Difference between revisions of "Gnuplot"

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< [[Modules]] | [[Graphics]] | [[Math]] >
 
< [[Modules]] | [[Graphics]] | [[Math]] >
 +
 +
http://www.gnuplot.info/figs/title2.png
  
 
[http://www.gnuplot.info Gnuplot] is a portable command-line driven utility for function plotting for many platforms.
 
[http://www.gnuplot.info Gnuplot] is a portable command-line driven utility for function plotting for many platforms.
  
[[source:m-gnuplot.tex|m-gnuplot.tex]]: the source file
+
To make the examples on this page work, you need Gnuplot 4.6.0 or later (or self-compiled binary).
  
After Peter Münster posted the first module for gnuplut support on the mailing list [http://article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.tex.context/24884] (which only works with bash), Hans Hagen (see [http://article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.tex.context/24935] [http://article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.tex.context/24965]) wrote another one and Taco additionally provided some bugfixes and minor changes. The module is now a part of the official distribution, but may undergo some other minor changes in the short term (use with care for some time).
+
== Minimal Example ==
  
'''Development'''
+
<texcode>
 +
\usemodule[gnuplot]
  
* [http://renojrl.lrv.uvsq.fr/darcsweb.cgi?r=gpConTeXt;a=summary darcs repository] (maintained by Renaud Aubin)
+
% write a script for gnuplot
* [http://groups.google.com/group/gnuplot-context mailing list]
+
\startGNUPLOTscript[sin]
 +
  plot sin(x)
 +
\stopGNUPLOTscript
  
== Terminals ==
+
% include the resulting graphic into the document
 +
\useGNUPLOTgraphic[sin]
 +
</texcode>
  
Gnuplot support output in different formats with, for example
+
Calling gnuplot to create the graphic and postprocessing should happen automatically.
set terminal mp color solid
 
will output a metapost document with colors and without dashed lines. After some appropriate preprocessing (with [[MPtoDF]] for this particular case) this file can be included in PDF documents.
 
  
You can specify the terminal with
+
== Requirements ==
<texcode>
 
\setupGNUPLOT[output=mp,options=color solid]
 
</texcode>
 
  
* <code>output=</code> is mandatory since that't the only way to tell ConTeXt how to preprocess the file.
+
* '''[http://modules.contextgarden.net/gnuplot Gnuplot module]'''
* <code>options=</code> is optional and is appended to the end of <code>set terminal [terminal name]</code>. You can also override it by saying
+
** in TeX Live you need to have <code>context-gnuplot</code> installed, in [[ConTeXt Standalone]] you can install it with <code>--modules=t-gnuplot</code> switch
<texcode>
+
* '''Gnuplot has to be installed''' (and in your PATH)
\startGNUPLOTinclusions
+
:On most Linux installations this is probably already the case. On Windows gnuplot.exe is usually also shipped and you need to make sure that it is in PATH. In case that the binary has a different name, you could create a file <code>gnuplot.bat</code> with something like:
set terminal mp color solid
+
"C:\Program Files\gnuplot\bin\wgnupl32.exe" %*
\stopGNUPLOTinclusions
+
:(if that was the binary name) and put that file to a <i>"visible place"</i> (has to be found in PATH). Please note: if calling <code>gnuplot</code> from cmd works for you, there is no need to do anything extra.
</texcode>
+
* '''[[Write18]]''' has to be enabled
But you have to be careful that you don't set any other terminal with <code>output=</code> then.
+
=== To use the ConTeXt terminal (recommended) ===
 +
====  Windows ====
 +
You can fetch binaries from [http://sourceforge.net/projects/gnuplot/files/gnuplot/ sourceforge (released versions)] or from [http://www.tatsuromatsuoka.com/gnuplot/Eng/winbin/ Tatsuro Matsuoka (latest cvs version)].
 +
====  Unix or Mac ====
 +
The easiest way is to use version 4.6.0 or later shipped by your distribution. If that version is too old, you need to compile your own.
  
