x', `-y', etc.)
may be applied to each sub-plot separately.  The options for a sub-plot
should occur on the `graph' command line immediately after the
`--reposition' option that applies to it.  Each sub-plot may be
prepared from more than a single dataset, also.  The names of the data
files for each subplot should occur on the command line before the
following `--reposition' option, if any.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Data Formats,  Next: graph Invocation,  Prev: Multiplotting,  Up: graph

Reading binary and other data formats
=====================================

   By default, `graph' reads datasets in ASCII format.  But it can also
read datasets in any of three binary formats (single precision floating
point, double precision floating point, and integer).  These three
input formats are specified by the `-I d', `-I f', and `-I i' options,
respectively.

   There are two advantages to using binary data: 1) `graph' runs
significantly faster because the computational overhead for converting
data from ASCII to binary is eliminated, and 2) the input files may be
significantly smaller.  If you have very large datasets, using binary
format may reduce storage and runtime costs.

   For example, you may create a single precision binary dataset as
output from a C language program:

     #include <stdio.h>
     void write_point (float x, float y)
     {
       fwrite(&x, sizeof (float), 1, stdout);
       fwrite(&y, sizeof (float), 1, stdout);
     }

You may plot data written this way by doing:

     graph -T ps -I f < binary_data_file > plot.ps

The inclusion of multiple datasets within a single binary file is
supported.  If a binary file contains more than a single dataset,
successive datasets should be separated by a single occurrence of the
the largest possible number.  For single precision datasets this is the
quantity `MAXFLOAT', for double precision datasets it is the quantity
`MAXDOUBLE', and for integer datasets it is the quantity `MAXINT'.  On
most machines `MAXFLOAT' is approximately 3.4x10^38, `MAXDOUBLE' is
approximately 1.8x10^308, and `MAXINT' is 2^32-1.

   If you are reading datasets from more than one file, it is not
required that the files be in the same format.  For example,

     graph -T ps -I f binary_data_file -I a ascii_data_file > plot.ps

will read `binary_data_file' in `f' (binary single precision) format,
and `ascii_data_file' in `a' (normal ASCII) format.

   There is currently no support for reading and plotting binary data
with error bars.  If you have data with error bars, you should supply
the data to `graph' in ASCII, and use the `-I e' option.

   `graph' can also read data files in the ASCII `table' format
produced by the `gnuplot' plotting program.  For this, you should use
the `-I g' option.  Such a data file may consist of more than one
dataset.

   To sum up: there are six supported data formats, `a' (normal ASCII),
`e' (ASCII with error bars), `g' (the ASCII `table' format produced by
`gnuplot'), `f' (binary single precision), `d' (binary double
precision), and `i' (binary integer).  Input files may be in any of
these six formats.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: graph Invocation,  Prev: Data Formats,  Up: graph

`graph' command-line options
============================

   The command-line options to `graph' are listed in the following
sections.  Each option that takes an argument is followed, in
parentheses, by the type and default value of the argument.  There are
five sorts of option.

   The behavior of `graph' is also affected by a number of environment
variables, so there is a section discussing them as well.

* Menu:

* Plot Options::	Options affecting an entire plot
* Dataset Options::	Options affecting the reading and plotting of datasets
* Multiplot Options::	Options for drawing several plots at once
* Raw graph Options::	Options relevant only to raw graph
* Info Options::	Options requesting information (e.g., --help)
* graph Environment::   Environment variables


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Plot Options,  Next: Dataset Options,  Prev: graph Invocation,  Up: graph Invocation

Plot options
------------

   The following options affect an entire plot.  They should normally
occur at most once, and should appear on the command line before the
first filename.  If a multiplot is being drawn, they may (with the
exception of the `-T' option) occur more than once.  If so, the second
and later occurrences should be placed on the command line immediately
after each `--reposition X Y' option.

`-T TYPE'
`--display-type TYPE'
     (String, default "meta".)  Emit output for a display of type TYPE,
     which may be one of the strings "X", "ps", "fig", "hpgl", "tek",
     and "meta".  These refer respectively to the X Window System,
     `idraw'-editable Postscript, the format used by the `xfig' drawing
     editor, the Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language, Tektronix format,
     and device-independent GNU metafile format.

`-f FONT_SIZE'
`--font-size FONT_SIZE'
     (Float, default 0.0525.)  Set the size of the font used for the
     axis and tick labels, as a fraction of the size of the `plotting
     box' (the box that frames the plot), to be FONT_SIZE.

`-F FONT_NAME'
`--font-name FONT_NAME'
     (String, default "Helvetica" except for `graph -T hpgl' and `graph
     -T tek', for which "HersheySerif" is the default.)  Set the font
     used for the axis and tick labels, and for the plot title
     (if any), to be FONT_NAME.  The choice of font for the plot title
     may be overridden with the `--title-font-name' option (see below).
     Font names are case-insensitive.  For a list of available fonts,
     see *Note Text Fonts::.  If the specified font is not available,
     the default font will be used.

`-g GRID_STYLE'
`--grid-style GRID_STYLE'
     (Integer in the range 0...4, default 2.)  Set the grid style for
     the plot to be GRID_STYLE.  Grid styles 0 through 3 are
     progressively more fancy, but style 4 is a somewhat different
     style.

       0. no axes, tick marks or labels.

       1. a pair of axes, with tick marks and labels.

       2. box around plot, with tick marks and labels.

       3. box around plot, with tick marks and labels; also grid lines.

       4. axes intersect at the origin, with tick marks and labels.

`-h HEIGHT'
`--height-of-plot HEIGHT'
     (Float, default 0.6.)  Set the fractional height of the plot with
     respect to the height of the display (or virtual display, in the
     case of a multiplot) to be HEIGHT.  A value of 1.0 will produce a
     plotting box that fills the available area.  Note that tick marks
     and labels are outside the plotting box, so that values less than
     1.0 are generally used.

`-K CLIP_MODE'
`--clip-mode CLIP_MODE'
     (Integer, default 1.) Set the clip mode for the plot to CLIP_MODE.
     The clip mode is relevant only if data points are being joined by a
     line, and the line is not being filled to create a filled region
     (since filled regions are clipped in a fixed way).  There are
     three clip modes: 0, 1, and 2.  Clip mode 0 means that a line
     segment joining two data points will be plotted only if neither
     point is outside the plotting box.  Clip mode 1 means that it will
     be plotted if no more than one of the two points is outside, and
     clip mode 2 means that it will be plotted even if both are
     outside.  In all cases the line segment will be clipped to the
     plotting box.

`-L TOP_LABEL'
`--top-label TOP_LABEL'
     (String, default empty.)  Place the text string TOP_LABEL above
     the plot, as a plot title.  The string may include escape sequences
     (*note Text String Format::.).  The `--title-font-size' option may
     be used to specify the size of the font.  The font is normally the
     same as the font used for labelling axes and tick labels, as
     selected by the `-F' option.  But this may be overridden with the
     `--title-font-name' option.

`-l X|Y'
`--toggle-log-axis X|Y'
     Set the specified axis to be a log axis rather than a linear axis,
     or vice versa.  By default, both axes are linear axes.

`-N X|Y'
`--toggle-no-ticks X|Y'
     Toggle the presence of ticks and tick labels on the specified axis.
     This applies to the grid styles that normally include ticks and
     tick labels, i.e., grid styles 1, 2, 3, and 4.

`-R X|Y'
`--toggle-round-to-next-tick X|Y'
     Toggle the rounding of the limits of the specified axis, so that
     they are integer multiples of the spacing between labeled tick
     marks.  By default this does not take place if the user uses the
     `-x' or `-y' options to set axis limits explicitly.

`-r RIGHT'
`--right-shift RIGHT'
     (Float, default 0.2.)  Move the plot to the right by a fractional
     amount RIGHT with respect to the width of the display (or virtual
     display, in the case of a multiplot).  This produces a margin on
     the left side of the plotting box.  A value of 0.5 will produce a
     margin half the width of the available area.  Note that the tick
     marks and labels are drawn in the margin.

`-s'
`--save-screen'
     Save the screen.  This option requests that `graph' not erase the
     display device before it begins to plot.  This is relevant only to
     `graph -T tek'.  It may be employed to perform a crude sort of
     multiplotting.

`-T TICK_SIZE'
`--tick-size TICK_SIZE'
     (Float, default .02.) Set the fractional size of the tick marks on
     each axis to be TICK_SIZE.  A value of 1.0 produces tick marks on
     the x axis whose length is equal to the width of the plotting box.
     A negative TICK_SIZE will yield tick marks that extend outside
     the box, rather than inside.

`-t'
`--toggle-transpose-axes'
     Transpose the abscissa and ordinate.  This causes the axes to be
     interchanged, and the options that apply to each axis to be
     applied to the opposite axis.  That is, data points are read in as
     (y, x) pairs, and such options as `-x' and `-X' apply to the
     y axis rather than the x axis.  If the `-I e' option is in force,
     so that the data points are read with error bars, the orientation
     of the error bars will be switched between vertical and horizontal.

`-u UP'
`--upward-shift UP'
     (Float, default 0.2.)  Move the plot up by a fractional amount UP
     with respect to the height of the display (or virtual display, in
     the case of a multiplot).  This produces a margin below the
     plotting box.  A value of 0.5 will produce a margin half the
     height of the available area.  Note that the tick marks and labels
     are drawn in the margin.

`-w WIDTH'
`--width-of-plot WIDTH'
     (Float, default 0.6.) Set the fractional width of the plot with
     respect to the width of the display (or virtual display, in the
     case of a multiplot) to be WIDTH.  A value of 1.0 will produce a
     plotting box that fills the available area.  Note that the tick
     marks and labels are outside the plotting box, so values less than
     1.0 are generally used.

`-x [LOWER_LIMIT [UPPER_LIMIT [SPACING]]]'
`--x-limits [LOWER_LIMIT [UPPER_LIMIT [SPACING]]]'
     (Floats.) The arguments LOWER_LIMIT and UPPER_LIMIT specify the
     limits of the x axis, and the optional argument SPACING specifies
     the spacing of labeled ticks along the axis.  If any of the three
     arguments is missing, it is computed from the data.  The arguments
     LOWER_LIMIT and UPPER_LIMIT must be present if `graph' is to act
     as a real-time filter.

`-y [LOWER_LIMIT [UPPER_LIMIT [SPACING]]]'
`--y-limits [LOWER_LIMIT [UPPER_LIMIT [SPACING]]]'
     (Floats.)  The arguments specify the limits of the y axis, and the
     spacing of labeled ticks along it, as for the x axis (see above).
     The arguments LOWER_LIMIT and UPPER_LIMIT must be present if
     `graph' is to act as a real-time filter.

`-X X_LABEL'
`--x-title X_LABEL'
     (String, default empty.)  Set the label for the x axis to be the
     text string X_LABEL.  The string may include escape sequences
     (*note Text String Format::.).  The `-F' and `-f' options may be
     used to specify the name of the font and the size of the font.

`-Y Y_LABEL'
`--y-title Y_LABEL'
     (String, default empty.) Set the label for the y axis to be the
     text string Y_LABEL.  The string may include escape sequences
     (*note Text String Format::.).  The label will be rotated by 90
     degrees so that it is parallel to the axis, unless the
     `--toggle-rotate-y-label' option is used.  Some old X Window System
     displays do not support rotated labels, and require the
     `--toggle-rotate-y-label' option.  The `-F' and `-f' options may
     be used to specify the name of the font and the size of the font.

`--bg-color NAME'
     (String, default "white".)  Set the color used for the plot
     background to be NAME.  This is currently relevant only to `graph
     -T X'.  An unrecognized name sets the color to the default.  For
     information on what names are recognized, see *Note Color Names::.
     The environment variable `BG_COLOR' may equally well be used to
     specify the background color.

`--bitmap-size BITMAP_SIZE'
     (String, default "570x570".)  Set the size of the graphics
     display, in terms of pixels, to be BITMAP_SIZE.  This is relevant
     only to `graph -T X', for which the graphics display is an
     X window.  The use of a square window, rather than a rectangular
     window, is recommended.  The environment variable `BITMAPSIZE' may
     equally well be used to specify the window size.  For backward
     compatibility, the X resource `Xplot.geometry', which may be set
     by the user, may be used instead.

`--frame-color NAME'
     (String, default "black".)  Set the color used for drawing the plot
     frame, and for drawing monochrome datasets (if any) to be NAME.
     An unrecognized name sets the color to the default.  For
     information on what names are recognized, see *Note Color Names::.

`--frame-line-width FRAME_LINE_WIDTH'
     (Float, default -1.0.)  Set the width of lines in the plot frame,
     as a fraction of the width of the display, to FRAME_LINE_WIDTH.
     A negative value means that the default value for the line width
     provided by the `libplot' graphics library should be used.  This
     value is device-dependent.  The interpretation of zero line width
     is also device-dependent (on some devices, a zero-width line is the
     thinnest line that can be drawn; on others, a zero-width line is
     invisible).

     `graph -T tek' does not support drawing lines with other than a
     default width, and `graph -T hpgl' does not support doing so if
     the environment variable `HPGL_VERSION' is set to a value less than
     "2" (the default).

`--max-line-length MAX_LINE_LENGTH'
     (Integer, default 500.) Set the maximum number of points that a
     polygonal line drawn through any dataset may contain, before it is
     flushed to the display device, to equal MAX_LINE_LENGTH.  If this
     flushing occurs, the polygonal line will be split into two or more
     sub-lines, though the splitting should not be noticeable.
     Splitting will not take place if the `-q' option, which requests
     filling, is used.

     The reason for splitting long polygonal lines is that some display
     devices (e.g., old Postscript printers and HP-GL plotters) have
     limited buffer sizes.  The environment variable `MAX_LINE_LENGTH'
     may also be used to specify the maximum line length.  This option
     has no effect on `graph -T tek' or raw `graph', since they draw
     polylines in real time and have no buffer limitations.

`--page-size PAGESIZE'
     (String, default "letter".)  Set the size of the page on which the
     plot will be positioned.  This is relevant only to `graph -T ps',
     `graph -T fig', and `graph -T hpgl'.  "letter" means an 8.5in by
     11in page.  Any ISO page size in the range "a0"..."a4" or ANSI
     page size in the range "a"..."e" may be specified ("letter" is an
     alias for "a" and "tabloid" is an alias for "b").  "legal" and
     "ledger" are recognized page sizes also.  The environment variable
     `PAGESIZE' may equally well be used to specify the page size.

     For `graph -T ps', the graphics display within which the plot is
     drawn will be a square region centered on the specified page and
     occupying its full width.  For `graph -T fig', the graphics
     display will be a square region located in the upper left corner
     of an `xfig' display, with width equal to the width of the
     specified page.  `graph -T hpgl', fine control over the
     positioning of the graphics display on the page may be
     accomplished by setting certain environment variables (*note graph
     Environment::.).

`--pen-colors COLORS'
     (String, default "1=red:2=green:3=blue:4=magenta:5=cyan".)  Set the
     colors of the pens used for drawing plots, as numbered, to be
     COLORS.  The format should be self-explanatory.  An unrecognized
     name sets the corresponding color to the default.  For information
     on what names are recognized, see *Note Color Names::.

`--rotate ANGLE'
     (Integer, default 0.)  Set the rotation angle of the plot on the
     page, relative to the default orientation.  This is currently
     relevant only to `graph -T hpgl'.  It facilitates switching
     between portrait and landscape orientations.  Recognized values
     for ANGLE are 0, 90, 180, and 270.  "no" and "yes" are equivalent
     to 0 and 90, respectively.  The environment variable `ROTATE' may
     equally well be used to specify the rotation angle.

`--title-font-name TITLE_FONT_NAME'
     (String, default "Helvetica" except for `graph -T hpgl' and `graph
     -T tek', for which "HersheySerif" is the default.)  Set the font
     used for the plot title (`top label') to be FONT_NAME.  Normally
     the font used for the plot title is the same as that used for
     labelling the axes and the ticks along the axes, as specified by
     the `-F' option.  But the `--title-font-name' option may be used
     to override this.  Font names are case-insensitive; for a list of
     available fonts, see *Note Text Fonts::.  If the font is not
     available, the default font will be used.

`--title-font-size TITLE_FONT_SIZE'
     (Float, default 0.07.)  Set the size of the font for the top label
     (`title'), as specified by the `-L' option, to TITLE_FONT_SIZE.
     The size is expressed as a fraction of the size of the plotting
     box.

`--toggle-rotate-y-label'
     Position the label on the y axis (which is set with the `-Y'
     option) horizontally instead of vertically, or vice versa.  By
     default the label is rotated, so that it is positioned parallel to
     the y axis.  But some display devices (e.g., old X Window System
     displays) cannot handle rotated text.

`--toggle-switch-axis-end X|Y'
     Set the end of the indicated axis through which the other axis
     passes to be the opposite of what is currently the case.  E.g.,
     `--toggle-switch-axis-end x' will cause the y axis to appear on
     the right of the plot rather than the left.  (The left end is the
     default.)  Similarly, `--toggle-switch-axis-end y' will cause the
     x axis to appear at the top of the plot rather than the bottom.
     Note that if the x axis appears at the top, no plot title will be
     drawn (since there will be no room).


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Dataset Options,  Next: Multiplot Options,  Prev: Plot Options,  Up: graph Invocation

Dataset options
---------------

   The following options affect the way in which individual datasets are
read from files, and drawn as part of a plot.  They should appear on the
command line before the file containing the datasets whose reading or
rendering they will affect.  They may appear more than once on a command
line, if more than one file is to be read.

   The following three options affect the way in which datasets are read
from files.

`-I DATA-FORMAT'
`--input-format DATA-FORMAT'
     This specifies which format the subsequent input file(s) are in.

    `a'
          ASCII format.  Each input file is a sequence of floating
          point numbers, interpreted as the x and y coordinates of the
          successive data points in a dataset.  The x and y coordinates
          of a point need not appear on the same line, and points need
          not appear on different lines.  But if a blank line occurs
          (i.e., two newlines in succession are seen), it is
          interpreted as the end of a dataset, and the beginning of the
          next.

    `e'
          ASCII format, including error bars.  Similar to `a' format,
          except that triples (x,y,error) appear instead of pairs (x,y).

    `g'
          The ASCII `table' format produced by the `gnuplot' plotting
          program.  Single precision binary format.  Each input file is
          a sequence of single precision floating point numbers,
          interpreted as forming pairs (x,y).  Successive datasets are
          separated by a single occurrence of the quantity `MAXFLOAT',
          which is the largest possible single precision floating point
          number.  On most machines this is approximately 3.4x10^38.
          Double precision binary format.  Each input file is a
          sequence of double precision floating point numbers,
          interpreted as forming pairs (x,y).  Successive datasets are
          separated by a single occurrence of the quantity `MAXDOUBLE',
          which is the largest possible double precision floating point
          number.  On most machines this is approximately 1.8x10^308.
          Integer binary format.  Each input file is a sequence of
          integers, interpreted as forming pairs (x,y).  Successive
          datasets are separated by a single occurrence of the quantity
          `MAXINT', which is the largest possible integer.  On most
          machines this is 2^31-1.

`-a [STEP_SIZE [LOWER_LIMIT]]'
`--auto-abscissa [STEP_SIZE [LOWER_LIMIT]]'
     (Floats, defaults 1.0 and 0.0.) Automatically generate abscissa
     (x) values.  Irrespective of data format (`a', `e', `f', `d',
     or `i'), this option specifies that the abscissa (x) values are
     missing from the input file: the dataset(s) to be read contain
     only ordinate (y) values.  The increment from each x value to the
     next will be STEP_SIZE, and the first x value will be LOWER_LIMIT.
     To return to reading abscissa values from the input, i.e., for
     subsequent input files, you may specify `-a 0', which disables
     automatic generation of the abscissa values and returns STEP_SIZE
     and LOWER_LIMIT to their default values.

`-B'
`--toggle-auto-bump'
     By default the linemode (set with `-m', see below) is `bumped'
     (incremented by unity) at the beginning of each new dataset.  This
     option toggles auto-bumping: it turns it off if it was on, and on
     if it was off.

   The following options affect the way in which individual datasets are
drawn as part of a plot.  These options set the six `attributes' (symbol
type, symbol font, linemode, line width, fill fraction, and
color/monochrome) that each dataset has.

`-m LINE_MODE'
`--line-mode LINE_MODE'
     (Integer, default 1.) LINE_MODE specifies the mode (i.e., style)
     of the lines drawn between successive points in a dataset.  By
     convention, linemode #0 means no line at all (points are
     disconnected).  If the dataset is being rendered in monochrome, the
     interpretation of LINE_MODE is as follows.

       1. solid

       2. dotted

       3. dotdashed

       4. shortdashed

       5. longdashed

     Thereafter (i.e., for LINE_MODE greater than 5) the sequence of
     five linemodes repeats.  So besides linemode #0, there are a total
     of five distinct monochrome linemodes.  If the dataset is being
     rendered in color (as may be requested with the `-C' option), the
     interpretation of linemodes #1 through #5 is instead

       1. red, solid

       2. green, solid

       3. blue, solid

       4. magenta, solid

       5. cyan, solid

     Linemodes #6 through #10 use the same five colors, but are dotted;
     linemodes #11 through #15 are dotdashed; linemodes #16 through #20
     are shortdashed; and linemodes #21 through #25 are longdashed.  So
     besides linemode #0, there are a total of 25 distinct colored
     linemodes.  A negative linemode indicates that no line should be
     drawn, but that the plotting symbol, if any (see below), should be
     in the color of the corresponding positive linemode.

`-S [SYMBOL_NUMBER [SYMBOL_SIZE]]'
`--symbol [SYMBOL_NUMBER [SYMBOL_SIZE]]'
     (Integer and float, defaults 0 and 0.03.) Draw a marker symbol at
     each data point.  SYMBOL_NUMBER specifies the symbol type, and
     SYMBOL_SIZE specifies the fractional size of the symbol with
     respect to the width of the plotting box.  If the dataset is being
     rendered in color, the symbol will have the color of the line that
     is being drawn to connect the data points.  You may request that
     symbols be drawn without any line connecting them by using the
     `-m' option to specify a negative linemode (see above).  The
     following table lists the first few marker symbols (by convention,
     symbol #0 means no symbol at all).

       1. dot

       2. plus (+)

       3. asterisk (*)

       4. circle

       5. cross

     Marker symbols 0 through 31 are furnished by the `libplot' graphics
     library.  *Note Marker Symbols::.  Symbol numbers greater than or
     equal to 32 are interpreted as characters to be selected from a
     symbol font, which may be set with the `--symbol-font-name' option
     (see below).

`-W LINE_WIDTH'
`--line-width LINE_WIDTH'
     (Float, default -1.0.)  Set the width of the lines used to join
     successive points in a dataset, as a fraction of the width of the
     display, to LINE_WIDTH.  A negative value means that the default
     value for the line width provided by the `libplot' graphics
     library should be used.  This value is device-dependent.  The
     interpretation of zero line width is also device-dependent (on some
     devices, a zero-width line is the thinnest line that can be drawn;
     on others, a zero-width line is invisible).

     `graph -T tek' does not support drawing lines with other than a
     default width, and `graph -T hpgl' does not support doing so if
     the environment variable `HPGL_VERSION' is set to a value less than
     "2" (the default).

`-q FILL_FRACTION'
`--fill-fraction FILL_FRACTION'
     (Float, default -1.0.)  If successive points in a dataset are
     joined by line segments, set the shading intensity for the polygon
     formed by the line segments to be FILL_FRACTION.  A solid polygon
     (i.e., one filled with the `pen color' used for drawing the line
     segments) is obtained by choosing FILL_FRACTION=1.0.  The interior
     of the polygon will be white if FILL_FRACTION=0.0.  The polygon
     will be unfilled (transparent) if FILL_FRACTION is negative.
     If the polygon intersects itself, the `even-odd rule' will be used
     to determine which points are inside and outside, i.e., to
     determine which portions of the polygon should be shaded.  The
     even-odd rule is explained in the `Postscript Language Reference
     Manual'.  The `-q' option has no effect in `graph -T tek', and it
     has no effect in `graph -T hpgl' if the environment variable
     `HPGL_VERSION' is set to "1".

`-C'
`--toggle-use-color'
     Toggle between color and monochrome rendering of datasets.  The
     interpretation of linemode depends on whether the rendering is
     being performed in color or monochrome; see the `-m' option above.

`--symbol-font-name SYMBOL_FONT_NAME'
     (String, default "ZapfDingbats" unless `-T hpgl' or `-T tek' is
     specified, in which case it is "HersheySerif".)  Set the symbol
     font, from which plotting symbols numbered 32 and higher are
     selected, to be SYMBOL_FONT_NAME.  Font names are
     case-insensitive.  For a list of available fonts, see *Note Text
     Fonts::.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Multiplot Options,  Next: Raw graph Options,  Prev: Dataset Options,  Up: graph Invocation

Multiplot options
-----------------

   The following options are used for multiplotting (placing several
plots on a display, or a page, at once).

`--reposition X Y SIZE'
     (Floats, defaults 0.0, 0.0, 1.0) Set the `virtual display' within
     which the next plot will be drawn to be a square of size SIZE, with
     lower left corner (X,Y).  Normalized coordinates are used: (0,0)
     means the lower left corner of the physical display and (1,1)
     means the upper right corner of the physical display.

`--blankout BLANKOUT_FRACTION'
     (Float, default 1.3.)  When drawing each additional plot of a
     multiplot, it is desirable to clear the region of the display on
     which the plot will be drawn.  If BLANKOUT_FRACTION=1.0, the
     region covered by the plot's plotting box will be cleared.  If
     BLANKOUT_FRACTION=1.3, a region 30% larger in each dimension will
     be cleared.  This is appropriate for inset plots; 1.0 would be
     appropriate for side by side plots.  Note that `graph -T tek'
     cannot clear regions, and `graph -T hpgl' cannot clear them unless
     the environment variable `HPGL_VERSION' is set to "2" (the default)
     and the environment variable `HPGL_OPAQUE_MODE' is set to "yes".


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Raw graph Options,  Next: Info Options,  Prev: Multiplot Options,  Up: graph Invocation

Raw `graph' options
-------------------

   The following options are relevant only to raw `graph', i.e., are
relevant only if no display device is specified with the `-T' option.
In this case `graph' outputs a graphics metafile.  They should appear
on the command line before any filenames, since they affect the output
of the plot (or multiplot) as a whole.

`-O'
`--portable-output'
     Output the portable (human-readable) version of GNU metafile
     format, rather than a binary version (the default).


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Info Options,  Next: graph Environment,  Prev: Raw graph Options,  Up: graph Invocation

Informational options
---------------------

   The following options request information.

`--help'
     Print a list of command-line options, and then exit.

`--help-fonts'
     Print a list of available fonts, and then exit.  The list will
     depend on which display device is specified with the `-T' option.
     `graph -T X', `graph -T ps', and `graph -T fig' each support the
     35 standard Postscript fonts.  `graph -T hpgl' supports the 45
     standard PCL 5 fonts.  All four, together with `graph -T tek',
     support a set of 17 Hershey vector fonts.  Raw `graph' in
     principle supports any font, since its output must be translated to
     other formats with `plot'.

`--version'
     Print the version number of `graph' and the plotting utilities
     package, and exit.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: graph Environment,  Prev: Info Options,  Up: graph Invocation

Environment variables
=====================

   The behavior of `graph' is affected by several environment
variables.  We have already mentioned the environment variables
`BITMAPSIZE', `PAGESIZE', `BG_COLOR', `MAX_LINE_LENGTH', and `ROTATE'.
They simply serve as backups for the options `--bitmap-size',
`--page-size', `--bg-color', `--max-line-length', and `--rotate'.  The
remaining environment variables are specific to individual display
devices.  They control device driver parameters.

   `graph -T X', which pops up a window on an X Window System display
and draws graphics in it, checks the `DISPLAY' environment variable.
The value of this variable determines the display on which the window
will be popped up.

