GNUPLOT 3.3 for OS/2 v 2.0
==========================

1) Introduction
===============

This file discusses the version of GNUPLOT 3.3 implemented for OS/2 2.0.

The command line interface of GNUPLOT is retained, while graphics output is
plotted in a Presentation Manager Window. The GNUPLOT command line
appears in another text-mode window on the screen.

The PM window has facilities for printing the plot on the default printer,
for changing the fonts used on the plot, and for switching between different
ways of plotting the lines (with colour, as dot/dashed lines, or both).

The command line window offers the usual GNUPLOT interface. Both Unix-style
and DOS-style editing keys are supported.

The GNUPLOT program was compiled with the emx version of the GNU compiler.
It supports the shell command (type 'exit' to return to GNUPLOT), can pipe
datafiles through external commands using '<', and supports command-line
substitution. It runs the full set of demonstration programs supplied in
the GNUPLOT source code distribution without problems.

The GNUPLOT 3.3 port to OS/2 differs slightly from the 3.2 port, in that
the PM driver is started from GNUPLOT, rather than the other way round.
This means that the program name will have to be changed in the program
object that runs GNUPLOT, if you install 3.3 over 3.2.
This change does however make the GNUPLOT command line accessible to programs
that pipe commands to GNUPLOT.


2) Running GNUPLOT
==================

GNUPLOT can be run from the command line of an OS/2 session (preferrably
a windowed command session, so that the command line and the displayed
graph can be viewed at the same time), or can be set up as a program object
in the WPS.

GNUPLOT starts up as a command line session which accepts the usual
GNUPLOT input. The Presentation Manager window for graphics display
is only opened when the first 'plot' or 'splot' command is entered.

If GNUPLOT is set up as a program object, it can be configured for
'drag and drop' in the usual way, by specifying '%*' as the program
parameter.

The PM window has facilities for printing the plot, for changing
the fonts used in the plot, and so on. These of course are handled
through the usual PM interface.
In addition, you can 'drop' a font onto the window to change the font.

The usual GNUPLOT commands can also be used to produce output on
supported devices.

Settings and the positions and sizes of the windows can be saved in
the file gnushell.ini. This file is saved in the program's working
directory; several different directories can be set up (as program
objects) with different options, if you wish.

GNUPLOT can be run with the PM display window maximised: clicking on
the 'GNUPLOT' menu item (or pressing 'ESC') will bring the GNUPLOT
window to the foreground; it will disappear again when plotting begins.

GNUPLOT itself communicates with the PM display window (which is a
separate program) through a named pipe. Plotting commands are sent to
the PM window which produces the plot when all commands have been received.

3) The port of GNUPLOT to OS/2
==============================

Changes to the code have been kept minimal. Besides the obvious addition
of the PM driver code, the following are the major changes:

1) Addition of code in readline.c to map keypad keys to editing functions,
   to duplicate the MS-DOS mode of editing the command line. (See GNUPLOT manual,
   page 2.)

The rest of the changes are associated with defining the use of the OS2
conditional value, and setting system-dependent stuff like names, signal
handling, and end-of-line handling (LF vs CR+LF).

See the file patches.os2 for changes to the GNUPLOT source.

4) gnupmdrv.exe
===============

Gnupmdrv.exe is the 'outboard' driver for GNUPLOT. It is a multithreaded
PM program.

Roger Fearick
fearick@physci.uct.ac.za
5 November 1992