<!-- Another way to specify it is to override the terminal setting -->
+
If you want to use the version from trunk:
 +
# unofficial; you can also use official cvs
 +
git clone git://github.com/gnuplot/gnuplot.git
 +
./prepare
 +
./configure
 +
make
 +
  make install
 +
I use <code>./configure --prefix=$PWD/inst</code> to avoid cluttering the system and install gnuplot to my personal directory. You can use other flags to configure for a different choice of GUI terminals.
  
Currently supported terminals are:
+
If you want to use the released version, get it from [http://sourceforge.net/projects/gnuplot/files/gnuplot/ sourceforge] and do the same, just skip the <code>./prepare</code>.
* [http://www.gnuplot.info/docs/gnuplot.html#mp mp/metapost]: <b>most beautiful results</b>, uses [[MPtoPDF]] to convert images to pdf
 
* [http://www.gnuplot.info/docs/gnuplot.html#postscript_ ps/postscript]: uses newpstopdf to convert images to pdf; ''currently some problems with rotated images unless <code>option=eps</code> is used''
 
* [http://www.gnuplot.info/docs/gnuplot.html#png_(OLD) png]: outputs bitmap images (no preprocessing needed)
 
* [http://www.gnuplot.info/docs/gnuplot.html#pdf pdf]: outputs PDF directly (no preprocessing needed), but is usually not available in most binaries of gnuplot
 
  
Multiple plots (more images/pages of output) are not supported (there's probably no reason to) since you can split the graphs in subsequent <code>\startGNUPLOTgraphic ... \stopGNUPLOTgraphic if necessary</code>.
+
The latest version of context terminal is available at http://github.com/mojca/gnuplot/raw/master/term/context.trm.
  
=== Minimal Example ===
+
Feel free to contact [[User:Mojca Miklavec|Mojca]] in case of problems.
 
 
<texcode>
 
\usemodule[gnuplot]
 
  
% creating the graphics
+
== Creating stand-alone, whole-page plots ==
\startGNUPLOTgraphics{sin}
 
  plot sin(x)
 
\stopGNUPLOTgraphics
 
  
% including the graphics into the document
+
Here's an example of how to make a stand-alone ConTeXt document with one plot per page:
\useGNUPLOTgraphic[sin]
 
</texcode>
 
  
=== More complex example with MetaPost ===
+
set term context standalone size 15cm,10cm header '\usetypescript[iwona]' font 'iwona,ss' 10dd
 +
set output 'example.tex'
 +
plot ...
  
Metapost produces the plots of a relatively high quality. You can use TeX commands to format the title, label axes and legend.
+
== More complex example ==
  
 
<texcode>
 
<texcode>
 
\usemodule[gnuplot]
 
\usemodule[gnuplot]
  
% output may be "mp/metapost", "ps/postscript", "pdf" or "png"; ps is currently the default
+
\setupGNUPLOT[terminal=tikz,option=color] % terminal=mp if you only have an old gnuplot at hand
\setupGNUPLOT[output=mp,option=color]
 
  
 
% general settings for the whole document
 
% general settings for the whole document
Line 77: Line 79:
 
   # (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, ...) instead of
 
   # (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, ...) instead of
 
   # (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, ...)
 
   # (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, ...)
   set format yaxis '\%.1f'
+
   set format y '%.1f'
 
\stopGNUPLOTinclusions
 
\stopGNUPLOTinclusions
  
\startGNUPLOTgraphics{tan}
+
\startGNUPLOTscript[tan]
 
   plot tan(x) t '$\tan(x)$'
 
   plot tan(x) t '$\tan(x)$'
\stopGNUPLOTgraphics
+
\stopGNUPLOTscript
  
\startGNUPLOTgraphics{sin}
+
\startGNUPLOTscript[sin]
 
   plot 4*sin(x)+x t '$4\sin(x)+x$', x t '$x$' lt 3
 
   plot 4*sin(x)+x t '$4\sin(x)+x$', x t '$x$' lt 3
\stopGNUPLOTgraphics
+
\stopGNUPLOTscript
  
 
\useGNUPLOTgraphic[tan]
 
\useGNUPLOTgraphic[tan]
Line 92: Line 94:
 