   `graph -T hpgl', which produces Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language
output, is affected by several environment variables.  The most
important is `HPGL_VERSION', which may be set to "1", "1.5", or "2"
(the default).  "1" means that the output should be generic HP-GL,
"1.5" means that the output should be suitable for the HP7550A pen
plotter (HP-GL with some HP-GL/2 extensions), and "2" means that the
output should be modern HP-GL/2.  By default, `graph -T hpgl' will draw
with a fixed set of pens.  Which pens are present may be specified by
setting the `HPGL_PENS' environment variable.  If `HPGL_VERSION' is "1"
or "1.5", the default value of `HPGL_PENS' is "1=black"; if
`HPGL_VERSION' is "2", the default value of `HPGL_PENS' is
"1=black:2=red:3=green:4=yellow:5=blue:6=magenta:7=cyan".  The format
should be self-explanatory.  `HPGL_PENS' may specify a color for any
pen in the range #1...#31.  For information on what color names are
recognized, see *Note Color Names::.  Pen #1 must always be present,
though it need not be black. Any other pen in the range #1...#31 may be
omitted.

   If `HPGL_VERSION' is "2" then `graph -T hpgl' will be affected by
two other environment variables.  If the value of `HPGL_ASSIGN_COLORS'
is "yes", then `graph -T hpgl' will not be restricted to the palette
specified in `HPGL_PENS': it will assign colors to "logical pens" in
the range #1...#31, as needed.  Also, if `HPGL_OPAQUE_MODE' is set
equal to "yes" then pen #0 will be used as an opaque white pen,
permitting the drawing of white lines and the filling of objects with
opaque white.  Not all HP-GL/2 devices allow the assignment of colors
to logical pens, or the use of pen #0 as an opaque white pen.  In
particular, HP-GL/2 pen plotters do not.  So these two environment
variables should be used with caution.

   The position of the `graph -T hpgl' graphics display on the page may
be adjusted by setting the `HPGL_XOFFSET' and `HPGL_YOFFSET'
environment variables, which may be specified in centimeters,
millimeters, or inches.  For example, an offset could be specified as
"2cm" or "1.2in".  Also, the display may be rotated 90 degrees on the
page by using the `--rotate 90' option, or setting the `ROTATE'
environment variable to "yes".

   `graph -T tek', which produces output for a Tektronix terminal or
emulator, checks the `TERM' environment variable.  If the value of
`TERM' is `xterm', `xterms', or `kterm', it is taken as a sign that the
current application is running in an X Window System VT100 terminal
emulator: an `xterm'.  Before drawing graphics, `graph -T tek' will
emit an escape sequence that causes the terminal emulator's auxiliary
Tektronix window, which is normally hidden, to pop up.  After the
graphics are drawn, an escape sequence that returns control to the
original VT100 window will be emitted.  The Tektronix window will
remain on the screen.

   If the value of `TERM' is `kermit', `ansi.sys', `ansissys',
`ansi.sysk', or `ansisysk', it is taken as a sign that the current
application is running in the VT100 terminal emulator provided by the
DOS version of `kermit'.  Before drawing graphics, `graph -T tek' will
emit an escape sequence that switches the terminal emulator to
Tektronix mode.  Also, some of the Tektronix control codes output by
`graph -T tek' will be `kermit'-specific.  There will be a limited
amount of color support, which is not normally the case (the 16
`ansi.sys' colors will be supported).  After drawing graphics, `graph
-T tek' will emit an escape sequence that returns the emulator to VT100
mode.  The key sequence `ALT minus' may be employed manually within
`kermit' to switch between the two modes.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: plot,  Next: tek2plot,  Prev: graph,  Up: Top

The `plot' Utility
******************

* Menu:

* plot Examples::	How to use a plot filter
* plot Invocation::	Command-line options
* plot Environment::    Environment variables


File: plotutils.info,  Node: plot Examples,  Next: plot Invocation,  Prev: plot,  Up: plot

How to use `plot'
=================

   The GNU plot filter `plot' translates GNU graphics metafiles to
other formats.  The `-T' option is used to specify the type of display
device.

   Graphics metafiles are produced by the `graph' utility if no `-T'
option is specified on its command line, and may also be produced by
the `libplot' library.  The metafile format is a device-independent
format for storage of graphic data.  By default, it is a binary rather
than an human-readable format (*note Metafiles::.).

   `plot', like the metafile format itself, is useful if you wish to
preserve a plot that is to be displayed or edited on more than one type
of display device.  The following illustrate how this is done.

   To produce a plot of data arranged as alternating x and y
coordinates in an ASCII file, you may use raw `graph' as follows:

     graph < ascii_data_file > test.plot

The file `test.plot' will be a GNU graphics metafile.  Similarly, to
create a plot consisting of a simple figure, you may do:

     echo 0 0 1 1 2 0 | spline | graph > test.plot

To display any such plot on an X Window System display, you would do

     plot -T X < test.plot

To print the plot on a Postscript printer, you would do something like

     plot -T ps < test.plot | lpr

To edit it with the `idraw' drawing editor, you would do

     plot -T ps < test.plot > test.ps
     idraw test.ps

And to produce a plot that may be edited with the `xfig' drawing
editor, you would do

     plot -T fig < test.plot > test.fig
     xfig test.fig

   `plot' may behave differently depending on the environment in which
it is invoked.  In particular, `plot -T ps', `plot -T fig', and `plot
-T hpgl' are affected by the environment variable `PAGESIZE'.  `plot
-T X' is affected by the environment variables `DISPLAY' and
`BITMAPSIZE', and `plot -T tek' is affected by the environment variable
`TERM'.  There are also several environment variables that affect the
operation of `plot -T hpgl'.  For a complete discussion of the effects
of the environment on `plot', see *Note plot Environment::.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: plot Invocation,  Next: plot Environment,  Prev: plot Examples,  Up: plot

`plot' command-line options
===========================

   The command-line options to GNU `plot' are listed below.  There are
four sorts of option:

  1. Options setting the values of drawing parameters.

  2. Options relevant only to raw `plot', i.e., relevant only if no
     display device is specified with the `-T' option.

  3. Options specifying the type of metafile format the input is in (for
     backward compatibility only).

  4. Options requesting information (e.g., `--help').

Each option that takes an argument is followed, in parentheses, by the
type and default value of the argument.

   Note that input file names may be specified anywhere on the command
line.  Only the options that precede a file name will take effect for
that file.  If no file names are specified, or the name `-' is
specified, the standard input is read.

   The following options set the values of drawing parameters.

`-T TYPE'
`--display-type TYPE'
     (String, default "meta".)  Emit output for a display of type TYPE,
     which may be one of the strings "X", "ps", "fig", "hpgl", "tek",
     and "meta".  These refer respectively to the X Window System,
     `idraw'-editable Postscript, the format used by the `xfig' drawing
     editor, the Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language, Tektronix format,
     and device-independent GNU metafile format.

`-p N'
`--page-number N'
     (Positive integer.) Display only page number N, within the
     metafile or sequence of metafiles that is being translated.
     Metafiles may consist of one or more pages, numbered beginning
     with 1.  By default, `plot' translates all pages.  For example,
     `plot -T X' displays each page in its own X window.  This option
     may be used to override the default behavior and select a
     particular page for display.

`--bitmap-size BITMAP_SIZE'
     (String, default "570x570".)  Set the size of the graphics
     display, in terms of pixels, to be BITMAP_SIZE.  This is relevant
     only to `plot -T X', for which the graphics display is an X window.
     The use of a square window, rather than a rectangular window, is
     recommended.  The environment variable `BITMAPSIZE' may equally
     well be used to specify the window size.  For backward
     compatibility, the X resource `Xplot.geometry', which may be set
     by the user, may be used instead.

`--max-line-length MAX_LINE_LENGTH'
     (Integer, default 500.) Set the maximum number of points that a
     polygonal line may contain, before it is flushed to the display
     device, to equal MAX_LINE_LENGTH.  If this flushing occurs, the
     polygonal line will be split into two or more sub-lines, though
     the splitting should not be noticeable.  Splitting will not take
     place if the line is the boundary of a filled polygon.

     The reason for splitting long polygonal lines is that some display
     devices (e.g., old Postscript printers and HP-GL plotters) have
     limited buffer sizes.  The environment variable `MAX_LINE_LENGTH'
     may also be used to specify the maximum line length.  This option
     has no effect on `plot -T tek' or raw `plot', since they draw
     polylines in real time and have no buffer limitations.

`--page-size PAGESIZE'
     (String, default "letter".) Set the size of the page on which the
     plot will be positioned.  This is relevant only to `plot -T ps',
     `plot -T fig', and `plot -T hpgl'.  "letter" means an 8.5in by
     11in page.  Any ISO page size in the range "a0"..."a4" or ANSI
     page size in the range "a"..."e" may be specified ("letter" is an
     alias for "a" and "tabloid" is an alias for "b").  "legal" and
     "ledger" are recognized page sizes also.  The environment variable
     `PAGESIZE' may equally well be used to specify the page size.

     For `plot -T ps', the graphics display within which the plot is
     drawn will be a square region centered on the specified page and
     occupying its full width.  For `plot -T fig', the graphics display
     will be a square region located in the upper left corner of an
     `xfig' display, with width equal to the width of the specified
     page.  For `plot -T hpgl', fine control over the positioning of
     the graphics display on the page may be accomplished by setting
     certain environment variables (*note plot Environment::.).

`--rotate ANGLE'
     (Integer, default 0.)  Set the rotation angle of the plot on the
     page, relative to the default orientation.  This is currently
     relevant only to `plot -T hpgl'.  It facilitates switching between
     portrait and landscape orientations.  Recognized values for ANGLE
     are 0, 90, 180, and 270.  "no" and "yes" are equivalent to
     0 and 90, respectively.  The environment variable `ROTATE' may
     equally well be used to specify the rotation angle.

   The following options set the initial values of additional drawing
parameters.  All of these may be overridden by directives in the
metafile itself.  In fact, these options are useful mostly for plotting
old metafiles in the pre-GNU `plot(5)' format, which did not include
such directives.

`--bg-color NAME'
     (String, default "white".)  Set the color used for the drawing
     background to be NAME.  This is currently relevant only to `plot
     -T X'.  An unrecognized name sets the color to the default.  For
     information on what names are recognized, see *Note Color Names::.
     The environment variable `BG_COLOR' may equally well be used to
     specify the background color.

`-f FONT_SIZE'
`--font-size FONT_SIZE'
     (Float, default 0.0525.)  Set the initial size of the font used
     for rendering text, as a fraction of the width of the display
     device, to FONT_SIZE.

`-F FONT_NAME'
`--font-name FONT_NAME'
     (String, default "Helvetica" except for `plot -T hpgl' and `plot
     -T tek', for which "HersheySerif" is the default.)  Set the font
     initially used for text (i.e., for `labels') to FONT_NAME.  Font
     names are case-insensitive.  For a list of available fonts, see
     *Note Text Fonts::.  If the specified font is not available, the
     default font will be used.

`-W LINE_WIDTH'
`--line-width LINE_WIDTH'
     (Float, default -1.0.)  Set the width of lines, as a fraction of
     the width of the display, to LINE_WIDTH.  A negative value means
     that the default value provided by the `libplot' graphics library
     should be used.  This value is device-dependent.  The
     interpretation of zero line width is also device-dependent (on some
     devices, a zero-width line is the thinnest line that can be drawn;
     on others, a zero-width line is invisible).

     `plot -T tek' does not support drawing lines with other than a
     default width, and `plot -T hpgl' does not support doing so if the
     environment variable `HPGL_VERSION' is set to a value less than "2"
     (the default).

`--pen-color NAME'
     (String, default "black".)  Set the pen color to be NAME.  An
     unrecognized name sets the pen color to the default.  For
     information on what color names are recognized, see *Note Color
     Names::.

   The following option is relevant only to raw `plot', i.e., relevant
only if no display device is specified with the `-T' option.  In this
case `plot' outputs a graphics metafile.

`-O'
`--portable-output'
     Output the portable (human-readable) version of GNU metafile
     format, rather than a binary version (the default).

   `plot' will automatically determine which type of GNU metafile
format the input is in.  There are two types: binary (the default) and
portable (human-readable).  The binary format is machine-dependent.
*Note Metafiles::.

   For compatibility with older plotting software, the reading of input
files in the pre-GNU `plot(5)' format is also supported.  This is
normally a binary format, with each integer in the metafile represented
as a pair of bytes.  The order of the two bytes is machine dependent.
You may specify that input file(s) are in plot(5) format rather than
ordinary GNU metafile format by using either the `-h' option ("high
byte first") or the `-l' option ("low byte first"), whichever is
appropriate.  Some non-GNU systems support an ASCII (human-readable)
variant of plot(5) format.  You may specify that the input is in this
format by using the `-A' option.  Irrespective of the variant, a file
in plot(5) format includes only one page of graphics.

`-h'
`--high-byte-first-input'
     Input file(s) are assumed to be in traditional `plot(5)' metafile
     format, with the high-order byte of each integer occurring first.

`-l'
`--low-byte-first-input'
     Input file(s) are assumed to be in traditional `plot(5)' metafile
     format, with the low-order byte of each integer occurring first.

`-A'
`--ascii-input'
     Input file(s) are assumed to be in the ASCII variant of traditional
     `plot(5)' metafile format.

   The following options request information.

`--help'
     Print a list of command-line options, and then exit.

`--help-fonts'
     Print a list of available fonts, and then exit.  The list will
     depend on which display device is specified with the `-T' option.
     `plot -T X', `plot -T ps', and `plot -T fig' each support the 35
     standard Postscript fonts.  `plot -T hpgl' supports the 45 standard
     PCL 5 fonts.  All four, together with `plot -T hpgl' and `plot -T
     tek', support a set of 17 Hershey vector fonts.  Raw `plot' in
     principle supports any font, since its output must be translated
     to other formats by a later invocation of `plot'.

`--version'
     Print the version number of `plot' and the plotting utilities
     package, and exit.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: plot Environment,  Prev: plot Invocation,  Up: plot

Environment variables
=====================

   The behavior of `plot' is affected by several environment variables.
We have already mentioned the environment variables `BITMAPSIZE',
`PAGESIZE', `BG_COLOR', `MAX_LINE_LENGTH', and `ROTATE'.  They simply
serve as backups for the options `--bitmap-size', `--page-size',
`--bg-color', `--max-line-length', and `--rotate'.  The remaining
environment variables are specific to individual display devices.  They
control device driver parameters.

   `plot -T X', which pops up a window on an X Window System display
and draws graphics in it, checks the `DISPLAY' environment variable.
The value of this variable determines the display on which the window
will be popped up.

   `plot -T hpgl', which produces Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language
output, is affected by several environment variables.  The most
important is `HPGL_VERSION', which may be set to "1", "1.5", or "2"
(the default).  "1" means that the output should be generic HP-GL,
"1.5" means that the output should be suitable for the HP7550A pen
plotter (HP-GL with some HP-GL/2 extensions), and "2" means that the
output should be modern HP-GL/2.  By default, `plot -T hpgl' will draw
with a fixed set of pens.  Which pens are present may be specified by
setting the `HPGL_PENS' environment variable.  If `HPGL_VERSION' is "1"
or "1.5", the default value of `HPGL_PENS' is "1=black"; if
`HPGL_VERSION' is "2", the default value of `HPGL_PENS' is
"1=black:2=red:3=green:4=yellow:5=blue:6=magenta:7=cyan".  The format
should be self-explanatory.  `HPGL_PENS' may specify a color for any
pen in the range #1...#31.  For information on what color names are
recognized, see *Note Color Names::.  Pen #1 must always be present,
though it need not be black.  Any other pen in the range #1...#31 may
be omitted.

   If `HPGL_VERSION' is "2" then `plot -T hpgl' will be affected by two
other environment variables.  If the value of `HPGL_ASSIGN_COLORS' is
"yes", then `plot -T hpgl' will not be restricted to the palette
specified in `HPGL_PENS': it will assign colors to "logical pens" in
the range #1...#31, as needed.  Also, if `HPGL_OPAQUE_MODE' is set
equal to "yes" then pen #0 will be used as an opaque white pen,
permitting the drawing of white lines and the filling of objects with
opaque white.  Not all HP-GL/2 devices allow the assignment of colors
to logical pens, or the use of pen #0 as an opaque white pen.  In
particular, HP-GL/2 pen plotters do not.  So these two environment
variables should be used with caution.

   The position of the `plot -T hpgl' graphics display on the page may
be adjusted by setting the `HPGL_XOFFSET' and `HPGL_YOFFSET'
environment variables, which may be specified in centimeters,
millimeters, or inches.  For example, an offset could be specified as
"2cm" or "1.2in".  Also, the display may be rotated 90 degrees on the
page by using the `--rotate 90' option, or setting the `ROTATE'
environment variable to "yes".

   `plot -T tek', which produces output for a Tektronix terminal or
emulator, checks the `TERM' environment variable.  If the value of
`TERM' is `xterm', `xterms', or `kterm', it is taken as a sign that the
current application is running in an X Window System VT100 terminal
emulator: an `xterm'.  Before drawing graphics, `plot -T tek' will emit
an escape sequence that causes the terminal emulator's auxiliary
Tektronix window, which is normally hidden, to pop up.  After the
graphics are drawn, an escape sequence that returns control to the
original VT100 window will be emitted.  The Tektronix window will
remain on the screen.

   If the value of `TERM' is `kermit', `ansi.sys', `ansissys',
`ansi.sysk', or `ansisysk', it is taken as a sign that the current
application is running in the VT100 terminal emulator provided by the
DOS version of `kermit'.  Before drawing graphics, `plot -T tek' will
emit an escape sequence that switches the terminal emulator to
Tektronix mode.  Also, some of the Tektronix control codes output by
`plot -T tek' will be `kermit'-specific.  There will be a limited
amount of color support, which is not normally the case (the 16
`ansi.sys' colors will be supported).  After drawing graphics, `plot -T
tek' will emit an escape sequence that returns the emulator to VT100
mode.  The key sequence `ALT minus' may be employed manually within
`kermit' to switch between the two modes.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: tek2plot,  Next: spline,  Prev: plot,  Up: Top

The `tek2plot' Utility
**********************

* Menu:

* tek2plot Examples::         How to use tek2plot
* tek2plot Invocation::       Command-line options
* tek2plot Environment::      Environment variables


File: plotutils.info,  Node: tek2plot Examples,  Next: tek2plot Invocation,  Prev: tek2plot,  Up: tek2plot

How to use `tek2plot'
=====================

   The GNU Tektronix translator `tek2plot' translates Tektronix
graphics format, which is produced by many legacy applications, to other
formats.  The supported output formats are the same six formats that are
supported by the GNU `graph' and `plot' utilities.

   `tek2plot' will take input from a file specified on the command line
or from standard input, just as the plot filter `plot' does.  The
invocation of `tek2plot' is similar to the invocation of `plot'.  *Note
plot::.

   Tektronix graphics format is defined as a noninteractive version of
the graphics format understood by Tektronix 4010/4014 terminals, as
documented in the `4014 Service Manual', Tektronix Inc., 1974
(Tektronix Part #070-1648-00).  `tek2plot' does not support interactive
features such as GIN mode and status enquiry.  However, it does support
a few features of popular Tektronix emulators, such as the color
extensions supported by the Tektronix emulator contained in the MS-DOS
version of `kermit'.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: tek2plot Invocation,  Next: tek2plot Environment,  Prev: tek2plot Examples,  Up: tek2plot

`tek2plot' command-line options
===============================

   The command-line options to the Tektronix translator `tek2plot' are
listed below.  There are three sorts of option:

  1. General options.

  2. Options relevant only to raw `tek2plot', i.e., relevant only if no
     display is specified with the `-T' option.

  3. Options requesting information (e.g., `--help').

Each option that takes an argument is followed, in parentheses, by the
type and default value of the argument.

   Note that input file names may be specified anywhere on the command
line.  Only the options that precede a file name will take effect for
that file.  If no file names are specified, or the name `-' is
specified, the standard input is read.

   The following are general options.

`-T TYPE'
`--display-type TYPE'
     (String, default "meta".)  Emit output for a display of type TYPE,
     which may be one of the strings "X", "ps", "fig", "hpgl", "tek",
     and "meta".  These refer respectively to the X Window System,
     `idraw'-editable Postscript, the format used by the `xfig' drawing
     editor, the Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language, Tektronix format,
     and device-independent GNU metafile format.

`-p N'
`--page-number N'
     (Nonnegative integer.) Display only page number N, within the
     Tektronix file or sequence of Tektronix files that is being
     translated.  Tektronix files may consist of one or more pages,
     numbered beginning with zero.  By default, `tek2plot' displays all
     nonempty pages in succession.  For example, `tek2plot -T X'
     displays each page in its own X window.  This option may be used
     to override the default behavior and select a particular page for
     display.

     Most Tektronix files consist of either one page (page #0) or two
     pages (an empty page #0, and page #1).  Tektronix files produced
     by the GNU plotting utilities (e.g., by `graph -T tek') are
     normally of the latter sort.

`-F FONT_NAME'
`--font-name FONT_NAME'
     (String, default "Courier" except for `tek2plot -T hpgl', for which
     "HersheySerif" is the default.)  Set the font initially used for
     text to FONT_NAME.  Font names are case-insensitive.  For a list of
     available fonts, see *Note Text Fonts::.  If a font outside the
     Courier family is chosen, the `--position-chars' option (see below)
     should probably be used.  For a list of available fonts, see *Note
     Text Fonts::.  If the specified font is not available, the default
     font will be used.

`-W LINE_WIDTH'
`--line-width LINE_WIDTH'
     (Float, default -1.0.)  Set the width of lines, as a fraction of
     the width of the display, to LINE_WIDTH.  A negative value means
     that the default value provided by the `libplot' graphics library
     should be used.  This value is device-dependent.  The
     interpretation of zero line width is also device-dependent (on some
     devices, a zero-width line is the thinnest line that can be drawn;
     on others, a zero-width line is invisible).

     `tek2plot -T hpgl' does not support drawing lines with other than a
     default width if the environment variable `HPGL_VERSION' is set to
     a value less than "2" (the default).

`--bg-color NAME'
     (String, default "white".)  Set the color used for the background
     to be NAME.  This is currently relevant only to `tek2plot -T X'.
     An unrecognized name sets the color to the default.  For
     information on what names are recognized, see *Note Color Names::.
     The environment variable `BG_COLOR' may equally well be used to
     specify the background color.

`--bitmap-size BITMAP_SIZE'
     (String, default "570x570".)  Set the size of the graphics
     display, in terms of pixels, to be BITMAP_SIZE.  This is relevant
     only to `plot -T X', for which the graphics display is an X window.
     The use of a square window, rather than a rectangular window, is
     recommended.  The environment variable `BITMAPSIZE' may equally
     well be used to specify the window size.  For backward
     compatibility, the X resource `Xplot.geometry', which may be set
     by the user, may be used instead.

`--max-line-length MAX_LINE_LENGTH'
     (Integer, default 500.) Set the maximum number of points that a
     polygonal line may contain, before it is flushed to the display
     device, to equal MAX_LINE_LENGTH.  If this flushing occurs, the
     polygonal line will be split into two or more sub-lines, though
     the splitting should not be noticeable.

     The reason for splitting long polygonal lines is that some display
     devices (e.g., old Postscript printers and HP-GL plotters) have
     limited buffer sizes.  The environment variable `MAX_LINE_LENGTH'
     may also be used to specify the maximum line length.  This option
     has no effect on raw `tek2plot', since it draws polylines in real
     time and has no buffer limitations.

`--page-size PAGESIZE'
     (String, default "letter".) Set the size of the page on which the
     plot will be positioned.  This is relevant only to `tek2plot -T
     ps', `tek2plot -T fig', and `tek2plot -T hpgl'.  "letter" means an
     8.5in by 11in page.  Any ISO page size in the range "a0"..."a4" or
     ANSI page size in the range "a"..."e" may be specified ("letter"
     is an alias for "a" and "tabloid" is an alias for "b").  "legal"
     and "ledger" are recognized page sizes also.  The environment
     variable `PAGESIZE' may equally well be used to specify the page
     size.

     For `tek2plot -T ps', the graphics display within which the plot is
     drawn will be a square region centered on the specified page and
     occupying its full width.  For `tek2plot -T fig', the graphics
     display will be a square region located in the upper left corner
     of an `xfig' display, with width equal to the width of the
     specified page.  For `tek2plot -T hpgl', fine control over the
     positioning of the graphics display on the page may be
     accomplished by setting certain environment variables (*note
     tek2plot Environment::.).

`--pen-color NAME'
     (String, default "black".)  Set the pen color to be NAME.  An
     unrecognized name sets the pen color to the default.  For
     information on what color names are recognized, see *Note Color
     Names::.

`--position-chars'
     Position the characters in each text string individually on the
     display.  If the text font is not a member of the Courier family,
     and especially if it is not a fixed-width font, this option is
     recommended.  It will improve the appearance of text strings, at
     the price of making it difficult to edit the output file with
     `xfig' or `idraw'.

`--rotate ANGLE'
     (Integer, default 0.)  Set the rotation angle of the plot on the
     page, relative to the default orientation.  This is currently
     relevant only to `tek2plot -T hpgl'.  It facilitates switching
     between portrait and landscape orientations.  Recognized values
     for ANGLE are 0, 90, 180, and 270.  "no" and "yes" are equivalent
     to 0 and 90, respectively.  The environment variable `ROTATE' may
     equally well be used to specify the rotation angle.

`--use-tek-fonts'
     Use the bitmap fonts that were used on the original Tektronix
     4010/4014 terminal.  This option is relevant only to `tek2plot
     -T X'.  The four relevant bitmap fonts are distributed as part of
     the plotting utilities package under the names
     `tekfont0'...`tekfont3'.  They may readily be installed on any
     modern X Windows server.  For this option to work properly, you
     must also select a window size of 1024x1024 pixels, either by
     using the `--bitmap-size 1024x1024' option or by setting the value
     of the `Xplot.geometry' resource.  The reason for this restriction
     is that bitmap fonts, unlike the scalable fonts that the plotting
     utilities normally use, may not be rescaled.

     This option is useful only if you have a file in Tektronix format
     that draws text using native Tektronix fonts.  Tektronix files
     produced by the GNU plotting utilities (e.g., by `graph -T tek')
     do not use native Tektronix fonts to draw text.

   The following option is relevant only to raw `tek2plot', i.e.,
relevant only if no display device is specified with the `-T' option.
In this case `tek2plot' outputs a graphics metafile.

`-O'
`--portable-output'
     Output the portable (human-readable) version of GNU metafile
     format, rather than a binary version (the default).

   The following options request information.

`--help'
     Print a list of command-line options, and then exit.

`--help-fonts'
     Print a list of available fonts, and then exit.  The list will
     depend on which display device is specified with the `-T' option.
     `tek2plot -T X', `tek2plot -T ps', and `tek2plot -T fig' each
     support the 35 standard Postscript fonts.  `tek2plot -T hpgl'
     supports the 45 standard PCL 5 fonts.  All four, together with
     `tek2plot -T hpgl', support a set of 17 Hershey vector fonts.  Raw
     `tek2plot' in principle supports any font, since its output must be
     translated to other formats with `plot'.

`--version'
     Print the version number of `tek2plot' and the plotting utilities
     package, and exit.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: tek2plot Environment,  Prev: tek2plot Invocation,  Up: tek2plot

Environment variables
=====================

   The behavior of `tek2plot' is affected by several environment
variables, which are the same as those that affect `graph' and `plot'.
For convenience, we list them here.

   We have already mentioned the environment variables `BITMAPSIZE',
`PAGESIZE', `BG_COLOR', `MAX_LINE_LENGTH', and `ROTATE'.  They simply
serve as backups for the options `--bitmap-size', `--page-size',
`--bg-color', `--max-line-length', and `--rotate'.  The remaining
environment variables are specific to individual display devices.  They
control device driver parameters.

