From: fangchin@leland.stanford.edu (Chin Fang)
Newsgroups: fj.mail-lists.x-window
Subject: Re: WANTED: good plotting/graphics utility for X
Date: 11 Apr 92 07:40:29 GMT
Distribution: fj
Organization: DSG, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 92 01:05:47 GMT
Message-Id: <1992Apr11.010547.1387@leland.Stanford.EDU>
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x

In article <1992Apr10.210709.6237@walter.bellcore.com>, ziegler@nyquist.bellcore.com (Rob Ziegler 21324) writes:
|> I am looking for an X client application for general plotting and 
|> scientific graphics (not drawing), either public-domain or commercial, 
|> that is available for DEC RISC-based CPUs (3100, 5000 series, etc.).

See below.

|> In the IEEE magazines that I receive, I see lots of ads for PC-based
|> programs, like Sigma Plot and Graftool, some running under Windows 3.0. 
|> Nice programs, wrong platform.
  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yeah, but they are profitable to sell :-> 

|> I also see lots of simulation and mathematics environments that include 
|> graphics capability as part of a larger package (Matlab, Mathematica,
|> Xmath, EEsof, Entropic, etc.).  Nice programs, but far more capability 
|> than I'm looking for and more than I'm willing to pay.

Yeah.  And you can't carry them with you.  No source :(

|> I just want to take data files produced by some other program,
|> written in some standard format, and plot curves, bar graphs,
|> and other displays of the data.  Some nice features would include
|> 
|>           -placement of labels, titles, etc. with mouse

You have this one.

|>           -ability to read a number of data file types

You have this one.

|>           -publication-quality output in a variety of formats 
|>            (esp. PostScript)

Sure.

|>           -2D and "3D" capabilities

2D.  But not 3D.  But hey, it's free.

|>           -mixture of log and linear axis capabilities

No problems.

|> I know about gnuplot, and that it can do some but not all of
|> the above.

And it's plotting capability is rather handicapped.  A good and free
product, but hampered by over ambitious portability goal.

|> Does anyone have any recommendations?  I'm pretty ignorant
|> of the X application world.

See the following excerpt from the announcement by 
Paul J. Turner of Oregon Graduate Institute.  Paul has come up what I 
consider a truely flexible and sophisticated scientific plotting pkg.  It
has so much capbilities that it may overwhelm you first.  But once
you get over the initial bump, you love it.

Hope the above helps.

Chin Fang
fangchin@leland.stanford.edu
#include <sys/personal.h>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A current version of the source, documentation, and some examples 
are available via anonymous ftp to amb4.ese.ogi.edu [129.95.20.76] 
in pub/acegr/xmgr-2.07.tar.Z. Remember to use a binary file transfer. 
I am not able to E-mail xmgr, but there are services provided by 
various Internet sites that allow ftp by mail. You might try sending 
mail to ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com as follows:

Subject: (hit return) Body-of-letter: help (return) quit

There are binaries, compiled by me, for selected machines in pub/acegr/bin.
Presently, binaries for RS6000s, DECstations, and HP 700s. I've run
these against my standard tests but this is no guarantee that they
will work for you. 

Xmgr is an unfunded, unsupported, after-hours project that I hope proves
useful - it is not meant to replace or compete with commercially available 
plotting tools.