</texcode>
 
</texcode>
  
There's only one problem that you have to be careful about: [[MetaPost]] terminal uses <code>cmr</code> fonts for labels. If you have the stand-alone distributions, you either have to install them by yourself or to play with <code>set terminal mp {fontname}</code> a bit (http://www.gnuplot.info/docs/gnuplot.html#mp).
+
== Example with externalfigure ==
 +
 
 +
In [[LMTX]] we can use externalfigure for gnuplot files like this:
 +
 
 +
m-gnuplot-demo.gp
 +
<texcode>
 +
set format xy "$%g$"
 +
 
 +
set title  'This is a plot of $y=\\sin(x)$'
 +
set xlabel 'This is the $x$ axis'
 +
set ylabel 'This is the $y$ axis'
 +
 
 +
plot [0:6.28] [0:1] sin(x)
 +
</texcode>
 +
 
 +
Then including it in the .tex file with externalfigure and svg conversion:
 +
 
 +
<texcode>
 +
\usemodule[gnuplot]
  
=== More complex example: Multiple terminals ===
+
\starttext
 +
\externalfigure[m-gnuplot-demo.gp][conversion=svg,width=4cm]
 +
\stoptext
 +
</texcode>
  
You can use different terminals for plotting the same function.
+
== Using other terminals ==
  
{{todo|an example, similar to the one in [[source:m-gnuplot.tex|m-gnuplot.tex]], some images to get a visual impression of the main differences in terminals}}
+
<i>(Needs a revision.)</i>
  
== Requirements ==
+
Gnuplot support output in different formats with, for example
 +
set terminal mp color solid
 +
will output a metapost document with colors and without dashed lines. After some appropriate preprocessing (with [[MPtoPDF]] for this particular case) this file can be included in PDF documents.
 +
 
 +
You can specify the terminal with
 +
<texcode>
 +
\setupGNUPLOT[terminal=mp,options=color solid]
 +
</texcode>
 +
 
 +
* <code>terminal=</code> is mandatory since that't the only way to tell ConTeXt how to preprocess the file.
 +
* <code>options=</code> is optional and is appended to the end of <code>set terminal [terminal name]</code>. You can also override it by saying
 +
<texcode>
 +
\startGNUPLOTinclusions
 +
set terminal mp color solid
 +
\stopGNUPLOTinclusions
 +
</texcode>
 +
But you have to be careful that you don't set any other terminal with <code>output=</code> then.
 +
 
 +
<!-- Another way to specify it is to override the terminal setting  -->
 +
 
 +
Currently supported terminals are (attention: links not from the latest documentation):
 +
* [http://www.gnuplot.info/docs/gnuplot.html#mp mp/metapost]: uses [[MPtoPDF]] to convert images to pdf, but the context terminal should replace it
 +
* [http://www.gnuplot.info/docs/gnuplot.html#postscript_ ps/postscript]: most advanced in the number of supported features
 +
* [http://www.gnuplot.info/docs_4.0/gnuplot.html#png_%28NEW%29 png (1)],[http://www.gnuplot.info/docs_4.2/gnuplot.html#x1-41500051.53 png (2)]: outputs bitmap images (no preprocessing needed)
 +
* [http://www.gnuplot.info/docs_4.0/gnuplot.html#pdf pdf (old)],[http://www.gnuplot.info/docs_4.2/gnuplot.html#x1-41300051.51 pdf (new)]: outputs PDF directly for (no preprocessing needed), but is usually not available in most binaries of gnuplot
 +
* '''context''':
 +
 
 +
The current gnuplot-documentation can be downloaded [http://www.gnuplot.info/docs_4.6/gnuplot.pdf here].
 +
 
 +
== History ==
  
You have to have Gnuplot installed (and in your PATH). On most Linux installations this is probably already the case. On Windows you either need to put the gnuplot binary in PATH manually or to create a file <code>pgnuplot.bat</code> with
+
I ([[User:Mojca Miklavec|Mojca Miklavec]]) probably mentioned long time ago that I would like to have (or write?) support for Gnuplot inside ConTeXt, but I had no knowledge to do that. Peter Münster posted the very first module for gnuplut support on the mailing list [http://article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.tex.context/24884], but that version only worked with bash. In the days to follow Hans Hagen has written a new module (based on my numerous "possible and impossible" requests) and Taco additionally provided some bugfixes and minor changes.
"C:\Program Files\gnuplot\wgnupl32.exe" %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9
 
and put that file to a <i>"visible place"</i> (has to be found in PATH).
 