   `tek2plot -T X', which pops up a window on an X Window System
display and draws graphics in it, checks the `DISPLAY' environment
variable.  The value of this variable determines the display on which
the window will be popped up.

   `tek2plot -T hpgl', which produces Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language
output, is affected by several environment variables.  The most
important is `HPGL_VERSION', which may be set to "1", "1.5", or "2"
(the default).  "1" means that the output should be generic HP-GL,
"1.5" means that the output should be suitable for the HP7550A pen
plotter (HP-GL with some HP-GL/2 extensions), and "2" means that the
output should be modern HP-GL/2.  By default, `tek2plot -T hpgl' will
draw with a fixed set of pens.  Which pens are present may be specified
by setting the `HPGL_PENS' environment variable.  If `HPGL_VERSION' is
"1" or "1.5", the default value of `HPGL_PENS' is "1=black"; if
`HPGL_VERSION' is "2", the default value is
"1=black:2=red:3=green:4=yellow:5=blue:6=magenta:7=cyan".  The format
should be self-explanatory.  `HPGL_PENS' may specify a color for any
pen in the range #1...#31.  For information on what color names are
recognized, see *Note Color Names::.  Pen #1 must always be present,
though it need not be black.  Any other pen in the range #1...#31 may
be omitted.

   If `HPGL_VERSION' is "2" then `tek2plot -T hpgl' will be affected by
two other environment variables.  If the value of `HPGL_ASSIGN_COLORS'
is "yes", then `tek2plot -T hpgl' will not be restricted to the palette
specified in `HPGL_PENS': it will assign colors to "logical pens" in
the range #1...#31, as needed.  Also, if `HPGL_OPAQUE_MODE' is set
equal to "yes" then pen #0 will be used as an opaque white pen,
permitting the drawing of white lines and the filling of objects with
opaque white.  Not all HP-GL/2 devices allow the assignment of colors
to logical pens, or the use of pen #0 as an opaque white pen.  In
particular, HP-GL/2 pen plotters do not.  So these two environment
variables should be used with caution.

   The position of the `tek2plot -T hpgl' graphics display on the page
may be adjusted by setting the `HPGL_XOFFSET' and `HPGL_YOFFSET'
environment variables, which may be specified in centimeters,
millimeters, or inches.  For example, an offset could be specified as
"2cm" or "1.2in".  Also, the display may be rotated 90 degrees on the
page by using the `--rotate 90' option, or setting the `ROTATE'
environment variable to "yes".


File: plotutils.info,  Node: spline,  Next: ode,  Prev: tek2plot,  Up: Top

The `spline' Utility
********************

* Menu:

* spline Examples::         How to use spline
* Advanced Use of spline::  More sophisticated uses
* spline Invocation::       Command-line options


File: plotutils.info,  Node: spline Examples,  Next: Advanced Use of spline,  Prev: spline,  Up: spline

How to use `spline'
===================

   GNU `spline' is a program for interpolating between the data points
in one or more datasets.  Each dataset would consist of values for an
independent variable and a dependent variable, which may be a vector of
specified fixed length.  When discussing interpolation, we call these
variables `t' and `y', respectively.  To emphasize: t is a scalar, but
in general the dependent variable y may be a vector.

   The simplest case is when there is a single input file, which is in
ASCII format, and the vector y is one-dimensional.  This is the
default.  For example, the input file could contain the dataset

     0.0  0.0
     1.0  1.0
     2.0  0.0

which are the coordinates (t,y) of the data points (0,0), (1,1), and
(2,0).  Data points do not need to be on different lines, nor do the t
and y coordinates of a data point need to be on the same line.
However, there should be no blank lines in the input if it is to be
viewed as forming a single dataset.  Also, by default the t coordinate
should be monotonically increasing, so that y may be viewed as a
function of t.

   You would construct a spline (the graph of an `interpolating
function') passing through the points in this dataset by doing

     spline input_file > output_file

To produce a Postscript plot of the spline with the `graph' utility,
you would do

     spline input_file | graph -T ps > output.ps

To display a spline on an X Window System display, you could do

     echo 0 0 1 1 2 0 | spline | graph -T X

Notice that the last example avoids the use of the input file
altogether.  `spline' will read from standard input if no files are
specified on the command line, or if the special name name `-' is
specified.

   What exactly does `spline' do?  First, it fits a curve (the graph of
an interpolating function) through the points in the dataset.  Then it
splits the interval over which the independent variable t ranges into
100 sub-intervals, and computes the y values at each of the 101
subdivision points.  It then outputs each of the pairs (t, y).  These
are the coordinates of 101 points that lie along a curve that
interpolates between the points in the dataset.  If there is more than
one dataset in the input (separated by blank lines), each dataset is
interpolated separately.

   You may use the `-n' option to replace `100' by any other integer.
You may also use the `-t' option to specify an interpolation interval
that differs from the default (the interval over which the independent
variable ranges).  For example, the command

     echo 0 0 1 1 2 0 | spline -n 20 -t 1.0 1.5 > output_file

will produce a dataset consisting of 21 (rather than 101) data points,
with t values spaced regularly between 1.0 and 1.5 (rather than between
0.0 and 2.0).  The data points will lie along a curve passing through
(0,0), (1,1), and (2,0).  This curve will be a parabola.

   In general, the interpolating function will be a piecewise cubic
spline.  That is, between each pair of adjacent `knots' (points in the
input dataset), y will be a cubic function of t.  This function will
differ, depending on which pair of knots y lies between.  At each knot,
both the slope and curvature of the cubic pieces to either side will
match.  In mathematical terms, the interpolating curve will be twice
continuously differentiable.

   `spline' supports `adding tension' to the interpolating curve.
A nonzero value for the tension may be specified with the `-T' option.
For example, a spline under considerable tension may be computed and
displayed by doing

     echo 0 0 1 0 2 0 | spline -T 10 | graph -T X

As the tension parameter is increased to positive infinity, the spline
will converge to a polygonal line.  You are supposed to think of the
spline as being drawn taut.  Actually, tension may be negative as well
as positive.  A spline with negative tension will tend to bow outward,
in fact to oscillate sinusoidally.  But as the tension decreases to
negative infinity, the spline, though oscillatory, will again converge
to a polygonal line.

   If the tension is positive, its reciprocal will be the maximum range
of the independent variable t over which the spline will `like to
curve'.  Increasing the tension far above zero will accordingly force
the spline to consist of short curved sections, centered on the data
points, and sections that are almost straight.  It follows that tension
is a `dimensionful' quantity.  If the tension is nonzero, then when the
values of the independent variable are multiplied by some common
positive factor, the tension should be divided by the same factor to
obtain a scaled version of the original spline.  If the tension is zero
(the default, or cubic spline case), then the computation of the spline
will be unaffected by linear scaling of the data.

   In mathematical terms, a spline under tension will satisfy the
differential equation y""=sgn(tension)*(tension^2)y" between each
successive pair of knots.  If the tension equals zero, which is the
default, the fourth derivative of y with respect to t will equal zero
at every point.  In this case, y as a function of t will reduce to a
cubic polynomial between each successive pair of knots.  But if the
tension is nonzero, y will not be a polynomial function of t.  It may
be expressed in terms of exponential functions, however.

   Irrespective of whether or not the spline is under tension, you may
specify the `-p' option if you wish the spline to be a periodic
function of t.  This will only work if the y values for the first and
last points in the dataset are equal.  Otherwise, it would make no
sense to compute a periodic interpolation.

   It is sometimes useful to interpolate between data points at the same
time as they are generated by an auxiliary program.  That is, it is
useful for `spline' to function as a real-time filter.  `spline' does
not normally act as a filter, since computing an interpolating curve
that is as smooth as possible is a global task.  But if the `-f' option
is specified, `spline' will indeed function as a filter.  A different
interpolation algorithm (cubic Bessel interpolation, which is local
rather than global) will be used.  If `-f' is specified, `-p' may not
be specified.  Also, if `-f' is specified then an interpolation
interval (a range of t values) must be requested explicitly with the
`-t' option.

   Cubic Bessel interpolation is inherently less smooth than the
construction of a global cubic spline.  If the `-f' option is
specified, the slope of the spline at each knot will be chosen by
fitting a parabola through that knot, and the two adjacent knots.  The
slopes of the two interpolating segments to either side of each interior
knot will match at that knot, but typically their curvatures will not.
In mathematical terms, the interpolating curve will be continuously
differentiable, but in general not twice continuously differentiable.
This loss of differentiability is the price that is paid for functioning
as a real-time filter.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Advanced Use of spline,  Next: spline Invocation,  Prev: spline Examples,  Up: spline

Advanced use of `spline'
========================

   The preceding section explains how `spline' may be employed to
interpolate a function y of a scalar variable t, in the case when y is
a scalar.  In this section we explain how to perform more sophisticated
interpolations.  This includes multidimensional interpolations, and
interpolations that are splinings of curves, rather than of functions.

   `spline' can handle the case when y is a vector of arbitrary
specified dimensionality.  The dimension may be specified with the `-d'
option.  For example, an input file could contain the multidimensional
dataset

     0.0  0.0  1.0
     1.0  1.0  0.0
     2.0  0.0  1.0

which are the coordinates (t,y) of the data points (0,0,1), (1,1,0),
and (2,0,1).  You would construct a spline (the graph of an
interpolating function) passing through the points in this dataset by
doing

     spline -d 2 input_file > output_file

The option `-d 2' is used because in this example, the dependent
variable y is a two-dimensional vector.  Each of the components of y
will be interpolated independently, and the output file will contain
points that lie along the graph of the resulting interpolating function.

   When doing multidimensional splining, you may use any of the options
that apply in the default one-dimensional case.  For example, the `-f'
option may be employed to request real-time cubic Bessel interpolation.
As in the one-dimensional case, if the `-f' option is used then the
`-t' option must be used as well, to specify an interpolation interval
(a range of t values).  The `-p' option may be employed to obtain a
periodic spline, i.e., the graph of a periodic vector-valued function.
For this, the first and last dataset y values must be the same.

   `spline' may also be used to draw a curve through arbitrarily chosen
points in the plane, or in general through arbitrarily chosen points in
d-dimensional space.  This is not the same as splining, at least as the
term is conventionally defined.  The reason is that `splining' refers
to construction of a function, rather than the construction of a curve
that may or may not be the graph of a function.  Not every curve is the
graph of a function.

   The following example shows how one may `spline a curve'.  The
command

     echo 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 | spline -d 2 -a -s | graph -T X

will construct a curve in the plane through the four points (0,0),
(1,0), (1,1), and (0,1), and graph it on an X Window System display.
The `-d 2' option specifies that the dependent variable y is
two-dimensional.  The `-a' option specifies that t values are missing
from the input, and should be automatically generated.  By default, the
first t value is 0, the second is 1, etc.  The `-s' option specifies
that the t values should be stripped from the output.

   The same technique may be used to spline a closed curve.  For
example, doing

     echo 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 | spline -d 2 -a -s -p | graph -T X

will construct and graph a closed, lozenge-shaped curve through the
three points (0,0), (1,0), and (0,1).  The construction of a closed
curve is guaranteed by the `-p' (i.e., `--periodic') option, and by the
repetition of the initial point (0,0) at the end of the sequence.

   When splining a curve, whether open or closed, you may wish to
substitute the `-A' option for the `-a' option.  Like the `-a' option,
the `-A' option specifies that t values are missing from the input and
should be automatically generated.  However, the first t value will be
zero, and the increment from one t value to the next will be the
distance between the corresponding values of y.  This scheme for
generating t values, when constructing a curve through a sequence of
points, is the scheme that is used in the well known FITPACK subroutine
library.  It is probably the best approach when the distances between
successive points fluctuate considerably.

   A curve through a sequence of points in the plane, whether open or
closed, may cross itself.  Some interesting visual effects may be
obtained by adding negative tension to such a curve.  For example, doing

     echo 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 | spline -d 2 -a -s -p -T -14 -n 500 | graph -T X

will construct a closed curve through the three points (0,0), (1,0),
and (0,1), which is wound into curlicues.  The `-n 500' option is
included because there are so many windings.  It specifies that 501
points should be generated, which is enough to draw a smooth curve.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: spline Invocation,  Prev: Advanced Use of spline,  Up: spline

`spline' command-line options
=============================

`spline' is a general-purpose program for interpolating vector-valued
functions of a scalar variable t, and for interpolating curves in
d-dimensional space.  The algorithms used by `spline' are similar to
those discussed in D. Kincaid and [E.] W. Cheney, `Numerical Analysis'
(2nd ed., Brooks/Cole, 1996), section 6.4, and C. de Boor, `A Practical
Guide to Splines' (Springer-Verlag, 1978), Chapter 4.

   The options to `spline' are listed below.  There are three sorts of
option:

  1. Options specifying the type of interpolation to be performed.

  2. Options specifying the input or output format.

  3. Options requesting information (e.g., `--help').

Options that take an argument are followed, in parentheses, by the type
and default value of the argument.

   Besides options, the command line may include the names of one or
more input files. If no files are listed, the standard input is read.
Unless the `-a' option is used (see below), the input is expected to be
a sequence of data points, given as alternating t and y values.  t is
the scalar independent variable, and y is the vector-valued dependent
variable.  The dimensionality of y is specified with the `-d' option
(the default is 1).

   There may be more than one dataset per input file.  If the files are
in ASCII format (the default), datasets are separated by blank lines.
The following options specify the type of interpolation to be performed
on each dataset.

`-f'
`--filter'
     Use a local interpolation algorithm (the cubic Bessel algorithm),
     so that `spline' may be used as a real-time filter.  The slope of
     the interpolating curve at each point in a dataset will be chosen
     by fitting a quadratic function through that point and the two
     adjacent points in the dataset.  If `-f' is specified then the
     `-t' option, otherwise optional, must be used as well.  Also, if
     `-f' is specified then the `-k', `-p', and `-T' options may not be
     used.

     If `-f' is *not* specified, then a different (global)
     interpolation algorithm will be used.

`-k K'
`--boundary-condition K'
     (Float, default 1.0.) Set the boundary condition parameter for each
     constructed spline to be K.  In each of its components, the spline
     will satisfy the two boundary conditions y"[0]=ky"[1] and
     y"[n]=ky"[n-1].  Here y[0] and y[1] signify the values of a
     specified component of the vector-valued dependent variable y at
     the first two points of a dataset, and y[n-1] and y[n] the values
     at the last two points.  Setting K to zero will yield a `natural'
     spline, i.e., one that has zero curvature at the two ends of the
     dataset.  The `-k' option may not be used if `-f' or `-p' is
     specified.

`-n N'
`--number-of-intervals N'
     (Integer, default 100.)  Subdivide the interval over which
     interpolation occurs into N subintervals.  The number of data
     points computed, and written to the output, will be n+1.

`-p'
`--periodic'
     Construct a periodic spline.  If this option is specified, the y
     values for the first and last points in each dataset must be
     equal.  The `-f' and `-k' options may not be used if `-p' is
     specified.

`-T TENSION'
`--tension TENSION'
     (Float, default 0.0.) Set the tension in each interpolating spline
     to be TENSION.  Between each pair of successive points in a
     dataset, the constructed spline will satisfy the differential
     equation y""=sgn(tension)*(tension^2)y" in each of its components.
     If TENSION equals zero, the spline will be piecewise cubic.  As
     TENSION increases to positive infinity, the spline will converge
     to a polygonal line.  The `-T' option may not be used if `-f' is
     specified.

`-t TMIN TMAX [TSPACING]'
`--t-limits TMIN TMAX [TSPACING]'
     For each dataset, set the interval over which interpolation occurs
     to be the interval between TMIN and TMAX.  If TSPACING is not
     specified, the interval will be divided into the number of
     subintervals specified by the `-n' option.  If the `-t' option is
     not used, the interval over which interpolation occurs will be the
     entire range of the independent variable in the dataset.  The `-t'
     option must always be used if the `-f' option is used to request
     filter-like behavior (see above).

The following options specify the format of the input file(s) and the
output file.

`-d DIMENSION'
`--y-dimension DIMENSION'
     (Integer, default 1.)  Set the dimensionality of the dependent
     variable y in the input and output files to be DIMENSION.

`-I DATA-FORMAT'
`--input-format DATA-FORMAT'
     (Character, default `a'.)  Set the data format for the input
     file(s) to be DATA-FORMAT.  The possible data formats are as
     follows.

    `a'
          ASCII format.  Each file is a sequence of floating point
          numbers, interpreted as the t and y coordinates of the
          successive data points in a dataset.  If y is d-dimensional,
          there will be d+1 numbers for each point.  The t and y
          coordinates of a point need not appear on the same line, and
          points need not appear on different lines.  But if a blank
          line occurs (i.e., two newlines in succession are seen), it is
          interpreted as the end of a dataset, and the beginning of the
          next.  Single precision binary format.  Each file is a
          sequence of floating point numbers, interpreted as the t
          and y coordinates of the successive data points in a dataset.
          If y is d-dimensional, there will be d+1 numbers for each
          point.  Successive datasets are separated by a single
          occurrence of the quantity `MAXFLOAT', which is the largest
          possible single precision floating point number.  On most
          machines this is approximately 3.4x10^38.  Double precision
          binary format.  Each file is a sequence of double precision
          floating point numbers, interpreted as the t and y
          coordinates of the successive data points in a dataset.  If y
          is d-dimensional, there will be d+1 numbers for each point.
          Successive datasets are separated by a single occurrence of
          the quantity `MAXDOUBLE', which is the largest possible double
          precision floating point number.  On most machines this is
          approximately 1.8x10^308.  Integer binary format.  Each file
          is a sequence of integers, interpreted as the t and y
          coordinates of the successive data points in a dataset.  If y
          is d-dimensional, there will be d+1 numbers for each point.
          Successive datasets are separated by a single occurrence of
          the quantity `MAXINT', which is the largest possible integer.
          On most machines this is 2^31-1.

`-a [STEP_SIZE [LOWER_LIMIT]]'
`--auto-abscissa [STEP_SIZE [LOWER_LIMIT]]'
     (Floats, defaults 1.0 and 0.0.)  Automatically generate values for
     the independent variable (t).  Irrespective of data format (`a',
     `f', `d', or `i'), this option specifies that the values of the
     independent variable (t) are missing from the input file: the
     dataset(s) to be read contain only values of the dependent
     variable (y), so that if y is d-dimensional, there will be only
     d numbers for each point.  The increment from each t value to the
     next will be STEP_SIZE, and the first t value will be LOWER_LIMIT.

`-A'
`--auto-dist-abscissa'
     Automatically generate values for the independent variable (t).
     This is a variant form of the `-a' option.  The increment from
     each t value to the next will be the distance between the
     corresponding y values, and the first t value will be 0.0.  This
     option is useful when interpolating curves rather than functions
     (*note Advanced Use of spline::.).

`-O DATA-FORMAT'
`--output-format DATA-FORMAT'
     (Character, default `a'.)  Set the data format for the output file
     to be DATA-FORMAT.  The interpretation of the DATA-FORMAT argument
     is the same as for the `-I' option.

`-P SIGNIFICANT-DIGITS'
`--precision SIGNIFICANT-DIGITS'
     (Integer, default 6.)  Set the numerical precision for the t and y
     values in the output file to be SIGNIFICANT-DIGITS.  This takes
     effect only if the output file is written in `a' format, i.e., in
     ASCII.

`-s'
`--suppress-abscissa'
     Omit the independent variable t from the output file; for each
     point, supply only the dependent variable y.  If y is
     d-dimensional, there will be only d numbers for each point,
     not d+1.  This option is useful when interpolating curves rather
     than functions (*note Advanced Use of spline::.).

The following options request information.

`--help'
     Print a list of command-line options, and then exit.

`--version'
     Print the version number of `spline' and the plotting utilities
     package, and exit.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: ode,  Next: libplot,  Prev: spline,  Up: Top

The `ode' Utility
*****************

   The GNU `ode' utility can produce a numerical solution to the
initial value problem for many systems of first-order ordinary
differential equations (ODE's).  `ode' may also be used to solve
systems of higher-order ODE's, since a simple procedure converts an
n'th-order equation into n first-order equations.  The output of `ode'
may easily be piped to `graph', so that one or more solution curves may
be plotted as they are generated.

   Three distinct schemes for numerical solution are implemented:
Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg (the default), Adams-Moulton, and Euler.  The
Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg and Adams-Moulton schemes are available with
adaptive stepsize.

* Menu:

* Basic Math::			Ordinary differential equations
* Simple ode Examples::		Simple examples using ode
* Additional ode Examples::	Additional examples using ode
* ode Invocation::		ode command-line options
* Diagnostics::			Diagnostic messages
* Numerical Error::		Numerical error and how to avoid it
* Running Time::		Time spent running ode
* Input Language::		The ode input language formally specified
* ODE Bibliography::		Bibliography on ode and ODE's


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Basic Math,  Next: Simple ode Examples,  Prev: ode,  Up: ode

Mathematical basics
===================

   We begin with some standard definitions.  A *differential equation*
is an equation involving an unknown function and its derivatives.
A differential equation is *ordinary* if the unknown function depends
on only one independent variable, often denoted t.  The *order* of the
differential equation is the order of the highest-order derivative in
the equation.  One speaks of a family, or *system* of equations when
more than one equation is involved.  If the equations are dependent on
one another, they are said to be *coupled*.  A *solution* is any
function satisfying the equations.  An *initial value problem* is
present when there exist subsidiary conditions on the unknown function
and its derivatives, all of which are given at the same value of the
independent variable.  In principle, such an `initial condition'
specifies a unique solution.  Questions about the existence and
uniqueness of a solution, along with further terminology, are discussed
in any introductory text.  (See Chapter 1 of Birkhoff and Rota's
`Ordinary Differential Equations'.  For this and other references
relevant to `ode', see *Note ODE Bibliography::.)

   In practical problems, the solution of a differential equation is
usually not expressible in terms of elementary functions.  Hence the
need for a numerical solution.

   A numerical scheme for solving an initial value problem produces an
approximate solution, using only functional evaluations and the
operations of arithmetic.  `ode' solves first-order initial value
problems of the form:

     x' = f(t,x,y,...,z)
     y' = g(t,x,y,...,z)
        .
        .
        .
     z' = h(t,x,y,...,z)

given the initial values for each dependent variable at the initial
value of the independent variable t, i.e.,

     x(a) = b
     y(a) = c
          .
          .
          .
     z(a) = d
     t = a

where a,b,c,...,d are constants.

   For `ode' to be able to solve such a problem numerically, the
functions f,g,...,g must be expressed, using the usual operators
(+,-,*,/,^), in terms of certain basic functions that `ode' recognizes.
These are the same functions that the plotting program `gnuplot'
recognizes.  Moreover, each of f,g,...,g must be given explicitly.
`ode' cannot deal with a system in which one or more of the first
derivatives is defined implicitly rather than explicitly.

   All schemes for numerical solution involve the calculation of an
approximate solution at discrete values of the independent variable t,
where the `stepsize' (the difference between any two successive values
of t, usually denoted h) may be constant or chosen adaptively.
In general, as the stepsize decreases the solution becomes more
accurate.  In `ode', the stepsize may be adjusted by the user.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Simple ode Examples,  Next: Additional ode Examples,  Prev: Basic Math,  Up: ode

Simple examples using `ode'
===========================

   The following examples should illustrate the procedure of stating an
initial value problem and solving it with `ode'.  If these examples are
too elementary, see *Note Input Language::, for a formal specification
of the `ode' input language.  There is also a directory containing
examples of `ode' input, called `ode-examples', which is distributed
along with the GNU plotting utilities.

   Our first example is a simple one, namely

     y'(t) = y(t)

with the initial condition

     y(0) = 1

The solution to this differential equation is

     y(t) = e^t.

In particular

     y(1) = e^1 = 2.718282

to seven digits of accuracy.

   You may obtain this result with the aid of `ode' by typing on the
command line the sequence of commands

     ode
     y' = y
     y = 1
     print t, y
     step 0, 1

Two columns of numbers will appear.  Each line will show the value of
the independent variable t, and the value of the variable y, as t is
`stepped' from 0 to 1.  The last line will be

     1 2.718282

as expected.  You may use the `-p' option to change the precision.  If,
for example, you type `ode -p 10' rather than `ode', you will get ten
digits of accuracy in the output, rather than seven (the default).

   After the above output, `ode' will wait for further instructions.
Entering for example the line

     step 1, 0

should yield two more columns of numbers, containing the values of t
and y that are computed when t is stepped back from 1 to 0.  You could
type instead

     step 1, 2

to increase rather than decrease t.  To exit `ode', you would type a
line containing only `.', i.e. a single period, and tap `return'.
`ode' will also exit if it sees an end-of-file indicator in its input
stream, which you can send from your terminal by typing control-D.

   Each line of the preceding example should be self-explanatory.
A `step' statement sets the beginning and the end of an interval over
which the independent variable (here, t) will range, and causes `ode'
to set the numerical scheme in motion.  The initial value appearing in
the first `step' statement (i.e., 0) and the assignment statement

     y = 1

are equivalent to the initial condition y(0) = 1.  The statements
`y' = y' and `y = 1' are very different: `y' = y' defines a way of
computing the derivative of y, while `y = 1' sets the initial value
of y.  Whenever a `step' statement is encountered, `ode' tries to step
the independent variable through the interval it specifies.  Which
values are to be printed at each step is specified by the most recent
`print' statement.  For example,

     print t, y, y'

would cause the current value of the independent variable t, the
variable y, and its derivative to be printed at each step.

   To illustrate `ode''s ability to take its input or the initial part
of its input from a file, you could prepare a file containing the
following lines:

     # an ode to Euler
     y  = 1
     y' = y
     print t, y, y'

Call this file `euler'.  (The `#' line is a comment line, which may
appear at any point.  Everything from the `#' to the end of the line on
which it appears will be ignored.)  To process this file with `ode',
you could type on your terminal

     ode -f euler
     step 0, 1

These two lines cause `ode' to read the file `euler', and the stepping
to take place.  You will now get three quantities (t, y, and y')
printed at each of the values of t between 0 and 1.  At the conclusion
of the stepping, `ode' will wait for any further commands to be input
from the terminal.  This example illustrates that

     ode -f euler

is not equivalent to

     ode < euler

The latter would cause `ode' to take all its input from the file
`euler', while the former allows subsequent input from the terminal.
For the latter to produce output, you would need to include a `step'
line at the end of the file.  You would not need to include a `.' line,
however.  `.' is used to terminate input only when input is being read
from a terminal.

   A second simple example involves the numerical solution of a
second-order differential equation.  Consider the initial value problem

     y''(t) = -y(t)
     y(0) = 0
     y'(0) = 1

Its solution would be

     y(t) = sin(t)

To solve this problem using `ode', you must express this second-order
equation as two first-order equations.  Toward this end you would
introduce a new function, called yp say, of the independent variable t.
The pair of equations

     y' = yp
     yp' = -y

would be equivalent to the single equation above.  This sort of
reduction of an n'th order problem to n first order problems is a
standard technique.

   To plot the variable y as a function of the variable t, you could
create a file containing the lines

     # sine : y''(t) = -y(t), y(0) = 0, y'(0) = 1
     sine' = cosine
     cosine' = -sine
     sine = 0
     cosine = 1
     print t, sine

(y and yp have been renamed sine and cosine, since that is what they
will be.)  Call this file `sine'.  To display the generated data points
on an X Window System display as they are generated, you would type

     ode -f sine | graph -T X -x 0 10 -y -1 1
     step 0, 2*PI
     .

After you type the `ode' line, `graph -T X' will pop up a window, and
after you type the `step' line, the generated dataset will be drawn
in it.  The `-x 0 10' and `-y -1 1' options, which set the bounds for
the two axes, are necessary if you wish to display points in real time:
as they are generated.  If the axis bounds were not specified on the
command line, `graph -T X' would wait until all points are read from
the input before determining the bounds, and drawing the plot.

