Return to gnuplot.1 CVS log

Up to [local] / OpenXM_contrib / gnuplot / docs

Initial revision

.\" dummy line
.TH GNUPLOT 1 "31 August 1990"
.UC 4
.SH NAME
gnuplot \- an interactive plotting program
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B gnuplot
[ X11 options ] [file ...]
.br
.SH DESCRIPTION
.I Gnuplot
is a command-driven interactive function plotting program.
.PP
If files are given,
.I gnuplot
loads each file with the
.I load
command, in the order specified.
.I Gnuplot
exits after the last file is processed.
.PP
Here are some of its features:
.PP
Plots any number of functions, built up of C operators, C library
functions, and some things C doesn't have like **, sgn(), etc.  Also
support for plotting data files, to compare actual
data to theoretical curves.
.PP
User-defined X and Y ranges (optional auto-ranging), smart axes scaling,
smart tic marks.
.PP
Labelling of X and Y axes.
.PP
User-defined constants and functions.
.PP
Support through a generalized graphics driver for
AED 512,
AED 767,
BBN BitGraph,
Commodore Amiga,
Roland DXY800A,
EEPIC,
TeXDraw,
EmTeX,
Epson 60dpi printers,
Epson LX-800,
Fig,
HP2623,
HP2648,
HP75xx,
HPGL,
HP LaserJet II,
Imagen,
Iris 4D,
Linux,
MS-DOS Kermit,
Kyocera laser printer,
LaTeX,
NEC CP6 pinwriter,
PostScript,
QMS QUIC,
ReGis (VT125 and VT2xx),
SCO Xenix CGI,
Selanar,
Star color printer,
Tandy DMP-130 printer,
Tek 401x,
Tek 410x,
Vectrix 384,
VT like Tektronix emulator,
Unix PC (ATT 3b1 or ATT 7300),
unixplot,
and X11.
The PC version compiled by Microsoft C
supports IBM CGA, EGA, VGA, Hercules, ATT 6300,
and Corona 325 graphics.
The PC version compiled by Borland C++
supports IBM CGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA, Hercules and ATT 6300 graphics.
Other devices can be added simply, but will require recompiling.
.PP
Shell escapes and command line substitution.
.PP
Load and save capability.
.PP
Output redirection.
.PP
All computations performed in the complex domain.  Just the real part is
plotted by default, but functions like imag() and abs() and arg() are
available to override this.
.SH X11 OPTIONS
.I Gnuplot
provides the \fIx11\fP terminal type for use
with X servers. This terminal type is set automatically at startup if
the \fBDISPLAY\fR environment variable is set, if the \fBTERM\fR environment
variable is set to \fBxterm\fR, or if the \fB\-display\fR command line
option is used.
For terminal type \fIx11\fR, \fIgnuplot\fP
accepts the standard X Toolkit options and resources such as geometry, font,
and background. See the X(1) man page for a description of
the options.
In addition to the X Toolkit options:
.PP
\fB\-clear\fP requests that the window be cleared momentarily before a
new plot is displayed.
.PP
\fB\-gray\fP requests grayscale rendering on grayscale or color displays.
(Grayscale displays receive monochrome rendering by default.)
.PP
\fB\-mono\fP forces monochrome rendering on color displays.
.PP
\fB\-persist\fP lets plot windows survive after main gnuplot program exits.
.PP
\fB-raise\fP raises the plot window after each plot.
.PP
\fB-noraise\fp does not raise the plot window after each plot.
.PP
\fB\-tvtwm\fP requests that geometry specifications
for position of the window be made relative to the currently displayed
portion of the virtual root.
.PP
These options may also be controlled with resources in your \fB.Xdefaults\fR
file.
For example: \fBgnuplot*gray: on\fP .
.PP
\fIGnuplot\fP provides a command line option (\fB\-pointsize \fIv\fR) and
a resource (\fBgnuplot*pointsize: \fIv\fR) to control the size of points
plotted with the "points" plotting style. The value \fIv\fR is a real
number (greater than 0 and less than or equal to ten) used as a
scaling factor for point sizes. For example, \fB\-pointsize 2\fR uses
points twice the default size, and \fB\-pointsize 0.5\fR uses points
half the normal size.
.PP
For monochrome displays, \fIgnuplot\fR does not honor foreground or
background colors. The default is black-on-white. \fB\-rv\fP or
\fBgnuplot*reverseVideo: on\fP requests white-on-black.
.PP
For color displays \fIgnuplot\fP honors
the following resources (shown here with default values). The values
may be color names in the X11 rgb.txt file on your system, hexadecimal
RGB color specifications (see X11 documentation), or a color name
followed by a comma and an \fIintensity\fR value from 0 to 1. For example,
\fBblue,.5\fR means a half intensity blue.
.sp
.B  "gnuplot*background: white"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*textColor: black"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*borderColor: black"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*axisColor: black"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line1Color: red"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line2Color: green"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line3Color: blue"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line4Color: magenta"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line5Color: cyan"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line6Color: sienna"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line7Color: orange"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line8Color: coral"
.br