  
For most terminals you need [[texmfstart]](.exe) as well.
+
The module provides an option to select the most appropriate/suitable driver according to the user's choice (metapost, png, pdf, postscript were the firs ones to be supported). Hans was wondering why there was no '''context terminal'''. I took over it's development, the code is almost finished by now, but I guess that Hans now regrets that question already.
  
=== ConTeXt terminal ===
+
He had to invest quite some time into fixing buggy inclusion of text into graphics using <code>textext</code> (if nothing else, he had to read and reply to all the mails [complaints] that me and Taco sent him), just to lead to the conclusion that <code>textext</code> was useless for graphics produced by Gnuplot: too slow and TeX ran out of memory after 10 minutes while processing approximately the 13<sup>th</sup> plot. After that the new marvellous <code>\sometxt</code> command was born.
  
If you want to use the (native) context terminal, gnuplot has to support it. That terminal is not part of official gnuplot version (yet), so if you want to try it on Linux, you have to download the source from http://www.gnuplot.info, add [http://renojrl.lrv.uvsq.fr/projects/gpcontext/term/context.trm context.trm], fix the file <code>term.h</code> and compile it.
+
I'm currently sticking tiny pieces together in the way I want the module to work. Hans could probably finish the same work that costs me a few days in a few minutes, but after dropping me a bone, he decided to leave me the joy of diving into ConTeXt internals and to let me figure out how to program in ConTeXt by myself. So I still keep spamming the mailing list with numerous questions and both Taco and Hans - without whom implementing the module would be impossible - keep answering.
  
Under Windows you can use [http://pub.mojca.org/gnuplot/bin/ these] binaries (they're not perfect though - PDF and PNG/GIF terminals are not working properly). Until the terminal becomes a part of the official GNUPLOT version it might be a bit of additional work to install it. Please have understanding for it.
+
== Old wiki pages ==
 +
* 2006 - [[Gnuplot Development]]
  
''Note: some (slightly incompatible) changes in the interface are to be expected soon. I can tell you which ones exactly, but they're not implemented in the module yet. After the module will be anounced to be stable (hopefully before Autumn this year) they'll stay as they are. Until then please use the module with some care.''
 
  
 
== Alternatives for Function Plotting ==
 
== Alternatives for Function Plotting ==
Line 120: Line 170:
 
* in [[MetaPost]]
 
* in [[MetaPost]]
 
** [[source:m-graph.tex|m-graph]] Module (see [http://cm.bell-labs.com/who/hobby/cstr_164.pdf Drawing Graphs with MetaPost] by John D. Hobby)
 
** [[source:m-graph.tex|m-graph]] Module (see [http://cm.bell-labs.com/who/hobby/cstr_164.pdf Drawing Graphs with MetaPost] by John D. Hobby)
** functions in [[MetaFun]], see [[manual:metafun-s.pdf|metafun-s.pdf]], section 9.3
+
** functions in [[MetaFun - MetaPost in ConTeXt|MetaFun]], see [[manual:metafun-s.pdf|metafun-s.pdf]], section 9.3
 
* others
 
* others
 
** [http://pyx.sourceforge.net/ PyX] - graph drawing through python interface with TeX typesetting & PostScript capabilities
 
** [http://pyx.sourceforge.net/ PyX] - graph drawing through python interface with TeX typesetting & PostScript capabilities
 
** [http://theory.kitp.ucsb.edu/~paxton/tioga.html Tioga] - creating figures and plots using Ruby, PDF, and TeX
 
** [http://theory.kitp.ucsb.edu/~paxton/tioga.html Tioga] - creating figures and plots using Ruby, PDF, and TeX
 
** [http://comp.uark.edu/~luecking/tex/mfpic.html mfpic]  - a scheme for producing pictures from LaTeX commands. The LaTeX commands generate a input file to be processed by Metapost.
 