   A slight modification of this example, showing how `ode' can
generate several datasets in succession and plot them on the same graph,
would be the following.  Suppose that you type on your terminal the
following lines.

     ode -f sine | graph -T X -C -x 0 10 -y -1 1
     step 0, PI
     step PI, 2*PI
     step 2*PI, 3*PI
     .

Then the sine curve will be traced out in three stages.  Since the
output from each `step' statement ends with a blank line, `graph -T X'
will treat each section of the sine curve as a different dataset.  If
you are using a color display, each of the three sections will be
plotted in a different color.  This is a feature provided by `graph
-T X', which normally changes its linemode after each dataset it reads.
If you do not like this feature, you may turn it off by using `graph
-T X -B' instead of `graph -T X'.

   In the above examples, you could use any of the other variants of
`graph' instead of `graph -T X'.  For example, you could use `graph -T
ps' to obtain a plot in encapsulated Postscript format, by typing

     ode -f sine | graph -T ps > plot.ps
     step 0, 2*PI
     .

You should note that of the six variants of `graph', `graph -T ps',
`graph -T fig', and `graph -T hpgl' do not produce output in real time,
even when the axis bounds are specified with the `-x' and `-y' options.
So if `graph -T ps', `graph -T fig', or `graph -T hpgl' is used, the
plot will be produced only when input from `ode' is terminated, which
will occur when you type `.'.

   In the preceding examples, the derivatives of the dependent variables
were specified by comparatively simple expressions.  They are allowed to
be arbitrarily complicated functions of the dependent variables and the
independent variable.  They also may involve any of the functions that
are built into `ode'.  `ode' has a fair number of functions built in,
including abs, sqrt, exp, log, log10, sin, cos, tan, asin, acos, atan,
sinh, cosh, tanh, asinh, acosh, and atanh.  Less familiar functions
which are built into it are besj0, besj1, besy0, besy1, erf, erfc,
inverf, lgamma, gamma, norm, invnorm, ibeta, and igamma.  These have
the same definitions as in the plotting program `gnuplot'.  (All
functions take a single argument, except for ibeta, which takes three,
and igamma, which takes two).  `ode' also knows the meaning of the
constant `PI', as the above examples show.  The names of the preceding
functions are reserved, so, e.g., `cos' and `sin' may not be used as
names for variables.

   Other than the restriction of avoiding reserved names and keywords,
the names of variables may be chosen arbitrarily.  Any sequence of
alphanumeric characters starting with an alphabetic character may be
used; the first 32 characters are significant.  It is worth noting that
`ode' identifies the independent variable by the fact that it is (or
should be) the only variable that has not appeared on the left side of
a differential equation or an initial value assignment.  If there is
more than than one such variable then no stepping takes place; instead,
an error message is printed.  If there is no such variable, a dummy
independent variable is invented and given the name `(indep)',
internally.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Additional ode Examples,  Next: ode Invocation,  Prev: Simple ode Examples,  Up: ode

Additional examples using `ode'
===============================

   We explain here how to use some additional features of `ode'.
However, the discussion below does not cover all of its capabilities.
For a complete list of command-line options, see *Note ode Invocation::.

   It is easy to use `ode' to create plots of great beauty.  An example
would be a plot of a *strange attractor*, namely the Lorenz attractor.
Suppose that a file named `lorenz' contains the following lines.

     # The Lorenz model, a system of three coupled ODE's with parameter r.
     x' = -3*(x-y)
     y' = -x*z+r*x-y
     z' = x*y-z
     
     r = 26
     x = 0; y = 1; z = 0
     
     print x, y
     step 0, 200

Then executing the command

     <lorenz ode | graph -T X -C -x -10 10 -y -10 10

would produce a plot of the Lorenz attractor (strictly speaking, a plot
of one of its two-dimensional projections).  You may produce a
Postscript plot of the Lorenz attractor, and print it, by doing
something like

     <lorenz ode | graph -T ps -x -10 10 -y -10 10 -W 0 | lpr

The `-W 0' ("zero width") option requests that `graph -T ps' use the
thinnest line possible, to improve the visual appearance of the plot on
a printer or other Postscript device.

   Besides plotting a visually striking object in real time, the Lorenz
attractor example shows how statements may be separated by semicolons,
rather than appearing on different lines.  It also shows how to use
symbolic constants.  In the description read by `ode' the parameter r
is a variable like x, y, and z.  But unlike them it is not updated
during stepping, since no formula for its derivative r' is given.

   Our second example deals with the interactive construction of a
`phase portrait': a set of solution curves with different initial
conditions.  Phase portraits are of paramount interest in the
qualitative theory of differential equations, and also possess
aesthetic appeal.

   Since a description read by `ode' may contain any number of `step'
statements, multiple solution curves may be plotted in a single run.
The most recent `print' statement will be used with each `step'
statement.  In practice, a phase portrait would be drawn from a few
well-chosen solution curves.  Choosing a good set of solution curves
may require experimentation, which makes interactivity and real-time
plotting all-important.

   As an example, consider a so-called Lotka-Volterra predator-prey
model.  Suppose that in a lake there are two species of fish:
A (the prey) who live by eating a plentiful supply of plants, and B (the
predator) who eat A.  Let x(t) be the population of A and y(t) the
population of B at time t.  A crude model for the interaction of A
and B is given by the equations

     x' = x(a-by)
     y' = y(cx-d)

where a, b, c, d are positive constants.  To draw a phase portrait for
this system interactively, you could type

     ode | graph -T X -C -x 0 5 -y 0 5
     x' = (a - b*y) * x
     y' = (c*x - d) * y
     a = 1; b = 1; c = 1; d = 1;
     print x, y
     x = 1; y = 2
     step 0, 10
     x = 1; y = 3
     step 0, 10
     x = 1; y = 4
     step 0, 10
     x = 1; y = 5
     step 0, 10
     .

Four curves will be drawn in succession, one per `step' line.  They
will be periodic; this periodicity is similar to the fluctuations
between predator and prey populations that occur in real-world
ecosystems.  On a color display the curves will appear in different
colors, since by default, `graph -T X' changes the line mode between
datasets.  That feature may be turned off by using `graph -T X -B'
rather than `graph -T X'.

   It is sometimes useful to use `ode' and `graph' to plot discrete
points, which are not joined by line segments to form a curve.  Our
third example illustrates this.  Suppose the file `atwoods' contains
the lines

     m = 1
     M = 1.0625
     a = 0.5; adot = 0
     l = 10; ldot = 0
     
     ldot' = ( m * l * adot * adot - M * 9.8 + m * 9.8 * cos(a) ) / (m + M)
     l'    = ldot
     adot' = (-1/l) * (9.8 * sin(a) +  2 * adot * ldot)
     a'    = adot
     
     print l, ldot
     step 0, 400

The first few lines describe the functioning of a so-called swinging
Atwood's machine.  An ordinary Atwood's machine consists of a taut cord
draped over a pulley, with a mass attached to the cord at each end.
Normally, the heavier mass (M) would win against the lighter mass (m),
and draw it upward.  A swinging Atwood's machine allows the lighter
mass to swing back and forth as well as move vertically.

   The `print l, ldot' statement requests that the vertical position
and vertical velocity of the lighter mass be printed out at each step.
If you run the command

     <atwoods ode | graph -T X -x 9 11 -y -1 1 -m 0 -S 1 -X l -Y ldot

you will obtain a real-time plot.  The `-m 0' option requests that
successive data points not be joined by line segments, and the `-S 1'
option requests that plotting symbol #1 (a dot) be plotted at the
location of each point.  As you will see if you run this command, the
heavy mass does not win against the lighter mass.  Instead the machine
oscillates non-periodically.  Since the motion is non-periodic, the
plot benefits from being drawn as a sequence of unconnected points.

   We conclude by mentioning a few features of `ode' that may be useful
when things are not going quite right.  One of them is the `examine'
statement.  It may be used to discover pertinent information about any
variable in a system.  For details, see *Note Input Language::.

   Another useful feature is that the `print' statement may be used to
print out more than just the value of a variable.  As we have seen, if
the name of the variable is followed by `'', the derivative of the
variable will be printed instead.  In a similar way, following the
variable name with `?', `!', or `~' prints respectively the relative
single-step error, the absolute single-step error, or the accumulated
error (not currently implemented).  These quantities are discussed in
*Note Numerical Error::.

   The `print' statement may be more complicated than was shown in the
preceding examples.  Its general structure is

     print <pr-list> [every <const>] [from <const>]

The bracket notation `[...]' means that the enclosed statements are
optional.  Until now we have not mentioned the `every' clause or the
`from' clause.  The <pr-list> is familiar, however; it is simply a
comma-separated list of variables.  For example, in the statement

     print t, y, y' every 5 from 1

the <pr-list> is <t, y, y'>.  The clauses `every 5' and `from 1'
specify that printing should take place after every fifth step, and
that the printing should begin when the independent variable t
reaches 1.  An `every' clause is useful if you wish to `thin out' the
output generated by a `step' statement, and a `from' clause is useful
if you wish to view only the final portion of a solution curve.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: ode Invocation,  Next: Diagnostics,  Prev: Additional ode Examples,  Up: ode

`ode' command-line options
==========================

The command-line options to `ode' are listed below.  There are several
sorts of option:

  1. Options affecting the way in which input is read.

  2. Options affecting the format of the output.

  3. Options affecting the choice of numerical solution scheme, and the
     error bounds that will be imposed on it.

  4. Options that request information.

The following option affects the way input is read.

`-f FILENAME'
`--input-file FILENAME'
     Read input from FILENAME before reading from standard input.

The following options affect the output format.

`-p PRECISION'
`--precision PRECISION'
     When printing numerical results, use PRECISION significant
     figures.  If this option is given, all output will be in scientific
     notation.

`-t'
`--title'
     Print a title line at the head of the output, naming the columns.
     If this option is given, the default print format will be
     scientific notation.

The following options specify the numerical integration scheme.  Only
one of the three basic option `-R', `-A', and `-E' may be specified.
The default is `-R' (Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg).

`-R [STEPSIZE]'
`--runge-kutta [STEPSIZE]'
     Use a fifth-order Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg algorithm, with an adaptive
     stepsize unless a constant stepsize is specified.  When a constant
     stepsize is specified and no error analysis is requested, then a
     classical fourth-order Runge-Kutta scheme is used.

`-A [STEPSIZE]'
`--adams-moulton [STEPSIZE]'
     Use a fourth-order Adams-Moulton predictor-corrector scheme, with
     an adaptive stepsize unless a constant stepsize, STEPSIZE, is
     specified.  The Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg algorithm is used to get past
     `bad' points (if any).

`-E [STEPSIZE]'
`--euler [STEPSIZE]'
     Use a `quick and dirty' Euler scheme, with a constant stepsize.
     The default value of STEPSIZE is 0.1.  Not recommended for serious
     applications.

`-h HMIN [HMAX]'
`--step-size-bound HMIN [HMAX]'
     Use a lower bound HMIN on the stepsize.  The numerical scheme will
     not let the stepsize go below HMIN.  The default is to allow the
     stepsize to shrink to the machine limit, i.e., the minimum nonzero
     double-precision floating point number.  The optional argument
     HMAX, if included, specifies a maximum value for the stepsize.
     It is useful in preventing the numerical routine from skipping
     quickly over an interesting region.

The following options set the error bounds on the numerical solution
scheme.

`-r RMAX [RMIN]'
`--relative-error-bound RMAX [RMIN]'

`-e EMAX [EMIN]'
`--absolute-error-bound EMAX [EMIN]'
     The `-r' option sets an upper bound on the relative single-step
     error.  If the `-r' option is used, the relative single-step error
     in any dependent variable will never exceed RMAX (the default for
     which is 10^(-9)).  If this should occur, the solution will be
     abandoned and an error message will be printed.  If the stepsize
     is not constant, the stepsize will be decreased `adaptively', so
     that the upper bound on the single-step error is not violated.
     Thus, choosing a smaller upper bound on the single-step error will
     cause smaller stepsizes to be chosen.  A lower bound RMIN may
     optionally be specified, to suggest when the stepsize should be
     increased (the default for RMIN is RMAX/1000).  The `-e' option is
     similar to `-r', but bounds the absolute rather than the relative
     single-step error.

`-s'
`--suppress-error-bound'
     Suppress the ceiling on single-step error, allowing `ode' to
     continue even if this ceiling is exceeded.  This may result in
     large numerical errors.

Finally, the following options request information.

`--help'
     Print a list of command-line options, and then exit.

`--version'
     Print the version number of `ode' and the plotting utilities
     package, and exit.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Diagnostics,  Next: Numerical Error,  Prev: ode Invocation,  Up: ode

Diagnostic messages
===================

   `ode' is always in one of two states:

   * Reading input.  The input includes a specification of a system of
     ordinary differential equations, together with instructions for
     solving it numerically: a `print' line and a `step' line.

   * Numerically solving a system, and printing the resulting output.

`ode' moves from the first to the second state after it sees and
processes a `step' line.  It returns to the first state after the
generated output has been printed.  Errors may occur in either the
`reading' state or the `solving' state, and may terminate computations
or even cause `ode' to exit.  We now explain the possible sorts of
error.

   While reading input, `ode' may encounter a syntax error: an
ungrammatical line that it is unable to parse.  (For a summary of its
input grammar, see *Note Input Language::.)  If so, it emits the error
message

     ode::nnn: syntax error

where `nnn' is the number of the line containing the error.  When the
`-f filename' option is used to specify an input file, the error
message will read

     ode:filename:nnn: syntax error

for errors encountered inside the input file.  Subsequently, when `ode'
begins reading the standard input, line numbers will start over again
from 1.

   No effort is made to recover from syntax errors in the input.
However, there is a meager effort to resynchronize, so that more than
one syntax error in a file may be found at the same time.

   It is also possible that a fatal arithmetic exception (such as a
division by zero, or a floating point overflow) may occur while `ode'
is reading input.  If such an exception occurs, `ode' will print an
"Floating point exception" error message and exit.  Arithmetic
exceptions are machine-dependent.  On some machines, the line

     y = 1/0

would induce an arithmetic exception.  Also on some machines (not
necessarily the same ones), the lines

     y = 1e100
     z = y^4

would induce an arithmetic exception.  That is because on most
machines, the double precision quantities that `ode' uses internally
are limited to a maximum size of approximately 1.8x10^308.

   When `ode' is in the `solving' state, i.e., computing a numerical
solution, similar arithmetic exceptions may occur.  If so, the solution
will be interrupted and a message resembling

     ode: arithmetic exception while calculating y'

will be printed.  However, `ode' will not exit; the exception will be
`caught'.  `ode' itself recognizes the following exceptional
conditions: square root of a negative number, logarithm of a
non-positive number, and negative number raised to a non-integer power.
`ode' will catch any of these operations before it is performed, and
print an error message specifying which illegal operation it has
encountered.

     ode: square root of a negative number while calculating y'

would be a typical error message.

   If the machine on which `ode' is running supports the `matherr'
facility for reporting errors in the computation of standard
mathematical functions, it will be used.  This facility reports domain
errors and range errors (overflows, underflows, and losses of
significance) that could occur when evaluating such functions as `log',
`gamma', etc.; again, before they are performed.  If the `matherr'
facility is present, the error message will be fairly informative.  For
example, the error message

     ode: range error (overflow) in lgamma while calculating y'

could be generated if the logarithmic gamma function `lgamma' is
evaluated at a value of its argument that is too large.  The generation
of any such message, except a message warning of an underflow, will
cause the numerical solution to be interrupted.

   There is another sort of error that may occur during numerical
solution: the condition that an error ceiling, which may be set by the
user with the `-r' option or the `-e' option, is exceeded.  This too
will cause the numerical solution to be abandoned, and `ode' to switch
back to reading input.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Numerical Error,  Next: Running Time,  Prev: Diagnostics,  Up: ode

Numerical error and how to avoid it
===================================

   This discussion is necessarily incomplete.  Entire books exist on any
subject mentioned below (e.g., floating point error).  Our goals are
modest: first, to introduce the basic notions of error analysis as they
apply to `ode'; second, to steer you around the more obvious pitfalls.
You should look through a numerical analysis text (e.g., Atkinson's
`Introduction to Numerical Analysis') before beginning this discussion.

   We begin with some key definitions.  The error of greatest concern is
the difference between the actual solution and the numerical
approximation to the solution; this is termed the *accumulated error*,
since the error is built up during each numerical step.  Unfortunately,
an estimate of this error is usually not available without knowledge of
the actual solution.  There are, however, several more usable notions
of error.  The *single-step error*, in particular, is the difference
between the actual solution and the numerical approximation to the
solution after any single step, assuming the value at the beginning of
the step is correct.

   The *relative single-step error* is the single-step error, divided
by the current value of the numerical approximation to the solution.
Why not divided by the current value of the solution itself?  The reason
is that the solution is not exactly known.  When free to choose a
stepsize, `ode' will do so on the basis of the relative single-step
error.  By default, it will choose the stepsize so as to maintain an
accuracy of eight significant digits in each step.  That is, it will
choose the stepsize so as not to violate an upper bound of 10^(-9) on
the relative single-step error.  This ceiling may be adjusted with the
`-r' option.

   Where does numerical error come from?  There are two sources.  The
first is the finite precision of machine computation.  All computers
work with floating point numbers, which are not real numbers, but only
an approximation to real numbers.  However, all computations performed
by `ode' are done to double precision, so floating point error tends to
be relatively small.  You may nonetheless detect the difference between
real numbers and floating point numbers by experimenting with the `-p
17' option, which will print seventeen significant digits.  On most
machines, that is the precision of a double precision floating point
number.

   The second source of numerical error is often called the
*theoretical truncation error*.  It is the difference between the
actual solution and the approximate solution due solely to the
numerical scheme.  At the root of many numerical schemes is an infinite
series; for ordinary differential equations, it is a Taylor expansion.
Since the computer cannot compute all the terms in an infinite series,
a numerical scheme necessarily uses a truncated series; hence the term.
The single-step error is the sum of the theoretical truncation error
and the floating point error, though in practice the floating point
error is seldom included.  The single-step error estimated by `ode'
consists only of the theoretical truncation error.

   We say that a numerical scheme is *stable*, when applied to a
particular initial value problem, if the error accumulated during the
solution of the problem over a fixed interval decreases as the stepsize
decreases; at least, over a wide range of step sizes.  With this
definition both the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg (`-R') scheme and the
Adams-Moulton (`-A') scheme are stable (a statement based more on
experience than on theoretical results) for a wide class of problems.

   After these introductory remarks, we list some common sources of
accumulated error and instability in any numerical scheme.  Usually,
problems with large accumulated error and instability are due to the
single-step error in the vicinity of a `bad' point being large.

  1. Singularities.

     `ode' should not be used to generate a numerical solution on any
     interval containing a singularity.  That is, `ode' should not be
     asked to step over points at which the system of differential
     equations is singular or undefined.

     You will find the definitions of singular point, regular singular
     point, and irregular singular point in any good differential
     equations text.  If you have no favorite, try Birkhoff and Rota's
     `Ordinary Differential Equations', Chapter 9.  Always locate and
     classify the singularities of a system, if any, before applying
     `ode'.

  2. Ill-posed problems.

     For `ode' to yield an accurate numerical solution on an interval,
     the true solution must be defined and well-behaved on that
     interval.  The solution must also be real.  Whenever any of these
     conditions is violated, the problem is said to be *ill-posed*.
     Ill-posedness may occur even if the system of differential
     equations is well-behaved on the interval.  Strange results, e.g.,
     the stepsize suddenly shrinking to the machine limit or the
     solution suddenly blowing up, may indicate ill-posedness.

     As an example of ill-posedness (in fact, an undefined solution)
     consider the innocent-looking problem:

          y' = y^2
          y(1) = -1

     The solution on the domain t > 0 is

          y(t) = -1/t.

     With this problem you must not compute a numerical solution on any
     interval that includes t=0.  To convince yourself of this, try to
     use the `step' statement

          step 1, -1

     on this system.  How does `ode' react?

     As another example of ill-posedness, consider the system

          y'=1/y

     which is undefined at y=0.  The general solution is

          y = +/- (2(t-C))^(1/2),

     so that if the condition y(2)=2 is imposed, the solution will be
     (2t)^(1/2).  Clearly, if the domain specified in a `step'
     statement includes negative values of t, the generated solution
     will be bogus.

     In general, when using a constant stepsize you should be careful
     not to `step over' bad points or bad regions.  When allowed to
     choose a stepsize adaptively, `ode' will often spot bad points,
     but not always.

  3. Critical points.

     An *autonomous* system is one that does not include the independent
     variable explicitly on the right-hand side of any differential
     equation.  A *critical point* for such a system is a point at
     which all right-hand sides equal zero.  For example, the system

          y' = 2x
          x' = 2y

     has only one critical point, at (x,y) = (0,0).

     A critical point is sometimes referred to as a *stagnation point*.
     That is because a system at a critical point will remain there
     forever, though a system near a critical point may undergo more
     violent motion.  Under some circumstances, passing near a critical
     point may give rise to a large accumulated error.

     As an exercise, solve the system above using `ode', with the
     initial condition x(0) = y(0) = 0.  The solution should be
     constant in time.  Now do the same with points near the critical
     point.  What happens?

     You should always locate the critical points of a system before
     attempting a solution with `ode'.  Critical points may be
     classified (as equilibrium, vortex, unstable, stable, etc.) and
     this classification may be of use.  To find out more about this,
     consult any book dealing with the qualitative theory of
     differential equations (e.g., Birkhoff and Rota's `Ordinary
     Differential Equations', Chapter 6).

  4. Unsuitable numerical schemes

     If the results produced by `ode' are bad in the sense that
     instability appears to be present, or an unusually small stepsize
     needs to be chosen needed in order to reduce the single-step error
     to manageable levels, it may simply be that the numerical scheme
     being used is not suited to the problem.  For example, `ode'
     currently has no numerical scheme which handles so-called `stiff'
     problems very well.

     As an example, you may wish to examine the stiff problem:

          y' = -100 + 100t + 1
          y(0)=1

     on the domain [0,1].  The exact solution is

          y(t) = e^(-100t) + t.

     It is a useful exercise to solve this problem with `ode' using
     various numerical schemes, stepsizes, and relative single-step
     error bounds, and compare the generated solution curves with the
     actual solution.

   There are several rough and ready heuristic checks you can perform on
the accuracy of any numerical solution produced by `ode'.  We discuss
them in turn.

  1. Examine the stability of  solution curves: do they converge?

     That is, check how changing the stepsize affects a solution curve.
     As the stepsize decreases, the curve should converge.  If it does
     not, then either the stepsize is not small enough or the numerical
     scheme is not suited to the problem.  In practice, you would
     proceed as follows.

        * If using an adaptive stepsize, superimpose the solution
          curves for successively smaller bounds on the relative
          single-step error (obtained with, e.g., `-r 1e-9', `-r
          1e-11', `-r 1e-13', ...).  If the curves converge then the
          solution is to all appearances stable, and your accuracy is
          sufficient.

        * If employing a constant stepsize, perform a similar analysis
          by successively halving the stepsize.

     The following example is one that you may wish to experiment with.
     Make a file named `qcd' containing:

          # an equation arising in QCD (quantum chromodynamics)
          f'   = fp
          fp'  = -f*g^2
          g'   = gp
          gp'  = g*f^2
          f = 0; fp = -1; g = 1; gp = -1
          
          print t, f
          step 0, 5

     Next make a file named `stability', containing the lines:

          : sserr is the bound on the relative single-step error
          for sserr
          do
          ode -r $sserr < qcd
          done | spline -n 500 | graph -T X -C

     This is a `shell script', which when run will superimpose numerical
     solutions with specified bounds on the relative single-step error.
     To run it, type:

          sh stability 1 .1 .01 .001

     and a plot of the solutions with the specified error bounds will be
     drawn.  The convergence, showing stability, should be quite
     illuminating.

  2. Check invariants of the system: are they constant?

     Many systems have invariant quantities.  For example, if the
     system is a mathematical model of a `conservative' physical system
     then the `energy' (a particular function of the dependent
     variables of the system) should be constant in time.  In general,
     knowledge about the qualitative behavior of any dependent variable
     may be used to check the quality of the solution.

  3. Check a family of solution curves: do they diverge?

     A rough idea of how error is propagated is obtained by viewing a
     family of solution curves about the numerical solution in
     question, obtained by varying the initial conditions.  If they
     diverge sharply--that is, if two solutions which start out very
     close nonetheless end up far apart--then the quality of the
     numerical solution is dubious.  On the other hand, if the curves
     do not diverge sharply then any error that is present will in all
     likelihood not increase by more than an order of magnitude or so
     over the interval.  Problems exhibiting no sharp divergence of
     neighboring solution curves are sometimes called
     *well-conditioned*.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Running Time,  Next: Input Language,  Prev: Numerical Error,  Up: ode

Running time
============

   The time required for `ode' to solve numerically a system of
ordinary differential equations depends on a great many factors.  A few
of them are: number of equations, complexity of equations (number of
operators and nature of the operators), and number of steps taken
(a very complicated function of the difficulty of solution, unless
constant stepsizes are used).  The most effective way to gauge the time
required for solution of a system is to clock a short or imprecise run
of the problem, and reason as follows: the time required to take two
steps is roughly twice that required for one; and there is a
relationship between the number of steps required and the relative error
ceiling chosen.  That relationship depends on the numerical scheme being
used, the difficulty of solution, and perhaps on the magnitude of the
error ceiling itself.  A few carefully planned short runs may be used
to determine this relationship, enabling a long but imprecise run to be
used as an aid in projecting the cost of a more precise run over the
same region.  Lastly, if a great deal of data is printed, it is likely
that more time is spent in printing the results than in computing the
numerical solution.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Input Language,  Next: ODE Bibliography,  Prev: Running Time,  Up: ode

The `ode' input language formally specified
===========================================

   The following is a formal specification of the grammar for `ode''s
input language, in Backus-Naur form.  Nonterminal symbols in the
grammar are enclosed in angle brackets.  Terminal tokens are in all
capitals.  Bare words and symbols stand for themselves.

     <program>    ::=        ... empty ...
                    |  <program> <statement>
     
     
     <statement>  ::=  SEP
                    |  IDENTIFIER = <const> SEP
                    |  IDENTIFIER ' = <expression> SEP
                    |  print <printlist> <optevery> <optfrom> SEP
                    |  step <const> , <const> , <const> SEP
                    |  step <const> , <const> SEP
                    |  examine IDENTIFIER SEP
     
     
     <printlist>  ::=  <printitem>
                    |  <printlist> , <printitem>
     
     
     <printitem>  ::=  IDENTIFIER
                    |  IDENTIFIER '
                    |  IDENTIFIER ?
                    |  IDENTIFIER !
                    |  IDENTIFIER ~
     
     
     <optevery>   ::=        ... empty ...
                    |  every <const>
     
     
     <optfrom>    ::=        ... empty ...
                    |  from <const>
     
     
     <const>      ::=  <expression>
     
     
     <expression> ::=  ( <expression> )
                    |  <expression> + <expression>
                    |  <expression> - <expression>
                    |  <expression> * <expression>
                    |  <expression> / <expression>
                    |  <expression> ^ <expression>
                    |  FUNCTION ( <expression> )
                    |  - <expression>
                    |  NUMBER
                    |  IDENTIFIER

Since this grammar is ambiguous, the following table summarizes the
precedences and associativities of operators within expressions.
Precedences decrease from top to bottom.

     Class           Operators    Associativity
     
     Exponential         ^            right
     Multiplicative      * /          left
     Additive            + -          left

   As noted in the grammar, there are six types of nontrivial statement.
We now explain the effects (the `semantics') of each type, in turn.