When \fB\-gray\fP is selected, \fIgnuplot\fP honors
the following resources for grayscale or color displays (shown here with
default values). Note that the default background is black.
.sp
.B  "gnuplot*background: black"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*textGray: white"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*borderGray: gray50"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*axisGray: gray50"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line1Gray: gray100"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line2Gray: gray60"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line3Gray: gray80"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line4Gray: gray40"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line5Gray: gray90"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line6Gray: gray50"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line7Gray: gray70"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line8Gray: gray30"
.br

\fIGnuplot\fP honors the following resources for setting the width in
pixels of plot lines (shown here with default values.) 0 or 1 means
a minimal width line of 1 pixel width. A value of 2 or 3 may
improve the  appearance of some plots.
.sp
.br
.B  "gnuplot*borderWidth: 2"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*axisWidth: 0"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line1Width: 0"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line2Width: 0"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line3Width: 0"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line4Width: 0"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line5Width: 0"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line6Width: 0"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line7Width: 0"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line8Width: 0"
.br

\fIGnuplot\fP honors the following resources for setting the dash style
used for plotting lines.  0 means a solid line. A 2 digit number \fIjk\fR
(\fIj\fP and \fIk\fP are >= 1  and <= 9) means a dashed line with a
repeated pattern of \fIj\fR pixels on followed by \fIk\fR pixels off.
For example, '16' is a "dotted" line with 1 pixel on followed by 6 pixels
off.  More elaborate on/off patterns can be specified with a 4 digit value.
For example, '4441' is 4 on, 4 off, 4 on, 1 off. The default values shown
below are for monochrome displays or monochrome rendering on color or
grayscale displays. For color displays, the defaults for all are 0
(solid line) except for \fBaxisDashes\fR which defaults to a '16' dotted
line.
.sp
.br
.B  "gnuplot*borderDashes: 0"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*axisDashes: 16"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line1Dashes: 0"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line2Dashes: 42"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line3Dashes: 13"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line4Dashes: 44"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line5Dashes: 15"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line6Dashes: 4441"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line7Dashes: 42"
.br
.B  "gnuplot*line8Dashes: 13"
.br
.PP
The size or aspect ratio of a plot may be changed by resizing the
.I gnuplot
window.
.SH AUTHORS
Thomas Williams, Pixar Corporation,
.br
(info-gnuplot@dartmouth.edu)
.br
and Colin Kelley.
.PP
Additions for labelling by Russell Lang, Monash University, Australia.
.br
(rjl@monu1.cc.monash.edu.au)
.br
Further additions by David Kotz, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, USA
(formerly of Duke University, North Carolina, USA).
.br
(David.Kotz@Dartmouth.edu)
.SH BUGS
The atan() function does not work correctly for complex arguments.
.br
The bessel functions do not work for complex arguments.
.br
See the
.I help bugs
command in gnuplot.
.SH SEE ALSO
See the printed manual or the on-line help for details on specific commands.
.br
X(1).