** [http://comp.uark.edu/~luecking/tex/mfpic.html mfpic]  - a scheme for producing pictures from LaTeX commands. The LaTeX commands generate a input file to be processed by Metapost.
 +
** [http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net matplotlib]  - a Matlab-inspired Python based plotting tool which incorporates many features, including the use of TeX in labels, titles etc.
 +
** [http://tug.ctan.org/tex-archive/graphics/pgf/contrib/pgfplots/ pgfplots] - a TikZ-based LaTeX package for drawing graphs
  
 
=== Other links ===
 
=== Other links ===
 
* [http://tug.ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/exceltex/ exceltex] - an interesting LaTeX package to get data from Excel into LaTeX
 
* [http://tug.ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/exceltex/ exceltex] - an interesting LaTeX package to get data from Excel into LaTeX
 +
 +
[[Image:Slo Ministry of Higher Education Science and Technology.jpg]]
  
 
[[Category:Modules]]
 
[[Category:Modules]]
 
[[Category:Graphics]]
 
[[Category:Graphics]]
[[Category:Math]]
+
[[Category:Sciences]]

Latest revision as of 23:58, 13 July 2020

< Modules | Graphics | Math >

http://www.gnuplot.info/figs/title2.png

Gnuplot is a portable command-line driven utility for function plotting for many platforms.

To make the examples on this page work, you need Gnuplot 4.6.0 or later (or self-compiled binary).

Minimal Example

\usemodule[gnuplot]

% write a script for gnuplot
\startGNUPLOTscript[sin]
   plot sin(x)
\stopGNUPLOTscript

% include the resulting graphic into the document
\useGNUPLOTgraphic[sin]

Calling gnuplot to create the graphic and postprocessing should happen automatically.

Requirements

  • Gnuplot module
    • in TeX Live you need to have context-gnuplot installed, in ConTeXt Standalone you can install it with --modules=t-gnuplot switch
  • Gnuplot has to be installed (and in your PATH)
On most Linux installations this is probably already the case. On Windows gnuplot.exe is usually also shipped and you need to make sure that it is in PATH. In case that the binary has a different name, you could create a file gnuplot.bat with something like:
"C:\Program Files\gnuplot\bin\wgnupl32.exe" %*
(if that was the binary name) and put that file to a "visible place" (has to be found in PATH). Please note: if calling gnuplot from cmd works for you, there is no need to do anything extra.

To use the ConTeXt terminal (recommended)

Windows

You can fetch binaries from sourceforge (released versions) or from Tatsuro Matsuoka (latest cvs version).

Unix or Mac

The easiest way is to use version 4.6.0 or later shipped by your distribution. If that version is too old, you need to compile your own.

If you want to use the version from trunk:

# unofficial; you can also use official cvs
git clone git://github.com/gnuplot/gnuplot.git
./prepare
./configure
make
make install

I use ./configure --prefix=$PWD/inst to avoid cluttering the system and install gnuplot to my personal directory. You can use other flags to configure for a different choice of GUI terminals.

If you want to use the released version, get it from sourceforge and do the same, just skip the ./prepare.

The latest version of context terminal is available at http://github.com/mojca/gnuplot/raw/master/term/context.trm.

Feel free to contact Mojca in case of problems.

Creating stand-alone, whole-page plots

Here's an example of how to make a stand-alone ConTeXt document with one plot per page:

set term context standalone size 15cm,10cm header '\usetypescript[iwona]' font 'iwona,ss' 10dd
set output 'example.tex'
plot ...

More complex example

\usemodule[gnuplot]

\setupGNUPLOT[terminal=tikz,option=color] % terminal=mp if you only have an old gnuplot at hand

% general settings for the whole document
\startGNUPLOTinclusions

   # you may use TeX commands to format the titles and axes
   set title '\bf Trigonometry'
   set xlabel '$x$'
   set ylabel '$y$'

   # to prevent uneven numbering: will result in
   # (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, ...) instead of
   # (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, ...)
   set format y '%.1f'
\stopGNUPLOTinclusions