  1. IDENTIFIER ' = <expression>

     This defines a first-order differential equation.  The derivative
     of IDENTIFIER is specified by <expression>.  If a dynamic variable
     does not appear on the left side of a statement of this form, its
     derivative is assumed to be zero.  That is, it is a symbolic
     constant.

  2. IDENTIFIER = <const>

     This sets the value of IDENTIFIER to the current value of
     <expression>.  Dynamic variables that have not been initialized in
     this way are set to zero.

  3. step <const> , <const>

  4. step <const> , <const> , <const>

     A `step' statement causes the numerical scheme to be executed.  The
     first <const> is the initial value of the independent variable.
     The second is its final value.  The third is a stepsize; if given,
     it overrides any stepsize that may be specified on the command
     line.  Usually the stepsize is not specified, and it varies
     adaptively as the computation proceeds.

  5. print <printlist> [ every <const> ] [ from <const> ]

     A `print' statement controls the content and frequency of the
     numerical output.  <printlist> is a comma-separated list of
     IDENTIFIERs, where each IDENTIFIER may be followed by `'',
     denoting the derivative, or `?', denoting the relative single-step
     error, or `!', denoting the absolute single-step error, or `~',
     denoting the accumulated error (not currently implemented).  The
     specified values are printed in the order they are found.  Both the
     `every' clause and the `from' clause are optional.  If the `every'
     clause is present, a printing occurs every <const> iterations of
     the numerical algorithm.  The default is to print on every
     iteration (i.e. `every 1').  The first and last values are always
     printed.  If the `from' clause is present, it means to begin
     printing when the independent variable reaches or exceeds <const>.
     The default is to begin printing immediately.

     If no `print' statement has been supplied, then the independent
     variable and all dependent variables which have differential
     equations associated with them are printed.  The independent
     variable is printed first; the dependent variables follow in the
     order their equations were given.

  6. examine IDENTIFIER

     An `examine' statement, when executed, causes a table of
     interesting information about the named variable to be printed on
     the standard output.  For example, if the statement `examine y'
     were encountered after execution of the `ode to Euler' example
     discussed elsewhere, the output would be:

          "y" is a dynamic variable
          value:2.718282
          prime:2.718282
          sserr:1.121662e-09
          aberr:3.245638e-09
          acerr:0
           code:	push "y"

     The phrase `dynamic variable' means that there is a differential
     equation describing the behavior of y.  The numeric fields in the
     table are:

    value
          Current value of the variable.

    prime
          Current derivative of the variable.

    sserr
          Relative single-step error for the last step taken.

    aberr
          Absolute single-step error for the last step taken.

    acerr
          Total error accumulated during the most recent `step'
          statement.  Not currently implemented.

     The `code' section of the table lists the stack operations required
     to compute the derivative of y (somewhat reminiscent of a reverse
     Polish calculator).  This information may be useful in discovering
     whether the precedences in the differential equation statement
     were interpreted correctly, or in determining the time or space
     expense of a particular calculation.  `push "y"' means to load y's
     value on the stack, which is all that is required to compute its
     derivative in this case.

   The grammar for the `ode' input language contains four types of
terminal token: FUNCTION, IDENTIFIER, NUMBER, and SEP.  They have the
following meanings.

  1. FUNCTION

     One of the words: abs, sqrt, exp, log, ln, log10, sin, cos, tan,
     asin, acos, atan, sinh, cosh, tanh, asinh, acosh, atanh, floor,
     ceil, besj0, besj1, besy0, besy1, erf, erfc, inverf, lgamma,
     gamma, norm, invnorm, ibeta, igamma.  These are defined to have
     the same meaning as in the plotting program `gnuplot'.  All
     functions take a single argument, except for ibeta, which takes
     three, and igamma, which takes two.  For trigonometric functions,
     all arguments are expressed in radians.  The atan function is
     defined to give a value between -PI/2 and PI/2 (inclusive).

  2. IDENTIFIER

     A sequence of alphanumeric characters starting with an alphabetic
     character.  The first 32 characters are significant.  Upper and
     lower-case letters are distinct.  In identifiers, the underscore
     character is considered alphabetic.  Function names and keywords
     may not be used as identifiers, nor may `PI'.

  3. NUMBER

     A non-empty sequence of digits possibly containing a decimal point
     and possibly followed by an exponent.  An exponent is `e' or `E',
     followed by an (optionally signed) one, two, or three-digit
     number.  All numbers and all parts of numbers are radix 10.
     A number may not contain any white space.  The special word `PI' is
     a number.

  4. SEP

     A separator: a semicolon or a (non-escaped) newline.

   In the `ode' input language, upper and lower-case letters are
distinct.  Comments begin with the character `#' and continue to the
end of the line.  Long lines may be continued onto a second line by
ending the first line with a backslash (`\').  That is because the
combination backslash-newline is equivalent to a space.

   Spaces or tabs are required in the input whenever they are needed to
separate identifiers, numbers, and keywords from one another.  Except as
separators, they are ignored.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: ODE Bibliography,  Prev: Input Language,  Up: ode

Bibliography on `ode' and solving differential equations
========================================================

     K. E. Atkinson, `An Introduction to Numerical Analysis', Wiley,
     1978.  Chapter 6 contains a discussion of the literature on the
     numerical solution of ordinary differential equations.

     G. Birkhoff and G. Rota, `Ordinary Differential Equations', 4th
     ed., Wiley, 1989.

     N. B. Tufillaro, T. Abbott, and J. Reilly, `An Experimental
     Approach to Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos', Addison-Wesley, 1992.
     Appendix C discusses an earlier version of `ode'.

     N. B. Tufillaro, E. F. Redish, and J. S. Risley, "`ode':
     A numerical simulation of ordinary differential equations," pp.
     480-481 in `Proceedings of the Conference on Computers in Physics
     Instruction', Addison-Wesley, 1990.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: libplot,  Next: Appendices,  Prev: ode,  Up: Top

`libplot', a Function Library
*****************************

* Menu:

* libplot Overview::	Programming with libplot: An overview
* C Programming::	C programming with libplot
* Functions::		A list of functions contained in libplot
* Driver Parameters::	Device driver parameters


File: plotutils.info,  Node: libplot Overview,  Next: C Programming,  Prev: libplot,  Up: libplot

Programming with `libplot': An overview
=======================================

   GNU `libplot' is a library of functions for drawing two-dimensional
vector graphics.  It can produce smooth, double-buffered animations for
the X Window System, and graphical output in many different file
formats.  It is `device-independent' in the sense that its API
(application programming interface) is to a large extent independent of
the choice of output device, or output format.

   The graphical objects which `libplot' can draw include paths,
circles and ellipses, points, markers, and `adjusted labels' (justified
text strings).  A *path* is a sequence of line segments, circular arcs,
and/or elliptic arcs, which may be open or closed.  User-specified
filling of paths, circles, and ellipses is supported (fill color,
as well as pen color, may be specified).  There is support for
maintaining a Postscript-style stack of graphics contexts, i.e.,
a stack of drawing attribute sets.  User-specifiable attributes other
than pen color and fill color include path-related attributes such as
line type and line width, and text-related attributes such as font
name, font size, and text angle.

   The fundamental abstraction provided by `libplot' is that of a
*Plotter*.  A Plotter is an object with an interface for the drawing of
vector graphics which is similar to the interface provided by a
traditional pen plotter.  There are many types of Plotter, which differ
in the display device they produce output for.  Any number of Plotters,
of the same or different types, may exist simultaneously in an
application.

   The drawing operations supported by Plotters of different types are
identical, in agreement with the principle of device independence.  So a
graphics application that is linked with `libplot' may easily be
written so as to produce output for any or all of the supported output
formats.

   The following are the currently supported types of Plotter.

   * X Plotters.  An X Plotter, when opened, pops up a window on an
     X Window System display and draws graphics in it.  The window will
     be `spun off' when the Plotter is closed; if it is subsequently
     reopened, a new window will be popped up.  A spun-off window will
     remain on the screen but will vanish if you type `q' or click your
     mouse in it.  Future releases may permit X Plotters, when
     reopened, to reuse an existing window.

   * X Drawable Plotters.  An X Drawable Plotter draws graphics in one
     or two specified drawables associated with an X Window System
     display.  A `drawable' is either a window or a pixmap.  The
     drawables must be passed to the Plotter as parameters.  (*Note
     Driver Parameters::.)

   * Postscript Plotters.  A Postscript Plotter produces Postscript
     output and directs it to a file or other specified output stream.
     The output is actually in EPS (encapsulated Postscript) format, so
     it may be included in another document.  It may also be edited
     with the `idraw' drawing editor.

   * Fig Plotters.  A Fig Plotter produces output in Fig format and
     directs it to a file or other specified output stream.  The output
     may be edited with the `xfig' drawing editor.  The `xfig' editor
     will export drawings in various other formats for inclusion in
     documents.

   * HP-GL Plotters.  An HP-GL Plotter produces output in the
     Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language (HP-GL or HP-GL/2), and directs
     it to a file or other specified output stream.  The output may be
     sent to a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet printer or plotter, or included
     in another document.

   * Tektronix Plotters.  A Tektronix Plotter produces output in
     Tektronix 4014 format and directs it to a file or other specified
     output stream.  The output may be displayed on any Tektronix 4014
     emulator.  Such an emulator is built into `xterm', the X Window
     System terminal emulation program.  The DOS version of `kermit'
     also includes such an emulator.

   * Metafile Plotters.  A Metafile Plotter produces output in GNU
     metafile format and directs it to a file or other specified output
     stream.  This format is an extended version of the `plot(5)'
     format found on some other operating systems.  (*Note
     Metafiles::.)  It may be translated to other formats by an
     invocation of GNU `plot'.  (*Note plot::.)

   A distinction among these types of Plotter is that all except X and
X Drawable Plotters write graphics to a file or other output stream.  An
X Plotter pops up its own windows, and an X Drawable Plotter draws
graphics in one or two X drawables.

   Another distinction is that X, X Drawable, Tektronix and Metafile
Plotters are real-time.  This means that they draw graphics or write to
an output stream as the drawing operations are invoked on them.
Postscript, Fig and HP-GL Plotters are not real-time, since their output
streams can only be emitted after all functions have been called.  For a
Postscript Plotter this is because a `bounding box' line must be placed
at the head of the output file.  For a Fig Plotter it is because color
definitions must be placed at the head of the output file.

   The most important operations supported by any Plotter are `openpl'
and `closepl', which open and close it.  Graphics may be drawn, and
drawing attributes set, only within an `openpl'...`closepl' pair.  The
graphics produced within each `openpl'...`closepl' pair constitute a
`page'.  In principle, any Plotter may be opened and closed arbitrarily
many times.  An X Plotter displays each page in a separate X window,
and an HP-GL Plotter renders each page as a separate physical page.
X Drawable Plotters and Tektronix Plotters manipulate a single drawable
or display, on which pages are displayed in succession.

   There is a problem with extending these semantics to Postscript and
Fig Plotters, which do not draw in real time.  In the present release of
`libplot', the `closepl' operation writes the preceding page of
graphics to the output stream.  Successive pages will, in effect, be
concatenated.  In consequence, a multipage output file in Postscript
format will not obey the so-called Document Structuring Conventions for
Postscript files, and a multipage file in Fig format will not be a
legitimate Fig file at all (a Fig file may contain only one page of
graphics).

   On account of this potential problem with Postscript and Fig
Plotters, all Plotters support an additional operation: `outfile'.  The
output stream for a Plotter, if it has one, may be altered by invoking
`outfile' on it.  `outfile' may only be invoked outside an
`openpl'...`closepl' pair.  By using `outfile', a programmer may
produce multipage graphics output from Postscript and Fig Plotters by
directing output to a sequence of output streams, one per page.  The
use of `outfile' in other contexts is deprecated.

   There are several other basic operations which any Plotter supports.
The `graphics display' drawn in by a Plotter is a square or rectangular
region on a display device.  But when using any Plotter to draw
graphics, a user will specify the coordinates of graphical objects in
device-independent `user coordinates', rather than in device
coordinates.  A Plotter relates the user coordinate system to the
device coordinate system by performing an affine transformation, which
must be specified by the user.

   Immediately after invoking `openpl' to open a Plotter, an
application should invoke the `space' operation to initialize this
affine transformation.  This invocation specifies the rectangular region
(in user coordinates) that will be mapped by the Plotter to the graphics
display.  The affine transformation may be updated at any later time by
invoking `space' again, or by invoking `fconcat'.  The `fconcat'
operation will `concatenate' (i.e., compose) the current affine
transformation transformation with any specified affine map.  This sort
of concatenation is a capability familiar from, e.g., Postscript.

   Each Plotter maintains a Postscript-style stack of graphics contexts.
This makes possible the rapid, efficient drawing of complicated pages of
graphics.  A graphics context includes the current affine
transformation from the user coordinate system to the device coordinate
system.  It also includes such modal drawing attributes as graphics
cursor position, line mode, line width, pen and fill colors, and the
font used for drawing text.  The state of any uncompleted path (if any)
is included as well, since paths may be drawn incrementally, one
portion (line segment or arc) at a time.  The current graphics context
is pushed onto the stack by calling `savestate', and popped off by
calling `restorestate'.

   To permit vector graphics animation, any page of graphics may be
split into `frames'.  A frame is ended, and a new frame is begun, by
invoking the `erase' operation.  On a Plotter that does real-time
plotting (i.e., an X, X Drawable, Tektronix, or Metafile Plotter), this
erases all plotted objects from the graphics display, allowing a new
frame to be drawn.  Displaying a sequence of frames in succession
creates the illusion of smooth animation.

   On a Plotter that does not do real-time plotting (i.e., a
Postscript, Fig or HP-GL Plotter), invoking `erase' deletes all plotted
objects from an internal buffer.  For this reason, Plotters that do not
do real-time plotting will display only the last frame of any
multiframe page.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: C Programming,  Next: Functions,  Prev: libplot Overview,  Up: libplot

C Programming with `libplot'
============================

* Menu:

* The C API::	        	The C application programming interface
* C Compiling and Linking::	C compiling and linking
* Sample C Drawing::		A sample drawing in C
* Sample C Animation::		A sample animation in C


File: plotutils.info,  Node: The C API,  Next: C Compiling and Linking,  Prev: C Programming,  Up: C Programming

The C application programming interface
---------------------------------------

   `libplot' has bindings for several programming languages.
Regardless of which language binding is used, the concepts behind
`libplot' (Plotters, and a fixed set of operations that may be applied
to any Plotter) remain the same.  However, the ways in which Plotters
are manipulated (created, selected for use, and deleted) may differ
between bindings.

   If you are writing an application in C that will use `libplot' to
draw vector graphics, the first thing you need to know is how, in the
C binding, Plotters are manipulated.  There are four functions for
this: `newpl', `selectpl', `deletepl', and the parameter-setting
function `parampl'.

   The `newpl' function will create a Plotter of specified type.  Its
first argument may be "X", "Xdrawable", "ps", "fig", "hpgl", "tek", or
"meta".  It returns an integer (a "handle") that may be used to refer
to the Plotter.  Before using a Plotter that you have created (i.e.,
before invoking any of the `libplot' operations on it), you must select
the Plotter for use by calling `selectpl'.  Only one Plotter may be
selected at a time, but by calling `selectpl' you may switch from
Plotter to Plotter at any time, even when the selected Plotter is open.
A Plotter that is not currently selected may be deleted, and its
storage freed, by calling `deletepl'.

   *Warning:* Though at present the use of `deletepl' is optional, that
will change in future releases.  At present, Plotters that do not do
real-time output (i.e., Postscript, Fig, and HP-GL Plotters) write out
graphics at the conclusion of each page, i.e., when `closepl' is
called.  Our plan is for these Plotters to write out graphics only when
the plot is finished, and `deletepl' is called.  You should get into
the habit of calling `deletepl' whenever you are finished using a
Plotter.

   Strictly speaking, you do not need to call `newpl', `selectpl', or
`deletepl' in order to draw graphics.  That is because at startup, a
single Metafile Plotter that writes to standard output (with
handle `0') is automatically created and selected.  The presence of
this default Plotter is for compatibility with pre-GNU versions of
`libplot'.  Of course, you may not wish to obtain output in metafile
format, and you may not wish to write to standard output.

   The following table summarizes the action of the four functions in
the C binding that are used for Plotter manipulation.

int newpl (const char *TYPE, FILE *IN, FILE *OUT, FILE *ERR);
     newpl creates a Plotter of type TYPE, where TYPE may be "X",
     "Xdrawable", "ps", "fig", "hpgl", "tek", or "meta".  The Plotter
     will have input stream IN, output stream OUT, and error stream
     ERR.  Currently, all Plotters are write-only and IN is ignored.
     X Plotters and X Drawable Plotters write graphics to an X Window
     System display rather than to an output stream, so if TYPE is "X"
     or "Xdrawable" then OUT is ignored as well.  Error messages
     (if any) are written to the stream ERR, unless ERR is NULL.  The
     return value from newpl is a `handle': a nonnegative integer by
     which the newly created Plotter is referred to.  A negative return
     value indicates the Plotter could not be created.

int selectpl (int HANDLE);
     selectpl selects a Plotter, referred to by its handle, for use.  If
     any of the basic `libplot' operations is subsequently invoked, it
     will be applied to the selected Plotter.  Only one Plotter may be
     selected at a time.  A negative return value indicates the Plotter
     could not be selected.

     At startup, a single Metafile Plotter that writes to standard
     output (with handle `0') is automatically created and selected.

int deletepl (int HANDLE);
     deletepl deletes a Plotter, referred to by its handle.  The Plotter
     must not be selected at the time it is deleted.  A negative return
     value indicates the Plotter could not be deleted.

int parampl (const char *PARAMETER, void *VALUE);
     parampl sets the value of the device driver parameter PARAMETER to
     VALUE.  Device driver parameters are used for setting Plotter
     options.  The parameter values in effect at the time any Plotter
     is created are copied into it.  For most parameters, VALUE should
     be a `char *', i.e., a string.  Unrecognized parameters are
     ignored.  For a list of the recognized parameters and their
     meaning, see *Note Driver Parameters::.

   Up to now we have not discussed the fourth function, `parampl'.  The
reasons it exists are the following.  In designing `libplot', every
effort was made to make the Plotter interface independent of the type
of Plotter, i.e., independent of the type of display device that the
Plotter drives.  To the extent that device dependence exists, it is
captured by a manageable number of *device driver parameters*.  A value
for any parameter may be specified by calling the `parampl' function.
The `parampl' function does not operate on any particular Plotter:
it belongs to the C binding as a whole.  The parameter values used by
any Plotter are constant over the lifetime of the Plotter, and are
those that were in effect when the Plotter was created.

   Actually, a slightly more sophisticated rule applies.  If at Plotter
creation time a parameter is set, the value specified by the most recent
call to `parampl' will be the value used by the Plotter.  If at Plotter
creation time a parameter is *not* set, its default value will be used,
unless there is an environment variable of the same name, in which case
the value of that environment variable will be used.  This rule
increases run-time flexibility: an application programmer may allow
non-critical driver parameters to be specified by the user via
environment variables.  Once set, a parameter may be unset by the
programmer by calling `parampl' with a value argument of NULL.  This
further increases flexibility.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: C Compiling and Linking,  Next: Sample C Drawing,  Prev: The C API,  Up: C Programming

C compiling and linking
-----------------------

   The source code for a graphics application written in C, if it is to
use `libplot', must contain the lines

     #include <stdio.h>
     #include <plot.h>

The header file `plot.h' is distributed with `libplot', and should have
been installed on your system where your C compiler will find it.
It contains prototypes for each of the functions in `libplot' and some
miscellaneous definitions.  It may be used with C++ programs as well as
C programs.

   To link your application with `libplot', you would use the
appropriate `-l' option(s) on the command line when compiling it.  You
would use

     -lplot -lXaw -lXmu -lXt -lXext -lX11 -lm

or, in recent versions of the X Window System,

     -lplot -lXaw -lXmu -lXt -lSM -lICE -lXext -lX11 -lm

(Alternatively, you may need to use `-lplot -lXm -lXt -lXext -lX11
-lm', `-lplot -lXm -lXt -lXext -lX11 -lm -lc -lgen', or `-lplot -lXm
-lXt -lXext -lX11 -lm -lc -lPW', on systems that provide Motif widgets
instead of Athena widgets.  In recent versions of the X Window System,
you may need to insert `-lSM -lICE' also.)

   Note that on most systems `libplot' is installed as a DLL
(dynamically linked library, or `shared' library).  This means that the
linking with your application will take place at run time rather than
compile time.  The environment variable `LD_LIBRARY_PATH' lists the
directories which will be searched for DLL's at run time.  For your
application to be executable, this environment variable should include
the directory in which `libplot' is stored.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Sample C Drawing,  Next: Sample C Animation,  Prev: C Compiling and Linking,  Up: C Programming

A sample drawing in C
---------------------

   The following is a sample application, written in C, that invokes
`libplot' operations to draw vector graphics.  It draws an intricate
and beautiful path (Bill Gosper's "C" curve, discussed as Item #135 in
`HAKMEM', MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Memo #239, 1972).
As the numeric constant `MAXORDER' (here equal to 12) is increased, the
path will take on the shape of a curly letter "C", which is the
envelope of a myriad of epicyclic octagons.

     #include <stdio.h>
     #include <plot.h>
     
     #define MAXORDER 12
     void draw_c_curve (double dx, double dy, int order)
     {
       if (order >= MAXORDER)
         fcontrel (dx, dy);        /* continue path along (dx, dy) */
       else
         {
           draw_c_curve (0.5 * (dx - dy), 0.5 * (dx + dy), order + 1);
           draw_c_curve (0.5 * (dx + dy), 0.5 * (dy - dx), order + 1);
         }
     }
     
     int main ()
     {
       int handle;
     
       /* set a Plotter parameter */
       parampl ("PAGESIZE", "letter");
     
       /* create a Postscript Plotter that writes to standard output */
       if ((handle = newpl ("ps", stdin, stdout, stderr)) < 0)
         {
           fprintf (stderr, "Couldn't create Plotter\n");
           return 1;
         }
       selectpl (handle);          /* select the Plotter for use */
     
       if (openpl () < 0)          /* open Plotter */
         {
           fprintf (stderr, "Couldn't open Plotter\n");
           return 1;
         }
       fspace (0.0, 0.0, 1000.0, 1000.0); /* specify user coordinate system*/
       flinewidth (0.25);          /* width of lines in user coordinates */
       pencolorname ("red");       /* path will be drawn in red */
       erase ();                   /* erase Plotter's graphics display */
       fmove (600.0, 300.0);       /* position the graphics cursor */
       draw_c_curve (0.0, 400.0, 0);
       if (closepl () < 0)         /* close Plotter */
         {
           fprintf (stderr, "Couldn't close Plotter\n");
           return 1;
         }
     
       selectpl (0);               /* select default Plotter */
       deletepl (handle);          /* clean up by deleting Plotter we used */
       return 0;
     }

   As you can see, this application begins by calling the `newpl'
function to create a Postscript Plotter.  The Postscript Plotter will
produce output for a US letter-sized page, though any other standard
page size, e.g., "a4", could be substituted.  This would be arranged by
altering the call to `parampl'.  The `PAGESIZE' parameter is one of
several Plotter parameters that an application programmer may set by
calling `parampl'.  For a complete list, see *Note Driver Parameters::.

   After the Plotter is created, the application selects it for use,
opens it, draws the "C" curve recursively, and writes a Postscript file
to standard output when `closepl' is called.  The drawing of the curve
is accomplished by invoking `fmove' on the Plotter to position the
graphics cursor, and then calling `draw_c_curve'.  This subroutine
repeatedly invokes `fcontrel'.  The `fcontrel' operation continues a
path by adding a line segment to it.  The endpoint of each line segment
is specified in relative coordinates, i.e., as an offset from the
previous point.

   Specifying "fig", "hpgl", "tek", or "meta" as the first argument in
the call to `newpl', instead of "ps", would cause output to be written
to the output stream in the specified format, instead of Postscript.
The `PAGESIZE' parameter is relevant to the first two of these output
formats, but is ignored for the latter two.  Specifying "meta" as the
Plotter type may be useful if you wish to avoid recompilation for
different output devices.  Metafile output may be piped to the `plot'
utility and converted to any other supported output format, or
displayed in an X window.  *Note plot::.

   If "X" were specified as the first argument of `newpl', the curve
would be drawn in a popped-up X window, and the output stream argument
would be ignored.  Which X Window System display the window would
pop up on would be determined by the `DISPLAY' parameter, or if that
parameter were not set, by the `DISPLAY' environment variable.  The
size of the X window would be determined by the `BITMAPSIZE' parameter,
or if that parameter were not set, by the `BITMAPSIZE' environment
variable.  The default value is "570x570".

   You could also specify "Xdrawable" as the Plotter type.  For this to
work, you would need to create at least one X drawable (i.e., window or
a pixmap), and by invoking the `parampl' function before `newpl' is
called, set it as the value of the parameter `XDRAWABLE_DRAWABLE1' or
`XDRAWABLE_DRAWABLE2'.  For other parameters that affect X Drawable
Plotters, see *Note Driver Parameters::.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Sample C Animation,  Prev: Sample C Drawing,  Up: C Programming

A sample animation in C
-----------------------

   You may use `libplot' to produce vector graphics animations on any
Plotter that does real-time plotting (i.e., an X, X Drawable,
Tektronix, or Metafile Plotter).  By definition, the `frames' in any
page of graphics are separated by invocations of `erase'.  So the
graphics display will be cleared after each frame.  If successive
frames differ only slightly, a smooth animation will result.

   The following is a sample application, written in C, that produces
an animation for the X Window System.  It displays a `drifting eye'.
As the eye drifts across a popped-up window from left to right, it
slowly rotates.  After the eye has drifted across twice, the window
will vanish.

     #include <stdio.h>
     #include <plot.h>
     
     int main ()
     {
       int handle, i = 0, j;
     
       /* set Plotter parameters */
       parampl ("BITMAPSIZE", "300x150");
       parampl ("VANISH_ON_DELETE", "yes");
       parampl ("USE_DOUBLE_BUFFERING", "yes");
     
       /* create an X Plotter with the specified parameters */
       if ((handle = newpl ("X", stdin, stdout, stderr)) < 0)
         {
           fprintf (stderr, "Couldn't create Plotter\n");
           return 1;
         }
       selectpl (handle);          /* select the Plotter for use */
     
       if (openpl () < 0)          /* open Plotter */
         {
           fprintf (stderr, "Couldn't open Plotter\n");
           return 1;
         }
       space (0, 0, 299, 149);     /* specify user coordinate system */
       linewidth (8);              /* width of lines in user coordinates */
       filltype (1);               /* objects will be filled */
       bgcolorname ("saddle brown");  /* background color for the window */
       for (j = 0; j < 300; j++)
         {
           erase ();               /* erase window */
           pencolorname ("red");   /* choose red pen, with cyan filling */
           fillcolorname ("cyan");
           ellipse (i, 75, 35, 50, i);  /* draw an ellipse */
           colorname ("black");    /* choose black pen, with black filling */
           circle (i, 75, 12);     /* draw a circle [a pupil] */
           i = (i + 2) % 300;      /* shift rightwards */
         }
       if (closepl () < 0)         /* close Plotter */
         {
           fprintf (stderr, "Couldn't close Plotter\n");
           return 1;
         }
     
       selectpl (0);               /* select default Plotter */
       deletepl (handle);          /* delete the Plotter we used */
       return 0;
     }

   As you can see, this application begins by calling `parampl' several
times to set device driver parameters, and then calls `newpl' to create
an X Plotter.  The X Plotter window will have size 300x150 pixels.
This window will vanish when the Plotter is deleted.  If the
`VANISH_ON_DELETE' parameter were not set to "yes", it would remain on
the screen until it is removed by the user (by typing `q' in it, or by
clicking with a mouse).

   Setting the parameter `USE_DOUBLE_BUFFERING' to "yes" is very
important if you wish to produce a smooth animation.  Normally, an
X Plotter draws graphics into a window in real time, and erases the
window when `erase' is called.  But if `double buffering' is used,
graphics are written into an off-screen buffer, and copied into the
window, pixel by pixel, when `erase' is called or the Plotter is
closed.  This is a bit counterintuitive, but is exactly what is needed
to increase smoothness.  If you turn off double buffering, you will
find that the animation becomes painfully jerky.

   After the Plotter is created, it is selected for use and opened.
When `openpl' is called, the window pops up, and the animation begins.
In the body of the for loop there is a call to `erase', and also a
sequence of `libplot' operations that draws the eye.  The pen color and
fill color need to be changed twice with every passage through the
loop.  You may wish to experiment with the animation parameters to
produce the best effects on your video hardware.

   The locations of the objects that are plotted in the animation are
expressed in terms of user coordinates, not pixel coordinates.  But the
call to `space' defines user and pixel coordinates to be effectively
the same.  User coordinates are chosen so that the lower left corner is
(0,0) and the upper right corner is (299,149).  Since this agrees with
the window size, individual pixels may be addressed in terms of integer
user coordinates.  For example, `point(299,149)' would set the pixel in
the upper right hand corner of the window to the current pen color.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Functions,  Next: Driver Parameters,  Prev: C Programming,  Up: libplot

The functions in `libplot': A detailed listing
==============================================

   In the current release of GNU `libplot', any Plotter supports 81
distinct operations.  A language binding for `libplot' necessarily
includes 81 functions that correspond to these operations.  A language
binding may also include functions for creating, selecting, and
deleting Plotters.  For example, the C binding includes the four
additional functions `newpl', `selectpl', `deletepl', and `parampl'.
*Note The C API::.

   The 81 functions that operate on a specified Plotter are divided into
the four sets tabulated below.

   Many functions come in two versions: integer and double precision
floating point.  Internally, `libplot' uses double precision floating
point.  The integer versions are provided for backward compatibility.
If there are two versions of a function, the name of the floating point
version begins with the letter `f'.

   Many functions come in both absolute and relative versions, also.
The latter use relative coordinates (i.e., coordinates relative to the
current position of the graphics cursor), and in the C binding their
names end in `rel'.

   Currently, only a few of the 81 functions have meaningful return
values.

* Menu:

* Setup Functions::	Functions that open, initialize or close a Plotter
* Drawing Functions::	Functions that draw objects
* Attribute Functions::	Functions that affect drawing attributes
* Mapping Functions::	Functions affecting the user -> device coordinate map


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Setup Functions,  Next: Drawing Functions,  Prev: Functions,  Up: Functions

Setup functions
---------------

   The following are the "setup functions" in the C binding for
`libplot'.  These include the functions that open, initialize, and
close an already-created Plotter.  They are listed in the approximate
order in which they would be called.

int openpl ();
     openpl opens a Plotter, i.e., begins a page of graphics.  Depending
     on the type of the Plotter, it may write initialization commands to
     an output stream.  A negative return value indicates the Plotter
     could not be opened.

     An X Plotter, which has no output stream, pops up a window on its
     X Window System display instead.  Currently, a new window is
     popped up for each page of graphics, i.e., with each invocation of
     `openpl'.  Future releases may support window re-use.

int bgcolor (int RED, int GREEN, int BLUE);
     bgcolor sets the background color for the graphics display, using a
     48-bit RGB color model.  The arguments RED, GREEN and BLUE specify
     the red, green and blue intensities of the background color.  Each
     is an integer in the range 0x0000...0xffff, i.e., 0...65535.  The
     choice (0, 0, 0) signifies black, and the choice (65535, 65535,
     65535) signifies white.

     bgcolor has an effect only on X Plotters and X Drawable Plotters.
     Its effect is simple: the next time the erase operation is invoked
     on such a Plotter, its display will be filled with the specified
     color.

int bgcolorname (const char *NAME);
     bgcolorname sets the background color for the the graphics display
     to be NAME.  For information on what color names are recognized,
     see *Note Color Names::.  Unrecognized colors are interpreted as
     "white".

     bgcolorname has an effect only on X Plotters and X Drawable
     Plotters.  Its effect is simple: the next time the erase operation
     is invoked on such a Plotter, its display will be filled with the
     specified color.

int erase ();
     erase begins the next frame of a multiframe page, by clearing all
     previously plotted objects from the graphics display, and filling
     it with the background color (if any).

     It is frequently useful to invoke erase immediately after invoking
     openpl.  Some Plotters are persistent, in the sense that objects
     drawn within an `openpl'...`closepl' pair are still visible and
     are liable to be overwritten when `openpl' is next invoked, and a
     new page is begun.  Currently, only X Drawable Plotters and
     Tektronix Plotters are persistent.  Future releases may support
     optional persistence for X Plotters also.

     On X Plotters the effects of invoking erase will be quite different
     if the device driver parameter `USE_DOUBLE_BUFFERING' is set to
     "yes".  In this case, objects will be written to an off-screen
     buffer rather than to the popped-up window, and invoking erase will
     (1) copy the contents of this buffer into the window, and
     (2) erase the buffer by filling it with the background color.
     This feature facilitates smooth animation.  *Note Driver
     Parameters::.

int space (int X0, int Y0, int X1, int Y1);
int fspace (double X0, double Y0, double X1, double Y1);
     space and fspace take two pairs of arguments, specifying the
     positions of the lower left corner and upper right corner of the
     graphics display, in user coordinates.  In other words, calling
     space or fspace sets the affine transformation from user
     coordinates to device coordinates.  One of these operations must be
     invoked at the beginning of each page of graphics, i.e.,
     immediately after openpl is invoked.

int space2 (int X0, int Y0, int X1, int Y1, int X2, int Y2);
int fspace2 (double X0, double Y0, double X1, double Y1, double X2, double Y2);
     space2 and fspace2 are extended versions of space and fspace,
     which may be used instead.  Their arguments are the three defining
     vertices of an `affine window' (a drawing parallelogram), in user
     coordinates.  The specified vertices are the lower left, the lower
     right, and the upper left.  This window will be mapped affinely
     onto the graphics display.

int havecap (const char *S);
     havecap tests whether or not a Plotter has a specified capability.
     The return value is 0, 1, or 2, signifying no/yes/maybe.  For
     unrecognized capabilities the return value is zero.  Capabilities
     include "SOLID_FILL", "WIDE_LINES" (i.e., the ability to draw
     lines with a non-default width), and "SETTABLE_BACKGROUND" (the
     ability to set the color of the background).  They also include
     "HERSHEY_FONTS", "PS_FONTS", and "PCL_FONTS", which indicate
     whether or not fonts of a particular class are supported.  *Note
     Text Fonts::.

int flushpl ();
     flushpl flushes (i.e., pushes onward) all plotting commands to the
     display device.  This is useful only if the currently selected
     Plotter does real-time plotting, since it may be used to ensure
     that all previously plotted objects have been sent to the display
     and are visible to the user.  It has no effect on Plotters that do
     not do real-time plotting.

int closepl ();
     closepl closes a Plotter, i.e., terminates a page of graphics.  If
     the currently selected Plotter does not do real-time plotting
     (i.e., if it is a Postscript, Fig, or HP-GL Plotter), it writes
     the plotted objects to the output stream.  A negative return value
     indicates the Plotter could not be closed.

FILE *outfile (FILE *FP);
     outfile, which must be called outside a openpl...closepl pair,
     redirects all graphics output from a Plotter to the stream FP.
     The previous output stream is returned.

     This operation is useful on Plotters that are designed to be
     opened only once; in particular, on Fig Plotters.  On other
     Plotters its use is deprecated.  On Plotters that do not have an
     output stream in the conventional sense, i.e., on X Plotters and
     X Drawable Plotters, it has no effect.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Drawing Functions,  Next: Attribute Functions,  Prev: Setup Functions,  Up: Functions

Object-drawing functions
------------------------

   The following are the "drawing functions" in the C binding for
`libplot'.  These are the functions which, when invoked on a Plotter,
cause it to draw objects (paths, circles, ellipses, points, markers,
and text strings) on the associated graphics display.  A *path* is a
sequence of line segments and arcs (either circular or elliptic).
Paths may be drawn incrementally, one line segment or arc at a time.

int alabel (int HORIZ_JUSTIFY, int VERT_JUSTIFY, const char *S);
     alabel takes three arguments HORIZ_JUSTIFY, VERT_JUSTIFY, and S,
     which specify an `adjusted label,' i.e., a justified text string.
     The path under construction (if any) is ended, and the string S is
     drawn according to the specified justifications.  If HORIZ_JUSTIFY
     is equal to `l', `c', or `r', then the string will be drawn with
     left, center or right justification, relative to the current
     graphics cursor position.  If VERT_JUSTIFY is equal to `b', `x',
     `c', or `t', then the bottom, baseline, center or top of the
     string will be placed even with the current graphics cursor
     position.  The graphics cursor is moved to the right end of the
     string if left justification is specified, and to the left end if
     right justification is specified.

     The string may contain escape sequences of various sorts (*note
     Text String Format::.), though it should not contain line feeds or
     carriage returns.  In fact it should include only printable
     characters, from the byte ranges 0x20...0x7e and 0xa0...0xff.  The
     string may be plotted at a nonzero angle, if `textangle' has been
     called.

int arc (int XC, int YC, int X0, int Y0, int X1, int Y1);
int farc (double XC, double YC, double X0, double Y0, double X1, double Y1);
int arcrel (int XC, int YC, int X0, int Y0, int X1, int Y1);
int farcrel (double XC, double YC, double X0, double Y0, double X1, double Y1);
     arc and farc take six arguments specifying the beginning (X0, Y0),
     end (X1, Y1), and center (XC, YC) of a circular arc.  If the
     graphics cursor is at (X0, Y0) and a path is under construction,
     then the arc is added to the path.  Otherwise the current path
     (if any) is ended, and the arc begins a new path.  In all cases
     the graphics cursor is moved to (X1, Y1).

     The direction of the arc (clockwise or counterclockwise) is
     determined by the convention that the arc, centered at (XC, YC),
     sweep through an angle of at most 180 degrees.  If the three
     points appear to be collinear, the direction is taken to be
     counterclockwise.  If (XC, YC) is not equidistant from (X0, Y0) and
     (X1, Y1) as it should be, it is corrected by being moved to the
     closest point on the perpendicular bisector of the line segment
     joining (X0, Y0) and (X1, Y1).  arcrel and farcrel are similar to
     `arc' and `farc', but use cursor-relative coordinates.

int box (int X1, int y1, int X2, int Y2);
int fbox (double X1, double Y1, double X2, double Y2);
int boxrel (int X1, int y1, int X2, int Y2);
int fboxrel (double X1, double y1, double X2, double Y2);
     box and fbox take four arguments specifying the lower left corner
     (X1, Y1) and upper right corner (X2, Y2) of a `box', or rectangle.
     The path under construction (if any) is ended, and the box is
     drawn as a new path.  This path is also ended, and the graphics
     cursor is moved to the midpoint of the box.  boxrel and fboxrel
     are similar to box and fbox, but use cursor-relative coordinates.

int circle (int XC, int YC, int R);
int fcircle (double XC, double YC, double R);
int circlerel (int XC, int YC, int R);
int fcirclerel (double XC, double YC, double R);
     circle and fcircle take three arguments specifying the center (XC,
     YC) and radius (R) of a circle.  The path under construction
     (if any) is ended, and the circle is drawn.  The graphics cursor
     is moved to (XC, YC).  circlerel and fcirclerel are similar to
     circle and fcircle, but use cursor-relative coordinates for XC and
     YC.

int cont (int X, int Y);
int fcont (double X, double Y);
int contrel (int X, int Y);
int fcontrel (double X, double Y);
     cont and fcont take two arguments specifying the coordinates (X,
     Y) of a point.  If a path is under construction, the line segment
     from the current graphics cursor position to the point (X, Y) is
     added to it.  Otherwise the line segment begins a new path.  In
     all cases the graphics cursor is moved to (X, Y).  contrel and
     fcontrel are similar to cont and fcont, but use cursor-relative
     coordinates.

int ellarc (int XC, int YC, int X0, int Y0, int X1, int Y1);
int fellarc (double XC, double YC, double X0, double Y0, double X1, double Y1);
int ellarcrel (int XC, int YC, int X0, int Y0, int X1, int Y1);
int fellarcrel (double XC, double YC, double X0, double Y0, double X1, double Y1);
     ellarc and fellarc take six arguments specifying the three points
     `pc'=(XC,YC), `p0'=(X0,Y0), and `p1'=(X1,Y1) that define a
     so-called quarter ellipse.  This is an elliptic arc from `p0' to
     `p1' with center `pc'.  If the graphics cursor is at point `p0'
     and a path is under construction, the quarter-ellipse is added to
     it.  Otherwise the path under construction (if any) is ended, and
     the quarter-ellipse begins a new path.  In all cases the graphics
     cursor is moved to `p1'.

     The quarter-ellipse is an affinely transformed version of a quarter
     circle.  It is drawn so as to have control points `p0', `p1', and
     `p0'+`p1'-`pc'.  This means that it is tangent at `p0' to the line
     segment joining `p0' to `p0'+`p1'-`pc', and is tangent at `p1' to
     the line segment joining `p1' to `p0'+`p1'-`pc'.  So it fits
     snugly into a triangle with these three control points as
     vertices.  Notice that the third control point is the reflection of
     `pc 'through the line joining `p0' and `p1'.  ellarcrel and
     fellarcrel are similar to ellarc and fellarc, but use
     cursor-relative coordinates.

int ellipse (int XC, int YC, int RX, int RY, int ANGLE);
int fellipse (double XC, double YC, double RX, double RY, double ANGLE);
int ellipserel (int XC, int YC, int RX, int RY, int ANGLE);
int fellipserel (double XC, double YC, double RX, double RY, double ANGLE);
     ellipse and fellipse take five arguments specifying the center
     (XC, YC) of an ellipse, the lengths of its semiaxes (RX and RY),
     and the inclination of the first semiaxis in the counterclockwise
     direction from the x axis in the user coordinate system.  The path
     under construction (if any) is ended, and the ellipse is drawn.
     The graphics cursor is moved to (XC, YC).  ellipserel and
     fellipserel are similar to ellipse and fellipse, but use
     cursor-relative coordinates.

int endpath ();
     endpath terminates the path under construction, if any.  Paths,
     which are formed by repeated calls to cont or fcont, arc or farc,
     ellarc or fellarc, and line or fline, are also terminated if any
     other object is drawn or any path-related drawing attribute is
     set.  So endpath is almost redundant.  However, if a Plotter plots
     objects in real time, calling endpath will ensure that a
     constructed path is drawn on the graphics display without delay.

int label (const char *S);
     label takes a single string argument S and draws the text
     contained in S at the current graphics cursor position.  The text
     is left justified, and the graphics cursor is moved to the right
     end of the string.  This function is provided for backward
     compatibility; the function call label(S) is equivalent to
     alabel(`l',`x',S).

int labelwidth (const char *S);
double flabelwidth (const char *S);
     labelwidth and flabelwidth compute and return the width of a
     string in the current font, in the user coordinate system.  The
     string is not plotted.

int line (int X1, int Y1, int X2, int Y2);
int fline (double X1, double y1, double X2, double Y2);
int linerel (int X1, int y1, int X2, int Y2);
int flinerel (double X1, double y1, double X2, double Y2);
     line and fline take four arguments specifying the start point (X1,
     Y1) and end point (X2, Y2) of a line segment.  If the graphics
     cursor is at (X1, Y1) and a path is under construction, the line
     segment is added to it.  Otherwise the path under construction
     (if any) is ended, and the line segment begins a new path.  In all
     cases the graphics cursor is moved to (X2, Y2).  linerel and
     flinerel are similar to line and fline, but use cursor-relative
     coordinates.

int marker (int X, int Y, int TYPE, int SIZE);
int fmarker (double X, double Y, int TYPE, double SIZE);
int markerrel (int X, int Y, int TYPE, int SIZE);
int fmarkerrel (double X, double Y, int TYPE, double SIZE);
     marker and fmarker take four arguments specifying the location
     (X,Y) of a marker symbol, its type, and its size in user
     coordinates.  The path under construction (if any) is ended, and
     the marker symbol is plotted.  The graphics cursor is moved to
     (X,Y).  markerrel and fmarkerrel are similar to marker and
     fmarker, but use cursor-relative coordinates for the position
     (X,Y).

     Marker symbol types 0 through 31 are taken from a standard set, and
     marker symbol types 32 and above are interpreted as the index of a
     character in the current text font.  *Note Marker Symbols::.

int move (int X, int Y);
int fmove (double X, double Y);
int moverel (int X, int Y);
int fmoverel (double X, double Y);
     move and fmove take two arguments specifying the coordinates (X,
     Y) of a point to which the graphics cursor should be moved.  The
     path under construction (if any) is ended, and the graphics cursor
     is moved to (X, Y).  This is equivalent to lifting the pen on a
     plotter and moving it to a new position, without drawing any line.
     moverel and fmoverel are similar to move and fmove, but use
     cursor-relative coordinates.

int point (int X, int Y);
int fpoint (double X, double Y);
int pointrel (int X, int Y);
int fpointrel (double X, double Y);
     point and fpoint take two arguments specifying the coordinates (X,
     Y) of a point.  The path under construction (if any) is ended, and
     the point is plotted.  (A `point' is usually a small solid circle,
     perhaps the smallest that can be plotted.)  The graphics cursor is
     moved to (X, Y).  pointrel and fpointrel are similar to point and
     fpoint, but use cursor-relative coordinates.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Attribute Functions,  Next: Mapping Functions,  Prev: Drawing Functions,  Up: Functions

Attribute-setting functions
---------------------------

   The following are the "attribute functions" in the C binding for
`libplot'.  These are the functions which, when invoked on a Plotter,
set its drawing attributes, or save them or restore them.

   Note that setting any path-related drawing attribute automatically
terminates the path under construction (if any), as if the `endpath'
operation had been invoked.

int capmod (const char *S);
     capmod sets the cap mode (i.e., cap style) for all paths
     subsequently drawn on the graphics display.  Recognized styles are
     "butt" (the default), "round", and "projecting".  This function
     has no effect on Tektronix Plotters.  Also, it has no effect on
     HP-GL Plotters if the parameter `HPGL_VERSION' is set to a value
     less than "2" (the default).  *Note Driver Parameters::.

int color (int RED, int GREEN, int BLUE);
     color is a convenience function.  Calling color is equivalent to
     calling both pencolor and fillcolor, to set both the the pen color
     and fill color of all objects subsequently drawn on the graphics
     display.  Note that the physical fill color depends also on the
     fill fraction, which is specified by calling filltype.

int colorname (const char *NAME);
     colorname is a convenience function.  Calling colorname is
     equivalent to calling both pencolorname and fillcolorname, to set
     both the the pen color and fill color of all objects subsequently
     drawn on the graphics display.  Note that the physical fill color
     depends also on the fill fraction, which is specified by calling
     filltype.

int filltype (int LEVEL);
     filltype sets the fill fraction for all subsequently drawn objects.
     A value of 0 for LEVEL indicates that objects should be unfilled,
     or transparent.  This is the default.  A value in the range
     0x0001...0xffff, i.e., 1...65535, indicates that objects should be
     filled.  A value of 1 signifies 100% filling (the fill color will
     simply be the color specified by calling fillcolor or
     fillcolorname).  If LEVEL=0xffff, the fill color will be white.
     Values between 0x0001 and 0xffff are interpreted as specifying a
     desaturation, or gray level.  For example, 0x8000 specifies 50%
     filling (the fill color will be intermediate between the color
     specified by calling fillcolor or fillcolorname, and white).

     If the object to be filled is a self-intersecting path, the
     `even-odd rule' will be applied to determine which points are
     inside, i.e., which of the regions bounded by the path should be
     filled.  The even-odd rule is explained in the `Postscript
     Language Reference Manual'.

     Tektronix Plotters do not support filling, and HP-GL Plotters
     support filling only if the parameter `HPGL_VERSION' is equal to
     "1.5" or "2" (the default).  Also, *white* filling is fully
     supported only if the value of the parameter `HPGL_VERSION' is "2"
     and the value of the parameter `HPGL_OPAQUE_MODE' is "yes".  *Note
     Driver Parameters::.

int fillcolor (int RED, int GREEN, int BLUE);
     fillcolor sets the fill color of all objects subsequently drawn on
     the graphics display, using a 48-bit RGB color model.  The
     arguments RED, GREEN and BLUE specify the red, green and blue
     intensities of the fill color.  Each is an integer in the range
     0x0000...0xffff, i.e., 0...65535.  The choice (0, 0, 0) signifies
     black, and the choice (65535, 65535, 65535) signifies white.  Note
     that the physical fill color depends also on the fill fraction,
     which is specified by calling filltype.

int fillcolorname (const char *NAME);
     fillcolorname sets the fill color of all objects subsequently drawn
     on the graphics display to be NAME.  For information on what color
     names are recognized, see *Note Color Names::.  Unrecognized
     colors are interpreted as "black".  Note that the physical fill
     color depends also on the fill fraction, which is specified by
     calling filltype.

int fontname (const char *FONT_NAME);
double ffontname (const char *FONT_NAME);
     fontname and ffontname take a single case-insensitive string
     argument, FONT_NAME, specifying the name of the font to be used
     for all text strings subsequently drawn on the graphics display.
     (The font for plotting strings is fully specified by calling
     fontname, fontsize, and textangle.)  The default font name depends
     on the type of Plotter.  It is "Helvetica" for all Plotters except
     Tektronix and HP-GL Plotters, for which it is "HersheySerif".  If
     the argument FONT_NAME is NULL or the font is not available, the
     default font name will be used.  Which fonts are available also
     depends on the type of Plotter; for a list of available fonts, see
     *Note Text Fonts::.  The size of the font in user coordinates is
     returned.

int fontsize (int SIZE);
double ffontsize (double SIZE);
     fontsize and ffontsize take a single argument, interpreted as the
     size, in the user coordinate system, of the font to be used for all
     text strings subsequently drawn on the graphics display.  (The
     font for plotting strings is fully specified by calling fontname,
     fontsize, and textangle.)  The size of the font in user
     coordinates is returned.  A negative value for SIZE sets the size
     to a default value, which depends on the type of Plotter.

int joinmod (const char *S);
     joinmod sets the join mode (i.e., join style) for all paths
     subsequently drawn on the graphics display.  Recognized styles are
     "miter" (the default), "round", and "bevel".  This function has no
     effect on Tektronix Plotters.  Also, it has no effect on HP-GL
     Plotters if the parameter `HPGL_VERSION' is set to a value less
     than "2" (the default). *Note Driver Parameters::.

int linemod (const char *S);
     linemod sets the line mode (i.e., line style) for all paths,
     circles, and ellipses subsequently drawn on the graphics display.
     The names supported are "disconnected", "solid", "dotted",
     "dotdashed", "shortdashed", and "longdashed".  A `disconnected'
     path joining a sequence of points is invisible, though the points
     themselves are visible.  Disconnected polylines are never filled.
     The other five linemodes correspond more or less to the following
     bit patterns:

          "solid"             --------------------------------
          "dotted"            - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
          "dotdashed"         -----------  -  -----------  -
          "shortdashed"       --              --
          "longdashed"        -------         -------

int linewidth (int SIZE);
int flinewidth (double SIZE);
     linewidth and flinewidth set the width, in the user coordinate
     system, of all paths, circles, and ellipses subsequently drawn on
     the graphics display.  A negative value means that a default width
     should be used.  This default width depends on the type of
     Plotter.  The interpretation of zero line width does also (for
     some types of Plotter, a zero-width line is the thinnest line that
     can be drawn; for others, a zero-width line is invisible).

     Tektronix Plotters do not support drawing with other than a default
     width, and HP-GL Plotters do not support doing so if the parameter
     `HPGL_VERSION' is set to a value less than "2" (the default; *note
     Driver Parameters::.).

int pencolor (int RED, int GREEN, int BLUE);
     pencolor sets the pen color of all objects subsequently drawn on
     the graphics display, using a 48-bit RGB color model.  The
     arguments RED, GREEN and BLUE specify the red, green and blue
     intensities of the pen color.  Each is an integer in the range
     0x0000...0xffff, i.e., 0...65535.  The choice (0, 0, 0) signifies
     black, and the choice (65535, 65535, 65535) signifies white.

     HP-GL Plotters support drawing with a white pen only if the value
     of the parameter `HPGL_VERSION' is "2" (the default), and the
     value of the parameter `HPGL_OPAQUE_MODE' is "yes".  *Note Driver
     Parameters::.

int pencolorname (const char *NAME);
     pencolorname sets the pen color of all objects subsequently drawn
     on the graphics display to be NAME.  For information on what color
     names are recognized, see *Note Color Names::.  Unrecognized
     colors are interpreted as "black".

     HP-GL Plotters support drawing with a white pen only if the value
     of the parameter `HPGL_VERSION' is "2" (the default), and the
     value of the parameter `HPGL_OPAQUE_MODE' is "yes".  *Note Driver
     Parameters::.

int restorestate ();
     restorestate pops the current graphics context off the stack of
     drawing states.  The graphics context consists largely of
     `libplot''s drawing parameters, which are set by the attribute
     functions documented in this section.  So popping off the graphics
     context restores the drawing parameters to values they previously
     had.  A path under construction is regarded as part of the graphics
     context.  For this reason, calling restorestate automatically calls
     endpath to terminate the path under construction, if any.  All
     graphics contexts on the stack are popped off when `closepl' is
     called, as if `restorestate' had been called repeatedly.

int savestate ();
     savestate pushes the current graphics context onto the stack of
     drawing states.  The graphics context consists largely of
     `libplot''s drawing parameters, which are set by the attribute
     functions documented in this section.  A path under construction,
     if any, is regarded as part of the drawing state.  That is because
     paths may be drawn incrementally, one line segment or arc at a
     time.  When a graphics context is returned to, the path under
     construction may be continued.

int textangle (int ANGLE);
double ftextangle (double ANGLE);
     textangle and ftextangle take one argument, which specifies the
     angle in degrees counterclockwise from the x (horizontal) axis in
     the user coordinate system, for text strings subsequently drawn on
     the graphics display.  The default angle is zero.  (The font for
     plotting strings is fully specified by calling fontname, fontsize,
     and textangle.)  The size of the font for plotting strings, in user
     coordinates, is returned.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Mapping Functions,  Prev: Attribute Functions,  Up: Functions

Mapping functions
-----------------

   The following are the "mapping functions" in the C binding for
`libplot'.  These are the functions which, when invoked on a Plotter,
affect the affine transformation it employs for mapping from the user
coordinate system to the device coordinate system.  They may be viewed
as performing transformations of the user coordinate system.  Their
names resemble those of the corresponding functions in the Postscript
language.  For information on how to use them to draw graphics
efficiently, consult any good book on Postscript programming, or the
`Postscript Language Reference Manual'.

int fconcat (double M0, double M1, double M2, double M3, double TX, double TY);
     Apply a Postscript-style transformation matrix, i.e., affine map,
     to the user coordinate system.  That is, apply the linear
     transformation defined by the two-by-two matrix [M0 M1 M2 M3] to
     the user coordinate system, and also translate by TX units in the
     x direction and TY units in the y direction, relative to the
     former user coordinate system.  The following three functions
     (frotate, fscale, ftranslate) are convenience functions that are
     special cases of fconcat.

int frotate (double THETA);
     Rotate the user coordinate system axes about their origin by THETA
     degrees, with respect to their former orientation.  The position
     of the user coordinate origin and the size of the x and y units
     remain unchanged.

int fscale (double SX, double SY);
     Make the x and y units in the user coordinate system be the size
     of SX and SY units in the former user coordinate system.  The
     position of the user coordinate origin and the orientation of the
     coordinate axes are unchanged.

int ftranslate (double TX, double TY);
     Move the origin of the user coordinate system by TX units in the
     x direction and TY units in the y direction, relative to the
     former user coordinate system.  The size of the x and y units and
     the orientation of the coordinate axes are unchanged.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Driver Parameters,  Prev: Functions,  Up: libplot

Device driver parameters
========================

   In designing the `libplot' library, every effort was made to make
the Plotter interface independent of the type of Plotter.  To the
extent that device dependence exists, it is captured by a manageable
number of *device driver parameters*.