\startGNUPLOTscript[tan]
   plot tan(x) t '$\tan(x)$'
\stopGNUPLOTscript

\startGNUPLOTscript[sin]
   plot 4*sin(x)+x t '$4\sin(x)+x$', x t '$x$' lt 3
\stopGNUPLOTscript

\useGNUPLOTgraphic[tan]
\useGNUPLOTgraphic[sin][width=10cm]

Example with externalfigure

In LMTX we can use externalfigure for gnuplot files like this:

m-gnuplot-demo.gp

set format xy "$%g$"

set title  'This is a plot of $y=\\sin(x)$'
set xlabel 'This is the $x$ axis'
set ylabel 'This is the $y$ axis'

plot [0:6.28] [0:1] sin(x)

Then including it in the .tex file with externalfigure and svg conversion:

\usemodule[gnuplot]

\starttext
\externalfigure[m-gnuplot-demo.gp][conversion=svg,width=4cm]
\stoptext

Using other terminals

(Needs a revision.)

Gnuplot support output in different formats with, for example

set terminal mp color solid

will output a metapost document with colors and without dashed lines. After some appropriate preprocessing (with MPtoPDF for this particular case) this file can be included in PDF documents.

You can specify the terminal with

\setupGNUPLOT[terminal=mp,options=color solid]
  • terminal= is mandatory since that't the only way to tell ConTeXt how to preprocess the file.
  • options= is optional and is appended to the end of set terminal [terminal name]. You can also override it by saying
\startGNUPLOTinclusions
set terminal mp color solid
\stopGNUPLOTinclusions

But you have to be careful that you don't set any other terminal with output= then.


Currently supported terminals are (attention: links not from the latest documentation):

  • mp/metapost: uses MPtoPDF to convert images to pdf, but the context terminal should replace it
  • ps/postscript: most advanced in the number of supported features
  • png (1),png (2): outputs bitmap images (no preprocessing needed)
  • pdf (old),pdf (new): outputs PDF directly for (no preprocessing needed), but is usually not available in most binaries of gnuplot
  • context:

The current gnuplot-documentation can be downloaded here.

History

I (Mojca Miklavec) probably mentioned long time ago that I would like to have (or write?) support for Gnuplot inside ConTeXt, but I had no knowledge to do that. Peter Münster posted the very first module for gnuplut support on the mailing list [1], but that version only worked with bash. In the days to follow Hans Hagen has written a new module (based on my numerous "possible and impossible" requests) and Taco additionally provided some bugfixes and minor changes.

The module provides an option to select the most appropriate/suitable driver according to the user's choice (metapost, png, pdf, postscript were the firs ones to be supported). Hans was wondering why there was no context terminal. I took over it's development, the code is almost finished by now, but I guess that Hans now regrets that question already.

He had to invest quite some time into fixing buggy inclusion of text into graphics using textext (if nothing else, he had to read and reply to all the mails [complaints] that me and Taco sent him), just to lead to the conclusion that textext was useless for graphics produced by Gnuplot: too slow and TeX ran out of memory after 10 minutes while processing approximately the 13th plot. After that the new marvellous \sometxt command was born.

I'm currently sticking tiny pieces together in the way I want the module to work. Hans could probably finish the same work that costs me a few days in a few minutes, but after dropping me a bone, he decided to leave me the joy of diving into ConTeXt internals and to let me figure out how to program in ConTeXt by myself. So I still keep spamming the mailing list with numerous questions and both Taco and Hans - without whom implementing the module would be impossible - keep answering.

Old wiki pages


Alternatives for Function Plotting

  • in MetaPost
  • others
    • PyX - graph drawing through python interface with TeX typesetting & PostScript capabilities
    • Tioga - creating figures and plots using Ruby, PDF, and TeX
    • mfpic - a scheme for producing pictures from LaTeX commands. The LaTeX commands generate a input file to be processed by Metapost.
    • matplotlib - a Matlab-inspired Python based plotting tool which incorporates many features, including the use of TeX in labels, titles etc.
    • pgfplots - a TikZ-based LaTeX package for drawing graphs

Other links

  • exceltex - an interesting LaTeX package to get data from Excel into LaTeX

Slo Ministry of Higher Education Science and Technology.jpg