   In the C binding, a value for any parameter may be specified by
calling the `parampl' function.  The `parampl' function does not
operate on any particular Plotter: it belongs to the C binding as a
whole.  The parameter values used by any Plotter are constant over the
lifetime of the Plotter, and are those that were in effect when the
Plotter was created.  Each driver parameter has a value that is allowed
to be a generic pointer (a `void *').  For most parameters, this value
should be a string (a `char *').  `parampl' may be called any number of
times.  A parameter may be unset by calling `parampl' with a value
argument of NULL.

   If at Plotter creation time a parameter is *not* set, its default
value will be used, unless there is an environment variable of the same
name, in which case the value of that environment variable will be used.
This rule increases run-time flexibility: an application programmer may
allow non-critical driver parameters to be specified by the user via
environment variables.

   The following are the currently recognized parameters (unrecognized
ones are ignored).  The most important ones are `DISPLAY' and
`BITMAPSIZE', which affect X Plotters, and `PAGESIZE', which affects
Postscript, Fig, and HP-GL Plotters.  These three parameters are listed
first and the others alphabetically.  Many of the parameters, such as
the several whose names begin with "HPGL", affect only a single type of
Plotter.

`DISPLAY'
     (Default NULL.)  The X Window System display on which the graphics
     display will be popped up, as an X window.  This is relevant only
     to X Plotters.

`BITMAPSIZE'
     (Default "570x570".)  The size of the graphics display in terms of
     pixels.  This is relevant only to X Plotters.  If this parameter
     is not set, its value will automatically be taken from the
     X resource `Xplot.geometry'.  This is for backward compatibility.

`PAGESIZE'
     (Default "letter".)  The size of the page on which the graphics
     display will be positioned.  This is relevant only to Postscript,
     Fig, and HP-GL Plotters.  "letter" means an 8.5in by 11in page.
     Any ISO page size in the range "a0"..."a4" or ANSI page size in
     the range "a"..."e" may be specified ("letter" is an alias for "a"
     and "tabloid" is an alias for "b").  "legal" and "ledger" are
     recognized page sizes also.

     For Postscript Plotters, the graphics display will be a square
     region centered on the specified page and occupying its full
     width.  For Fig Plotters, the graphics display will be a square
     region located in the upper left corner of an `xfig' display, with
     width equal to the width of the specified page.  For HP-GL
     Plotters, fine control over the positioning of the graphics
     display on the page may be accomplished by setting the
     `HPGL_XOFFSET' and `HPGL_YOFFSET' parameters.

`BG_COLOR'
     (Default "white".)  The initial background color of the graphics
     display.  Currently relevant only to X Plotters.  The background
     color may be changed at any later time by invoking the bgcolor (or
     bgcolorname) and erase operations.  An unrecognized color name
     sets the background color to the default.  For information on what
     names are recognized, see *Note Color Names::.

`HPGL_ASSIGN_COLORS'
     (Default "no".)  Relevant only to HP-GL Plotters, and only if the
     value of `HPGL_VERSION' is "2".  "no" means to draw with a fixed
     set of pens, specified by setting the `HPGL_PENS' parameter.  "yes"
     means that pen colors will not restricted to the palette specified
     in `HPGL_PENS': colors will be assigned to "logical pens" in the
     range #1...#31, as needed.  Not all HP-GL/2 devices allow the
     assignment of colors to logical pens.  In particular, HP-GL/2 pen
     plotters do not.  So this parameter should be used with caution.

`HPGL_OPAQUE_MODE'
     (Default "no".)  Relevant only to HP-GL Plotters, and only if the
     value of `HPGL_VERSION' is "2".  "yes" means that pen #0 should be
     used as an opaque white pen, permitting the drawing of white lines
     and the filling of objects with opaque white.  Not all HP-GL/2
     devices allow the use of pen #0 as an opaque white pen.  In
     particular, HP-GL/2 pen plotters do not.  So this parameter should
     be used with caution.

`HPGL_PENS'
     (Default "1=black:2=red:3=green:4=yellow:5=blue:6=magenta:7=cyan"
     if the value of `HPGL_VERSION' is "2" and "1=black" if the value of
     `HPGL_VERSION' is "1" or "1.5".)  Relevant only to HP-GL Plotters.
     The set of available pens; the format should be self-explanatory.
     The color for any pen in the range #1...#31 may be specified.
     For information on what color names are recognized, see *Note
     Color Names::.  Pen #1 must always be present, though it need not
     be black.  Any other pen in the range #1...#31 may be omitted.

`HPGL_VERSION'
     (Default "2".)  Relevant only to HP-GL Plotters.  "1" means that
     the output should be generic HP-GL, "1.5" means that the output
     should be suitable for the HP7550A pen plotter (HP-GL with some
     HP-GL/2 extensions), and "2" means that the output should be
     modern HP-GL/2.

`HPGL_XOFFSET'
     (Default "0.0cm".)  Relevant only to HP-GL Plotters.  An
     adjustment, in the x direction, of the position of the graphics
     display on the page.  It may be specified in centimeters,
     millimeters, or inches.  For example, an offset could be specified
     as "2cm" or "1.2in".

`HPGL_YOFFSET'
     (Default "0.0cm".)  Relevant only to HP-GL Plotters.  An
     adjustment, in the y direction, of the position of the graphics
     display on the page.

`MAX_LINE_LENGTH'
     (Default "500".)  The maximum number of points that a path may
     contain, before it is flushed to the display device.  If this
     flushing occurs, the path will be split into two or more
     sub-paths, though the splitting should not be noticeable.
     Splitting will not be performed if the path is filled.

     This parameter is relevant to X, X Drawable, Postscript, Fig, and
     HP-GL Plotters.  The reason for splitting long paths is that some
     display devices (e.g., old Postscript printers and HP-GL plotters)
     have limited buffer sizes.  It is not relevant to Tektronix or
     Metafile Plotters, since they draw paths in real time and have no
     buffer limitations.

`META_PORTABLE'
     (Default "no".)  Relevant only to Metafile Plotters.  "yes" means
     that the output should be in a portable (human-readable) version
     of the metafile format, rather than the default (binary) version.
     *Note Metafiles::.

`ROTATE'
     (Default "0".)  Currently relevant only to HP-GL Plotters.  The
     angle, in degrees, by which the graphics display should be rotated
     on the page relative to the default orientation.  Recognized
     values are "0", "90", "180", and "270"; "no" and "yes" are
     equivalent to "0" and "90" respectively.  This parameter is
     provided to facilitate switching between portrait and landscape
     orientations.  For HP-GL output devices this is frequently a
     concern, since some HP-GL devices ("plotters") draw with a default
     landscape orientation, and others ("printers") draw with a default
     portrait orientation.

`TERM'
     (Default NULL.)  Relevant only to Tektronix Plotters.  If the
     value is `xterm', `xterms', or `kterm', it is taken as a sign that
     the current application is running in an X Window System VT100
     terminal emulator: an `xterm'.  Before drawing graphics, a
     Tektronix Plotter will emit an escape sequence that causes the
     terminal emulator's auxiliary Tektronix window, which is normally
     hidden, to pop up.  After the graphics are drawn, an escape
     sequence that returns control to the original VT100 window will be
     emitted.  The Tektronix window will remain on the screen.

     If the value of is `kermit', `ansi.sys', `ansissys', `ansi.sysk',
     or `ansisysk', it is taken as a sign that the current application
     is running in the VT100 terminal emulator provided by the DOS
     version of `kermit'.  Before drawing graphics, a Tektronix Plotter
     will emit an escape sequence that switches the terminal emulator
     to Tektronix mode.  Also, some of the Tektronix control codes
     output by the Plotter will be `kermit'-specific.  There will be a
     limited amount of color support, which is not normally the case
     (the 16 `ansi.sys' colors will be supported).  After drawing
     graphics, the Plotter will emit an escape sequence that returns
     the emulator to VT100 mode.  The key sequence `ALT minus' may be
     employed manually within `kermit' to switch between the two modes.

`USE_DOUBLE_BUFFERING'
     (Default "no".)  Relevant only to X Plotters and X Drawable
     Plotters.  If the value is "yes", each frame of graphics, within a
     openpl...closepl pair, is written to an off-screen buffer rather
     than to the Plotter's display.  When erase is invoked to end a
     frame, or when closepl is invoked, the contents of the off-screen
     buffer are copied to the Plotter's display, pixel by pixel.  This
     `double buffering' scheme is useful in creating the illusion of
     smooth animation.

`VANISH_ON_DELETE'
     (Default "no".)  Relevant only to X Plotters.  If the value is
     "yes", when a Plotter is deleted, the window or windows that it
     has popped up will vanish.  Otherwise, each such window will
     remain on the screen until it is removed by the user (by typing
     `q' in it, or by clicking with a mouse).

`XDRAWABLE_COLORMAP'
     (Default NULL.)  Relevant only to X Drawable Plotters.  If the
     value is non-NULL, it should be a `Colormap *', a pointer to a
     colormap from which colors should be allocated.  NULL signifies
     that the colormap to be used is the default colormap of the
     display with which the drawable(s) to be drawn in are associated.

`XDRAWABLE_DISPLAY'
     (Default NULL.)  Relevant only to X Drawable Plotters.  The value
     should be a `Display *', a pointer to the X display with which the
     drawable(s) to be drawn in are associated.

`XDRAWABLE_DRAWABLE1'
`XDRAWABLE_DRAWABLE2'
     (Default NULL.)  Relevant only to X Drawable Plotters.  If set, the
     value of each of these parameters should be a `Drawable *', a
     pointer to a drawable to be drawn in.  A `drawable' is either a
     window or a pixmap.  At the time an X Drawable Plotter is created,
     at least one of the two parameters must be set.

     X Drawable Plotters support simultaneous drawing in two drawables
     because it is often useful to be able to draw graphics
     simultaneously in both an X window and its background pixmap.  If
     two drawables are specified, they must have the same dimensions
     and depth, and be associated with the same X display.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Appendices,  Prev: libplot,  Up: Top

   The following appendices contain miscellaneous information on the
plotting utilities.

* Menu:

* Text and Markers::	Text fonts, text strings, and marker symbols
* Color Names::		Specifying colors by name
* Metafiles::           The device-independent GNU metafile format
* Auxiliary Software::  How to obtain auxiliary software
* Acknowledgements::    The Contributors


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Text and Markers,  Next: Color Names,  Prev: Appendices,  Up: Appendices

Fonts, Strings, and Symbols
***************************

   The `libplot' library and applications linked with it, such as
`graph' and `plot', can draw text strings in a wide variety of fonts.
Text strings may include characters from more than one font in a
typeface, and may include superscripts, subscripts, and square roots.
A wide variety of plotting symbols can also be drawn.  The following
sections explain how to use these features.

* Menu:

* Text Fonts::		Available text fonts
* Text String Format::	Text string formatting (with escape sequences)
* Marker Symbols::	Available marker symbols


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Text Fonts,  Next: Text String Format,  Prev: Text and Markers,  Up: Text and Markers

Available text fonts
====================

   The `libplot' library and applications linked with it, such as
`graph' and `plot', can use many fonts.  These include 17 Hershey
fonts, 35 Postscript fonts, and 45 PCL 5 fonts.  We call these 97 fonts
the `built-in' fonts.  The Hershey fonts are so-called vector fonts,
constructed from stroked characters digitized c. 1967 by Dr. Allen V.
Hershey at the U.S. Naval Surface Weapons Center in Dahlgren, VA.  The
35 Postscript fonts are the fonts resident in all modern Postscript
printers, and the 45 PCL 5 fonts are the fonts resident in modern
Hewlett-Packard LaserJet printers and plotters.  (The old LaserJet III,
which was Hewlett-Packard's first PCL 5 printer, supported only 8 of
the 45.)

   The Hershey fonts may be used by all types of Plotter supported by
`libplot', and the Postscript fonts may be used by all types of Plotter
except HP-GL and Tektronix.  So all variants of `graph' may use the
Hershey fonts, and all variants of `graph' except `graph -T hpgl' and
`graph -T tek' may use the Postscript fonts.  The PCL 5 fonts may be
used only by HP-GL Plotters and `graph -T hpgl'.

   For the purpose of plotting text strings (*note Text String
Format::.), the built-in fonts are divided into typefaces.  The 17
Hershey fonts are divided into typefaces as follows.

   * HersheySerif

       1. HersheySerif

       2. HersheySerif-Italic

       3. HersheySerif-Bold

       4. HersheySerif-BoldItalic

       5. HersheyCyrillic

       6. HersheyEUC

   * HersheySans

       1. HersheySans

       2. HersheySans-Oblique

       3. HersheySans-Bold

       4. HersheySans-BoldOblique

   * HersheyScript

       1. HersheyScript

       2. HersheyScript

       3. HersheyScript-Bold

       4. HersheyScript-Bold

   * HersheyGothic-English

   * HersheyGothic-German

   * HersheyGothic-Italian

   * HersheySerif-Symbol

   * HersheySans-Symbol

The three HersheyGothic fonts are singletons: each is font #1 of its own
typeface.  The two symbol fonts play a special role.  By convention,
each Hershey typeface contains a symbol font (HersheySerif-Symbol or
HersheySans-Symbol, as appropriate) as font #0.

   The 35 Postscript fonts are divided into typefaces as follows.

   * Helvetica

       1. Helvetica

       2. Helvetica-Oblique

       3. Helvetica-Bold

       4. Helvetica-BoldOblique

   * Helvetica-Narrow

       1. Helvetica-Narrow

       2. Helvetica-Narrow-Oblique

       3. Helvetica-Narrow-Bold

       4. Helvetica-Narrow-BoldOblique

   * Times

       1. Times-Roman

       2. Times-Italic

       3. Times-Bold

       4. Times-BoldItalic

   * AvantGarde

       1. AvantGarde-Book

       2. AvantGarde-BookOblique

       3. AvantGarde-Demi

       4. AvantGarde-DemiOblique

   * Bookman

       1. Bookman-Light

       2. Bookman-LightItalic

       3. Bookman-Demi

       4. Bookman-DemiItalic

   * Courier

       1. Courier

       2. Courier-Oblique

       3. Courier-Bold

       4. Courier-BoldOblique

   * NewCenturySchlbk

       1. NewCenturySchlbk-Roman

       2. NewCenturySchlbk-Italic

       3. NewCenturySchlbk-Bold

       4. NewCenturySchlbk-BoldItalic

   * Palatino

       1. Palatino-Roman

       2. Palatino-Italic

       3. Palatino-Bold

       4. Palatino-BoldItalic

   * ZapfChancery-MediumItalic

   * ZapfDingbats

   * Symbol

The two Zapf fonts are singletons: each is font #1 of its own typeface.
The Symbol font plays a special role.  By convention, each Postscript
typeface contains the Symbol font as font #0.

   The 45 PCL 5 fonts are divided into typefaces as follows.

   * Univers

       1. Univers

       2. Univers-Oblique

       3. Univers-Bold

       4. Univers-BoldOblique

   * UniversCondensed

       1. UniversCondensed

       2. UniversCondensed-Oblique

       3. UniversCondensed-Bold

       4. UniversCondensed-BoldOblique

   * CGTimes

       1. CGTimes-Roman

       2. CGTimes-Italic

       3. CGTimes-Bold

       4. CGTimes-BoldItalic

   * Albertus

       1. AlbertusMedium

       2. AlbertusMedium

       3. AlbertusExtraBold

       4. AlbertusExtraBold

   * AntiqueOlive

       1. AntiqueOlive

       2. AntiqueOlive-Italic

       3. AntiqueOlive-Bold

   * Arial

       1. Arial-Roman

       2. Arial-Italic

       3. Arial-Bold

       4. Arial-BoldItalic

   * ClarendonCondensed

   * Coronet

   * Courier

       1. Courier

       2. Courier-Italic

       3. Courier-Bold

       4. Courier-BoldItalic

   * Garamond

       1. Garamond

       2. Garamond-Italic

       3. Garamond-Bold

       4. Garamond-BoldItalic

   * LetterGothic

       1. LetterGothic-Roman

       2. LetterGothic-Italic

       3. LetterGothic-Bold

       4. LetterGothic-BoldItalic

   * Marigold

   * CGOmega

       1. CGOmega-Roman

       2. CGOmega-Italic

       3. CGOmega-Bold

       4. CGOmega-BoldItalic

   * TimesNewRoman

       1. TimesNewRoman

       2. TimesNewRoman-Italic

       3. TimesNewRoman-Bold

       4. TimesNewRoman-BoldItalic

   * Wingdings

   * Symbol

The ClarendonCondensed, Coronet, Marigold, and Wingdings fonts are
singletons: each is font #1 of its own typeface.  The Symbol font plays
a special role.  By convention, each PCL 5 typeface contains the Symbol
font as font #0.

   As you can see from the three preceding tables, our convention is
that in any typeface with more than a single font, font #1 is the normal
font, font #2 is italic or oblique, font #3 is bold, and font #4 is bold
italic or bold oblique.  Additional variants (if any) are numbered #5
and higher.

   Of the above built-in fonts, all except for the four Symbol fonts,
HersheyCyrillic, HersheyEUC, ZapfDingbats, and Wingdings are ISO-8859-1
fonts.  This means that they use the ISO-Latin-1 encoding, which is a
superset of ASCII.  The four Symbol fonts use a special encoding, since
they consist of Greek characters and mathematical symbols.  The Symbol
encoding and the encoding used by the ZapfDingbats font are documented
in the `Postscript Language Reference Manual'.

   The HersheyCyrillic font uses an encoding known as KOI8-R, a
superset of ASCII which has become the de facto standard for Unix and
networking applications in the former Soviet Union.  Insofar as
printable ASCII characters go, it is the same as the HersheySerif font.
But its `8-bit' characters are different.  The byte range 0xc0...0xdf
contains lower-case Cyrillic characters and the byte range 0xe0...0xff
contains upper case Cyrillic characters.  Additional Cyrillic
characters are located at 0xa3 and 0xb3.  For more on this encoding, see
`http://www.nagual.pp.ru/~ache/koi8.html' and the document known as
Internet RFC 1489.

   The HersheyEUC font is used for displaying Japanese.  EUC stands for
`extended Unix code', which is a scheme for encoding Japanese, and also
other character sets (e.g., Greek and Cyrillic) as multibyte character
strings.  The format of EUC strings is discussed in Ken Lunde's
`Understanding Japanese Information Processing' (O'Reilly, 1993), which
contains much additional information on Japanese text processing.  See
also his on-line supplement (http://www.ora.com/people/authors/lunde/cjk_inf.html).

   In the HersheyEUC font, characters in the printable ASCII range,
0x20...0x7e, are similar to US ASCII (they are `JIS Roman', an ASCII
variant standardized by the Japanese Industrial Standards Committee).
Each successive pair of bytes in the `0xa1'...`0xfe' range defines a
single character in the JIS X0208 standard.  The characters in the JIS
X0208 standard include Japanese syllabic characters (Hiragana and
Katakana), ideographic characters (Kanji), Roman, Greek, and Cyrillic
alphabets, punctuation marks, and miscellaneous symbols.  For example,
the JIS X0208 standard indexes the 83 Hiragana as `0x2421'...`0x2453'.
To obtain the EUC code for any JIS X0208 character, one adds `0x80' to
each byte (i.e., `sets the high bit' on each byte).  So the first of
the 83 Hiragana (`0x2421') would be encoded as the successive pair of
bytes `0xa4' and `0xa1'.

   The implementation of the JIS X0208 standard in the HersheyEUC font
is based on Dr. Hershey's digitizations, and is complete enough to be
useful.  All Hiragana and Katakana are available, though the little-used
`half-width Katakana' are not supported.  Also, 603 frequently used
Kanji are available.  The Hiragana, the Katakana, and the available
Kanji all have the same width.  The file `kanji.doc', which is
distributed along with the GNU plotting utilities, lists the 603
available Kanji.  Each JIS X0208 character that is unavailable will be
drawn as an `undefined character' glyph (several horizontal lines).

   To what extent do the fonts supported by `libplot' contain
ligatures?  The 35 Postscript fonts and 45 PCL 5 fonts, as implemented
in `libplot', do not contain ligatures.  However, four of the 17
Hershey fonts contain ligatures.  The character combinations "fi",
"ff", "fl", "ffi", and "ffl" are automatically drawn as ligatures in
HersheySerif and HersheySerif-Italic.  (Also in HersheyCyrillic and
HersheyEUC, since insofar as printable ASCII characters are concerned,
they are identical [or almost identical] to HersheySerif.)
In addition, "tz" and "ch" are ligatures in HersheyGothic-German.  The
German double-s character `ss', which is called an `eszet', is not
regarded as a ligature in any font.  To obtain an eszet, you must
either request one with the control sequence "\ss" (*note Text String
Format::.), or, if you have an 8-bit keyboard, type an eszet explicitly.

   The preceding discussions dealt with the built-in fonts: the 17
Hershey fonts, the 35 Postscript fonts, and the 45 PCL 5 fonts.
In fact, the X Plotters supported by `libplot', and `graph -T X' (which
is built on top of `libplot') are not restricted to the built-in fonts.
They can display text strings using certain X Window System fonts
as well.  Any scalable font which is available on the current X Window
System display, and which has a so-called XLFD (X Logical Font
Description) name, may be used.  For example, the font "-monotype-gill
sans-ultrabold-r-condensed-0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1" is available on some
X displays.  It would be referred to as "gill
sans-ultrabold-r-condensed".  The command

     echo 0 0 1 1 2 0 | graph -T X -F "gill sans-ultrabold-r-condensed"

would draw a plot on an X display, in which all axis ticks are labeled
in this font.

   You may determine which fonts are available on an X display by using
the `xlsfonts' command.  Fonts whose names end in
"-0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1" or "-0-0-0-0-m-0-iso8859-1" are scalable
ISO-Latin-1 fonts that may be used by `libplot''s X Plotters and by
`graph -T X'.  The two sorts of font are variable-width and fixed-width
fonts, respectively.  Fonts whose names end in "adobe-fontspecific" may
also be used.  They are fonts that do not employ the ISO-Latin-1
encoding.

   The escape sequences which allow access to mathematical symbols and
Greek characters (*note Text String Format::.) may be employed when
using any X Window System font.  Also, the escape sequences which allow
access to the special non-ASCII characters in any of the built-in
ISO-Latin-1 fonts may be employed when using any ISO-Latin-1 X Window
System font.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Text String Format,  Next: Marker Symbols,  Prev: Text Fonts,  Up: Text and Markers

Text string format and escape sequences
=======================================

   Text strings that are drawn by `libplot', and by such applications
as `graph' that are built on `libplot', must consist of printable
characters.  No embedded control characters, such as newlines or
carriage returns, are allowed.  Technically, a character is `printable'
if it comes from either of the two byte ranges 0x20...0x7e and
0xa0...0xff.  The former is the printable ASCII range.

   Text strings may, however, include embedded `escape sequences' that
shift the font, append subscripts or superscripts, or include special
mathematical symbols.  As a consequence, the axis labels on a plot
prepared with `graph' may include such features.

   The format of the escape sequences should look familiar to anyone
who is familiar with the TeX or `groff' document formatters.  Each
escape sequence consists of three characters: a backslash and two
characters that specify the control code.  The most frequently used
escape sequences are as follows.

"\sp"
     start superscript mode

"\ep"
     end superscript mode

"\sb"
     start subscript mode

"\eb"
     end subscript mode

"\mk"
     mark location

"\rt"
     return to marked location

For example, the string "x\sp2\ep" would be interpreted as `x squared'.
Subscripts on subscripts, etc., are allowed.  Subscripts and
superscripts may be vertically aligned by judicious use of the "\mk" and
"\rt" escape sequences.  For example, "a\mk\sbi\eb\rt\sp2\ep" produces
"a sub i squared", with the exponent `2' placed immediately above the
subscript.

   There are also escape sequences that switch from font to font within
a typeface.  For an enumeration of the fonts within each typeface, see
*Note Text Fonts::.  Suppose for example that the current font is
`Times-Roman', which is font #1 in the `Times' typeface.  The string "A
\f2very\f1 well labeled axis" would be a string in which the word `very'
appears in Times-Italic rather than Times-Roman.  That is because
Times-Italic is the #2 font in the typeface.  Font-switching escape
sequences are of the form "\fN", where N is the number of the font to
be switched to, in the current font.  There is currently no support for
switching between fonts in different typefaces.

   There are also a few escape sequences for horizontal shifts, which
are useful for improving horizontal alignment, such as when shifting
between fonts.  "\r1", "\r2", "\r4", "\r6", "\r8" are escape sequences
that shift right by 1 em, 1/2 em, 1/4 em, 1/6 em, and 1/8 em,
respectively.  "\l1", "\l2", "\l4", "\l6", "\l8" are similar, but shift
left instead of right.  "A \f2very\r8\f1 well labeled axis" would look
better than "A \f2very\f1 well labeled axis".

   Square roots are handled with the aid of a special pair of escape
sequences, together with the "\mk" and "\rt" sequences discussed above.
A square root symbol is begun with "\sr", and continued arbitrarily far
to the right with the overbar (`run') escape sequence, "\rn".  For
example, the string "\sr\mkab\rt\rn\rn" would be plotted as `the square
root of ab'.  To adjust the length of the overbar, you may need to
experiment with the number of times "\rn" appears.

   To underline a string, you would use "\ul", the underline escape
sequence, one or more times.  The "\mk"..."\rt" trick would be employed
in the same way.  So, for example, "\mkabc\rt\ul\ul\ul" would yield an
underlined "ABC".  To adjust the length of the underline, you may need
to experiment with the number of times "\ul" appears.  You may also
need to use one or more of the abovementioned horizontal shifts.  For
example, if the "HersheySerif" font were used, "\mkabc\rt\ul\ul\l8\ul"
would yield a better underline than "\mkabc\rt\ul\ul\ul".

   Besides the preceding escape sequences, there are also escape
sequences for the printable non-ASCII characters in each of the built-in
ISO-Latin-1 fonts (which means in every built-in font, except for the
symbol fonts, HersheyCyrillic, HersheyEUC, and ZapfDingbats).  Such
`8-bit' characters, in the 0xa0...0xff byte range, may be included
directly in a text string.  But if your editor does not permit this,
you may use the escape sequences for them instead.  The useful
non-ASCII characters include accented characters, among others.

   There are escape sequences for the mathematical symbols and Greek
characters in the symbol fonts, as well.  Which font the mathematical
symbols and Greek characters are taken from depends on whether your
current font is a Hershey font or a Postscript font.  The symbols are
taken from the HersheySerif-Symbol font or the HersheySans-Symbol font
in the former case, and from the Symbol font in the latter.

   The following are the escape sequences that provide access to the
non-ASCII characters of the current font, provided that it is an
ISO-Latin-1 font.  Each escape sequence is followed by the position of
the corresponding character in the ISO-Latin-1 encoding (in decimal),
and the official Postscript name of the character.  Most names should be
self-explanatory.  For example, `eacute' is a lower-case `e', equipped
with an acute accent.

"\r!"
     [161] exclamdown

"\ct"
     [162] cent

"\Po"
     [163] sterling

"\Cs"
     [164] currency

"\Ye"
     [165] yen

"\bb"
     [166] brokenbar

"\sc"
     [167] section

"\ad"
     [168] dieresis

"\co"
     [169] copyright

"\Of"
     [170] ordfeminine

"\Fo"
     [171] guillemotleft

"\no"
     [172] logicalnot

"\hy"
     [173] hyphen

"\rg"
     [174] registered

"\a-"
     [175] macron

"\de"
     [176] degree

"\+-"
     [177] plusminus

"\S2"
     [178] twosuperior

"\S3"
     [179] threesuperior

"\aa"
     [180] acute

"\*m"
     [181] mu

"\ps"
     [182] paragraph

"\md"
     [183] periodcentered

"\ac"
     [184] cedilla

"\S1"
     [185] onesuperior

"\Om"
     [186] ordmasculine

"\Fc"
     [187] guillemotright

"\14"
     [188] onequarter

"\12"
     [189] onehalf

"\34"
     [190] threequarters

"\r?"
     [191] questiondown

"\`A"
     [192] Agrave

"\'A"
     [193] Aacute

"\^A"
     [194] Acircumflex

"\~A"
     [195] Atilde

"\:A"
     [196] Adieresis

"\oA"
     [197] Aring

"\AE"
     [198] AE

"\,C"
     [199] Ccedilla

"\`E"
     [200] Egrave

"\'E"
     [201] Eacute

"\^E"
     [202] Ecircumflex

"\:E"
     [203] Edieresis

"\`I"
     [204] Igrave

"\'I"
     [205] Iacute

"\^I"
     [206] Icircumflex

"\:I"
     [207] Idieresis

"\-D"
     [208] Eth

"\~N"
     [209] Ntilde

"\'O"
     [210] Ograve

"\'O"
     [211] Oacute

"\^O"
     [212] Ocircumflex

"\~O"
     [213] Otilde

"\:O"
     [214] Odieresis

"\mu"
     [215] multiply

"\/O"
     [216] Oslash

"\`U"
     [217] Ugrave

"\'U"
     [218] Uacute

"\^U"
     [219] Ucircumflex

"\:U"
     [220] Udieresis

"\'Y"
     [221] Yacute

"\TP"
     [222] Thorn

"\ss"
     [223] germandbls

"\`a"
     [224] agrave

"\'a"
     [225] aacute

"\^a"
     [226] acircumflex

"\~a"
     [227] atilde

"\:a"
     [228] adieresis

"\oa"
     [229] aring

"\ae"
     [230] ae

"\,c"
     [231] ccedilla

"\`e"
     [232] egrave

"\'e"
     [233] eacute

"\^e"
     [234] ecircumflex

"\:e"
     [235] edieresis

"\`i"
     [236] igrave

"\'i"
     [237] iacute

"\^i"
     [238] icircumflex

"\:i"
     [239] idieresis

"\Sd"
     [240] eth

"\~n"
     [241] ntilde

"\`o"
     [242] ograve

"\'o"
     [243] oacute

"\^o"
     [244] ocircumflex

"\~o"
     [245] otilde

"\:o"
     [246] odieresis

"\di"
     [247] divide

"\/o"
     [248] oslash

"\`u"
     [249] ugrave

"\'u"
     [250] uacute

"\^u"
     [251] ucircumflex

"\:u"
     [252] udieresis

"\'y"
     [253] yacute

"\Tp"
     [254] thorn

"\:y"
     [255] ydieresis

   The following are the escape sequences that provide access to
mathematical symbols and Greek characters in the current symbol font,
whether HersheySerif-Symbol or HersheySans-Symbol (for Hershey fonts) or
Symbol (for Postscript fonts).  Each escape sequence is followed by the
position (in octal) of the corresponding character in the symbol
encoding, and the official Postscript name of the character.  Many
escape sequences and names should be self-explanatory.  "\*a" represents
a lower-case Greek alpha, for example.  For a table displaying each of
the characters below, see the `Postscript Language Reference Manual'.

"\fa"
     [0042] universal

"\te"
     [0044] existential

"\st"
     [0047] suchthat

"\**"
     [0052] asteriskmath

"\=~"
     [0100] congruent

"\*A"
     [0101] Alpha

"\*B"
     [0102] Beta

"\*X"
     [0103] Chi

"\*D"
     [0104] Delta

"\*E"
     [0105] Epsilon

"\*F"
     [0106] Phi

"\*G"
     [0107] Gamma

"\*Y"
     [0110] Eta

"\*I"
     [0111] Iota

"\+h"
     [0112] theta1

"\*K"
     [0113] Kappa

"\*L"
     [0114] Lambda

"\*M"
     [0115] Mu

"\*N"
     [0116] Nu

"\*O"
     [0117] Omicron

"\*P"
     [0120] Pi

"\*H"
     [0121] Theta

"\*R"
     [0122] Rho

"\*S"
     [0123] Sigma

"\*T"
     [0124] Tau

"\*U"
     [0125] Upsilon

"\ts"
     [0126] sigma1

"\*W"
     [0127] Omega

"\*C"
     [0130] Xi

"\*Q"
     [0131] Psi

"\*Z"
     [0132] Zeta

"\tf"
     [0134] therefore

"\pp"
     [0136] perpendicular

"\ul"
     [0137] underline

"\rx"
     [0140] radicalex

"\*a"
     [0141] alpha

"\*b"
     [0142] beta

"\*x"
     [0143] chi

"\*d"
     [0144] delta

"\*e"
     [0145] epsilon

"\*f"
     [0146] phi

"\*g"
     [0147] gamma

"\*y"
     [0150] eta

"\*i"
     [0151] iota

"\+f"
     [0152] phi1

"\*k"
     [0153] kappa

"\*l"
     [0154] lambda

"\*m"
     [0155] mu

"\*n"
     [0156] nu

"\*o"
     [0157] omicron

"\*p"
     [0160] pi

"\*h"
     [0161] theta

"\*r"
     [0162] rho

"\*s"
     [0163] sigma

"\*t"
     [0164] tau

"\*u"
     [0165] upsilon

"\+p"
     [0166] omega1

"\*w"
     [0167] omega

"\*c"
     [0170] xi

"\*q"
     [0171] psi

"\*z"
     [0172] zeta

"\ap"
     [0176] similar

"\+U"
     [0241] Upsilon1

"\fm"
     [0242] minute

"\<="
     [0243] lessequal

"\f/"
     [0244] fraction

"\if"
     [0245] infinity

"\Fn"
     [0246] florin

"\CL"
     [0247] club

"\DI"
     [0250] diamond

"\HE"
     [0251] heart

"\SP"
     [0252] spade

"\<>"
     [0253] arrowboth

"\<-"
     [0254] arrowleft

"\ua"
     [0255] arrowup

"\->"
     [0256] arrowright

"\da"
     [0257] arrowdown

"\de"
     [0260] degree

"\+-"
     [0261] plusminus

"\sd"
     [0262] second

"\>="
     [0263] greaterequal

"\mu"
     [0264] multiply

"\pt"
     [0265] proportional

"\pd"
     [0266] partialdiff

"\bu"
     [0267] bullet

"\di"
     [0270] divide

"\!="
     [0271] notequal

"\=="
     [0272] equivalence

"\~~"
     [0273] approxequal

"\.."
     [0274] ellipsis

NONE
     [0275] arrowvertex

"\an"
     [0276] arrowhorizex

"\CR"
     [0277] carriagereturn

"\Ah"
     [0300] aleph

"\Im"
     [0301] Ifraktur

"\Re"
     [0302] Rfraktur

"\wp"
     [0303] weierstrass

"\c*"
     [0304] circlemultiply

"\c+"
     [0305] circleplus

"\es"
     [0306] emptyset

"\ca"
     [0307] cap

"\cu"
     [0310] cup

"\SS"
     [0311] superset

"\ip"
     [0312] reflexsuperset

"\n<"
     [0313] notsubset

"\SB"
     [0314] subset

"\ib"
     [0315] reflexsubset

"\mo"
     [0316] element

"\nm"
     [0317] notelement

"\/_"
     [0320] angle

"\gr"
     [0321] nabla

"\rg"
     [0322] registerserif

"\co"
     [0323] copyrightserif

"\tm"
     [0324] trademarkserif

"\PR"
     [0325] product

"\sr"
     [0326] radical

"\md"
     [0327] dotmath

"\no"
     [0330] logicalnot

"\AN"
     [0331] logicaland

"\OR"
     [0332] logicalor

"\hA"
     [0333] arrowdblboth

"\lA"
     [0334] arrowdblleft

"\uA"
     [0335] arrowdblup

"\rA"
     [0336] arrowdblright

"\dA"
     [0337] arrowdbldown

"\lz"
     [0340] lozenge

"\la"
     [0341] angleleft

"\RG"
     [0342] registersans

"\CO"
     [0343] copyrightsans

"\TM"
     [0344] trademarksans

"\SU"
     [0345] summation

NONE
     [0346] parenlefttp

NONE
     [0347] parenleftex

NONE
     [0350] parenleftbt

"\lc"
     [0351] bracketlefttp

NONE
     [0352] bracketleftex

"\lf"
     [0353] bracketleftbt

"\lt"
     [0354] bracelefttp

"\lk"
     [0355] braceleftmid

"\lb"
     [0356] braceleftbt

"\bv"
     [0357] braceex

"\eu"
     [0360] euro

"\ra"
     [0361] angleright

"\is"
     [0362] integral

NONE
     [0363] integraltp

NONE
     [0364] integralex

NONE
     [0365] integralbt

NONE
     [0366] parenrighttp

NONE
     [0367] parenrightex

NONE
     [0370] parenrightbt

"\rc"
     [0371] bracketrighttp

NONE
     [0372] bracketrightex

"\rf"
     [0373] bracketrightbt

"\RT"
     [0374] bracerighttp

"\rk"
     [0375] bracerightmid

"\rb"
     [0376] bracerightbt

   Finally, there are escape sequences that apply only if the current
font is a Hershey font.  Most of these escape sequences provide access
to special symbols that belong to no font, and are accessible by no
other means.  These symbols are of two sorts: miscellaneous and
astronomical.  The escape sequences for the miscellaneous symbols are
as follows.

"\dd"
     daggerdbl

"\dg"
     dagger

"\hb"
     hbar

"\li"
     lineintegral

"\IB"
     interbang

"\Lb"
     lambdabar

"\~-"
     modifiedcongruent

"\-+"
     minusplus

"\||"
     parallel

"\s-"
     [variant form of s]

The final escape sequence in the table above, "\s-", yields a letter
rather than a symbol.  It is provided because in some Hershey fonts,
the shape of the lower-case letter `s' differs if it is the last letter
in a word.  This is the case for HersheyGothic-German.  The German word
"besonders", for example, should be written as "besonder\s-" if it is
to be rendered correctly in this font.  The same is true for the two
Hershey symbol fonts, with their Greek alphabets (in Greek text,
lower-case final `s' is different from lower-case non-final `s').
In Hershey fonts where there is no distinction between final and
non-final `s', "s" and "\s-" are equivalent.

   The escape sequences for the astronomical symbols are listed in the
following table.  We stress that that like the preceding miscellaneous
escape sequences, they apply only if the current font is a Hershey font.

"\SO"
     sun

"\ME"
     mercury

"\VE"
     venus

"\EA"
     earth

"\MA"
     mars

"\JU"
     jupiter

"\SA"
     saturn

"\UR"
     uranus

"\NE"
     neptune

"\PL"
     pluto

"\LU"
     moon

"\CT"
     comet

"\ST"
     star

"\AS"
     ascendingnode

"\DE"
     descendingnode

   The preceding miscellaneous and astronomical symbols are not the only
special non-font symbols that may be used if the current font is a
Hershey font.  The entire library of glyphs digitized by Allen Hershey
is built into GNU `libplot'.  So text strings may include any Hershey
glyph.  Each of the 1641 available Hershey glyphs is identified by a
four-digit number.  Standard Hershey glyph #1 would be specified as
"\#H0001".  The standard Hershey glyphs range from "\#H0001" to
"\#H3999", with a number of gaps.  Some additional glyphs designed by
others appear in the "\#H4000"..."\#H4194" range.  Syllabic Japanese
characters (Kana) are located in the "\#H4195"..."\#H4399" range.

   You may order a table of nearly all the Hershey glyphs in the
"\#H0001"..."\#H3999" range from the U.S. National Technical
Information Service, at +1 703 487 4650.  Ask for item number PB251845;
the current price is about US$40.  By way of example, the string

     "\#H0744\#H0745\#H0001\#H0002\#H0003\#H0869\#H0907\#H2330\#H2331"

when drawn will display a shamrock, a fleur-de-lys, cartographic (small)
letters A, B, C, a bell, a large circle, a treble clef, and a bass
clef.  Again, this assumes that the current font is a Hershey font.

   You may also use Japanese syllabic characters (Hiragana and Katakana)
and ideographic characters (Kanji) when drawing strings in any Hershey
font.  In all, 603 Kanji are available; these are the same Kanji that
are available in the HersheyEUC font.  The Japanese characters are
indexed according to the JIS X0208 standard for Japanese typography,
which represents each character by a two-byte sequence.  Each JIS X0208
character would be specified by an escape sequence which expresses this
two-byte sequence as four hexadecimal digits, such as "\#J357e".  Both
bytes must be in the `0x21'...`0x7e' range in order to define a JIS
X0208 character.  Kanji are located at "\#J3021" and above.  The file
`kanji.doc', which is distributed along with the GNU plotting
utilities, lists the available Kanji.

   Characters appearing elsewhere in the JIS X0208 encoding may be
accessed similarly.  For example, Hiragana and Katakana are located in
the "\#J2421"..."\#J257e" range, and Roman characters are located in the
"\#J2300"..."\#J237e" range.  The file `kana.doc' lists the encodings
of the Hiragana and Katakana.  For more on the JIS X0208 standard, see
Ken Lunde's `Understanding Japanese Information Processing' (O'Reilly,
1993), and his on-line supplement (http://www.ora.com/people/authors/lunde/cjk_inf.html).

   The Kanji numbering used in A. N. Nelson's `Modern Reader's
Japanese-English Character Dictionary', a longtime standard, is also
supported.  (This dictionary is published by C. E. Tuttle and Co., with
ISBN 0-8048-0408-7.  A revised edition [ISBN 0-8048-2036-8] appeared in
1997, but uses a different numbering.)  `Nelson' escape sequences for
Kanji are similar to JIS X0208 escape sequences, but use four decimal
instead of four hexadecimal digits.  The file `kanji.doc' gives the
correspondence between the JIS numbering scheme and the Nelson
numbering scheme.  For example, "\#N0001" is equivalent to "\#J306c".
It also gives the positions of the available Kanji in the Unicode
encoding.

   All available Kanji have the same width, which is the same as that of
the syllabic Japanese characters (Hiragana and Katakana).  Each Kanji
that is not available will print as an `undefined character' glyph (a
set of horizontal lines).  The same is true for non-Kanji JIS X0208
characters which are not available.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Marker Symbols,  Prev: Text String Format,  Up: Text and Markers

Available marker symbols
========================

   The GNU `libplot' library supports a standard set of marker symbols,
numbered 0 through 31.  These are the symbols that the `graph' program
will plot at each point of a dataset, if the `-S' option is used.  The
list is as follows (by convention, marker symbol #0 means no symbol
at all).

  1. dot

  2. plus (+)

  3. asterisk (*)

  4. circle

  5. cross

  6. square

  7. triangle

  8. diamond

  9. star

 10. inverted triangle

 11. starburst

 12. fancy plus

 13. fancy cross

 14. fancy square

 15. fancy diamond

 16. filled circle

 17. filled square

 18. filled triangle

 19. filled diamond

 20. filled inverted triangle

 21. filled fancy square

 22. filled fancy diamond

 23. half filled circle

 24. half filled square

 25. half filled triangle

 26. half filled diamond

 27. half filled inverted triangle

 28. half filled fancy square

 29. half filled fancy diamond

 30. octagon

 31. filled octagon

The interpretation of marker symbols 1 through 5 is the same as in the
well known GKS (Graphical Kernel System).

   Symbols 32 and up are interpreted as characters in a certain text
font.  For `libplot', it is the current font.  For `graph', it is the
font selected with the `--symbol-font-name' option.  By default, this
is the ZapfDingbats font except in `graph -T hpgl' and `graph -T tek'.
`graph -T hpgl' and `graph -T tek' currently have no access to
Postscript fonts, so they use the `HersheySerif' font instead.

   Many of the characters in the ZapfDingbats font are suitable for use
as marker symbols.  For example, character #74 is the Texas star.  Doing

     echo 0 0 1 2 2 1 3 2 4 0 | graph -T ps -m 0 -S 74 0.1 > plot.ps

will produce a Postscript plot consisting of five data points, not
joined by line segments.  Each data point will be marked by a Texas
star, of a large font size (0.1 times the width of the plotting box).


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Color Names,  Next: Metafiles,  Prev: Text and Markers,  Up: Appendices

Specifying Colors by Name
*************************

   Many of the plotting utilities allow colors to be specified by name.
For example, `graph' supports the `--frame-color' option.  `graph -T
hpgl' and `plot -T hpgl' check the value of the `HPGL_PENS' environment
variable, as do the HP-GL Plotters available in the `libplot' library
(on which they are based).  Also, the `libplot' library includes the
pencolorname and fillcolorname functions.

   In any of these contexts, 665 distinct color names are recognized,
including obscure ones like "dark magenta", "forest green", and "olive
drab".  Color names are case-insensitive, and spaces are ignored.  So,
for example, "RosyBrown" is equivalent to "rosy brown", and
"DarkGoldenrod3" to "dark goldenrod 3".

   The file `colors.txt', which is distributed along with the GNU
plotting utilities, lists the available color names.  They are
essentially the color names recognized by recent releases of the
X Window System, which on most machines are listed in the file
`/usr/lib/X11/rgb.txt'.  However, for every color name containing the
string "gray", a version containing "grey" has been included.  For
example, both "dark slate gray 4" and "dark slate grey 4" are
recognized color names.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Metafiles,  Next: Auxiliary Software,  Prev: Color Names,  Up: Appendices

The Graphics Metafile Format
****************************

   A GNU graphics metafile is produced by raw `graph' or by any other
graphics application that uses the Metafile Plotter support contained in
`libplot'.  It is a sort of audit trail: it contains a record of which
`libplot' functions have been called, together with their arguments.
That is, it is a sequence of plotting commands, each of which may be
followed by data.  Each plotting command is an `op code': a single
ASCII character, indicating which `libplot' function was called.  The
data following the command are the arguments of the function.

   There are two sorts of GNU metafile: binary (the default) and
portable (human-readable).  If you wish to transfer GNU metafiles
between machines of different types, you should use portable rather
than binary format.  Portable metafiles are produced by raw `graph'
when the `-O' option is specified, and by the metafile driver of
`libplot' when the `META_PORTABLE' parameter is set to "yes".  Both
binary and portable may be translated to other formats by GNU `plot'.
Binary metafiles begin with the magic string `#PLOT 1', and portable
metafiles with the magic string `#PLOT 2'.

   In the portable format, the arguments (integers, floating point
numbers, or strings) are printed in a human-readable form, separated by
spaces, and each argument list ends with a newline.  In the binary
format, the arguments are represented as integers, single precision
floating point numbers, or newline-terminated ASCII strings.  The role
played by the newline character as a terminator is acceptable because
each `libplot' function includes a maximum of one string among its
arguments, and the string may not include a newline.  Moreover, the
string must come last among the arguments.

   In the traditional plot(5) format produced by pre-GNU versions of
`graph', command arguments were either two-byte integers or
newline-terminated strings.  At the time plot(5) format was designed,
`two-byte integer' was synonymous with `short integer', but that is
no longer the case.  GNU `plot' can convert metafiles in the
traditional format to GNU metafiles in either binary or portable
format.  The absence of a magic string makes it possible to distinguish
files in plot(5) format from GNU metafiles.

   The following table lists some of the op codes that appear in either
version of GNU metafile format, i.e., the possible single-character
commands, followed by the name of the `libplot' function they
stand for.  All 79 basic `libplot' functions have a corresponding
op code, with the exception of (1) the setup functions `flushpl' and
`outfile', (2) the functions `havecap', `labelwidth', and
`flabelwidth', which return information, and (3) the `pencolorname' and
`fillcolorname' functions, which are mapped to `pencolor' and
`fillcolor' internally.

Op Code
     Function

`a'
     `arc'

`c'
     `circle'

`e'
     `erase'

`f'
     `linemod'

`l'
     `line'

`m'
     `move'

`n'
     `cont'

`p'
     `point'

`s'
     `space'

`t'
     `label'

The op codes above are actually the op codes of the traditional plot(5)
format.  Since the GNU metafile format is compatible with it, they are
also used in GNU metafiles.  The other op codes of metafile format are
too numerous to list.  They are defined in the header file `plot.h',
which is distributed along with the plotting utilities.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Auxiliary Software,  Next: Acknowledgements,  Prev: Metafiles,  Up: Appendices

Obtaining Auxiliary Software
****************************

* Menu:

* idraw::	Obtaining the idraw drawing editor
* xfig::       	Obtaining the xfig drawing editor


File: plotutils.info,  Node: idraw,  Next: xfig,  Prev: Auxiliary Software,  Up: Auxiliary Software

How to get `idraw'
==================

   The `idraw' utility mentioned several times in this documentation is
a freely distributable interactive drawing editor for the X Window
System.  It may be used to edit the output of `graph -T ps', or, in
general, the output of any application that uses the Postscript Plotter
support contained in `libplot'.

   The current version of `idraw' is maintained by Vectaport, Inc., and
is available at their Web site (http://www.vectaport.com).  It is part
of the `ivtools' package, which is a framework for building custom
drawing editors.  `idraw' was originally part of the `InterViews'
package, developed by Stanford University and Silicon Graphics.  The
`InterViews' package is available at a distribution site (ftp://interviews.stanford.edu) but is no longer supported.  Retrieving the
`ivtools' package instead is recommended.

   Also available at Vectaport's Web site (http://www.vectaport.com) is
an enhanced version of `idraw' called `drawtool'.  Unlike `idraw',
`drawtool' can import bitmapped graphics in PBM/PGM/PPM, TIFF, and X11
bitmap formats.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: xfig,  Prev: idraw,  Up: Auxiliary Software

How to get `xfig'
=================

   The `xfig' utility mentioned several times in this documentation is
a freely distributable interactive drawing editor for the X Window
System.  It may be used to edit the output of `graph -T fig', or
in general the output of any application that uses the Fig Plotter
support contained in `libplot'.

   The current version is available at
`ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/applications/drawing_tools/'.  It can import
graphics in GIF, X11 bitmap, and Postscript formats.  Accompanying the
editor is a package called `transfig', which allows `xfig' graphics to
be exported in many formats.  GIF, X11 bitmap, LaTeX, and Postscript
formats are supported.


File: plotutils.info,  Node: Acknowledgements,  Prev: Auxiliary Software,  Up: Appendices

Acknowledgements
****************

   Several of the GNU plotting utilities were inspired by Unix plotting
utilities.  A `graph' utility and various plot filters were present in
the first releases of Unix from Bell Laboratories, going at least as
far back as the Version 4 distribution (1973).  Most of the work on
tying them together and breaking out device-dependent versions of
`libplot' was performed by Lorinda Cherry <llc@research.att.com>.  By
the time of Version 7 Unix (1979) and the subsequent Berkeley releases,
the package consisting of `graph', `plot', `spline', and several
device-dependent versions of `libplot' was a standard Unix feature.
The first display device supported by the package was a Versatec
storage scope.  By the early 1980's, supported devices included
Tektronix storage scopes, 200dpi electrostatic printer/plotters from
Versatec and Varian, pen plotters from Hewlett-Packard, and early
graphics terminals.

   In 1989, Rich Murphey <rich@freebsd.org> wrote the first GNU
versions of `graph', `plot', and `spline', and the earliest
documentation.  Richard Stallman further directed development of the
programs and provided editorial support for the documentation.
John Interrante <interran@uluru.stanford.edu>, of the InterViews team
at Stanford, generously provided the `idraw' Postscript prologue now
included in `libplot', and helpful comments.  The package as it stood
in 1991 was distributed under the name `GNU graphics'.

   In 1995 Robert Maier <rsm@math.arizona.edu> took over development of
the package, and designed and wrote the current, maximally
device-independent, standalone version of `libplot'.  He also rewrote
`graph' from scratch, turning it into a real-time filter that would use
the new library.  He fleshed out `spline' too, by adding support for
splines in tension, periodicity, and cubic Bessel interpolation.

   Most development work on `ode' was performed by Nick Tufillaro <nbt@reed.edu> in 1978-1994, on a sequence of platforms that extended back
to a PDP-11 running Version 4 Unix.  In 1997 Robert modified Nick's
1994 version to agree with GNU conventions on coding and command-line
parsing, extended it to support the full set of special functions
supported by `gnuplot', and extended the exception handling.

   Many other people aided the development of the plotting utilities
package along the way.  The Hershey vector fonts now in `libplot' are
of course based on the characters digitized in the mid to late 1960's
by Allen V. Hershey, who deserves a vote of thanks.  Additional
characters and/or marker symbols were taken from the SLAC Unified
Graphics System developed by Robert C. Beach in the mid-1970's, and
from the fonts designed by Thomas Wolff <wolff@inf.fu-berlin.de> for
Ghostscript.  The interpolation algorithms used in `spline' are based
on the algorithms of Alan K. Cline <cline@cs.utexas.edu>, as described
in his papers in the Apr. 1974 issue of `Communications of the ACM'.
The table-driven parser used in `tek2plot' was written at Berkeley in
the mid-1980's by Edward Moy <moy@parc.xerox.com>.  The `sagitta'
algorithm used in an extended form in `libplot' for drawing circular
and elliptic arcs was developed by Peter Karnow of URW and
Ken Turkowski <turk@apple.com> of Apple.  Ray Toy <toy@rtp.ericsson.se>
helped with the tick mark spacing code in `graph' and was the first to
incorporate GNU `getopt'.  Arthur Smith, formerly of LASSP at Cornell,
provided code for his `xplot' utility.  Nelson Beebe <beebe@math.utah.edu> exhaustively tested the package installation process.

   Robert Maier wrote the documentation, which now incorporates Nick
Tufillaro's `ode' manual.  Julie Sussmann checked over the
documentation for style and clarity.



Tag Table:
Node: Top1600
Node: Plotutils Intro2352
Node: graph9600
Node: Simple Examples10379
Node: Non-Square Plots22722
Node: Multiple Datasets25437
Node: Multiplotting31054
Node: Data Formats33876
Node: graph Invocation36608
Node: Plot Options37467
Node: Dataset Options52962
Node: Multiplot Options61743
Node: Raw graph Options63103
Node: Info Options63733
Node: graph Environment64647
Node: plot69133
Node: plot Examples69390
Node: plot Invocation71565
Node: plot Environment81345
Node: tek2plot85810
Node: tek2plot Examples86099
Node: tek2plot Invocation87238
Node: tek2plot Environment96687
Node: spline99860
Node: spline Examples100138
Node: Advanced Use of spline107261
Node: spline Invocation111827
Node: ode120921
Node: Basic Math122156
Node: Simple ode Examples125028
Node: Additional ode Examples134037
Node: ode Invocation141040
Node: Diagnostics145091
Node: Numerical Error149216
Node: Running Time160977
Node: Input Language162306
Node: ODE Bibliography170665
Node: libplot171589
Node: libplot Overview171948
Node: C Programming181522
Node: The C API181901
Node: C Compiling and Linking187984
Node: Sample C Drawing189679
Node: Sample C Animation194631
Node: Functions199345
Node: Setup Functions200970
Node: Drawing Functions207129
Node: Attribute Functions217918
Node: Mapping Functions228508
Node: Driver Parameters230666
Node: Appendices241997
Node: Text and Markers242440
Node: Text Fonts243148
Node: Text String Format254533
Node: Marker Symbols272606
Node: Color Names274629
Node: Metafiles275975
Node: Auxiliary Software279474
Node: idraw279749
Node: xfig280951
Node: Acknowledgements281711

End Tag Table
