From: rvenable@helix.nih.gov (Richard M. Venable)
Subject: Re: Contour plotting package
Organization: National Institutes of Health, Bethesda
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 04:49:38 GMT

In article <1dnct4INNdfk@agate.berkeley.edu> dcook@garnet.berkeley.edu (Dan Cook) writes:
>I'm looking for a public domain program which will produce
>contour plots and output them to a postscript printer...
>Anyone know of any?
>
>-uncle dan

I recommend  gnuplot  as a good general plotting utility.  There are versions
for Unix and X, as well as many workstations (Silicon Graphics GL, Apollo GPR)
and PCs (DOS, Windows, NeXT, Amiga, Atari ST).  Hardcopy devices supported
include Postscript, TeX, HP LaserJet and DeskJet, HPGL pen plotter, Epson, and
others; TeX and Postscript look the best.  Subscribe to comp.graphics.gnuplot
for more information; there may even be a FAQ posting available.


<---------------------------------------------------------------------->
<  Rick Venable                (O O) |  "Back off, I'm a scientist."   >
<  FDA/CBER Biophysics Lab      )|(  |        -- Bill Murray in        >
<  rvenable@helix.nih.gov       (=)  |           'Ghostbusters'        >
<---------------------------------------------------------------------->


Excerpts from the README file in version 3.2 distribution (March 1992):

GNUPLOT is a command-driven interactive function plotting program. It
is case sensitive (commands and function names written in lowercase
are not the same as those written in CAPS). All command names may be
abbreviated, as long as the abbreviation is not ambiguous. Any number
of commands may appear on a line, separated by semicolons (;).

Any command-line arguments are assumed to be names of files containing
GNUPLOT commands, with the exception of standard X11 arguments, which
are processed first. Each file is loaded with the `load` command, in the
order specified. GNUPLOT exits after the last file is processed.  When
no load files are named, gnuplot enters into an interactive mode.

                   Where to get updates to GNUPLOT

Version: 3.2

In general, GNUPLOT 3.2 is available as the file gnuplot3.2.tar.Z.
There are patches which bring GNUPLOT 3.0 up to 3.1 and patches
which bring GNUPLOT 3.1 up to GNUPLOT 3.2.  The latter are in
the file gnuplot3.2.shar.Z.
There are no patches that bring GNUPLOT 2.02 up to 3.0, so you must
obtain the whole new release. 
Please obtain gnuplot from the site
nearest you.

USENET users:

    GNUPLOT 3.2 was posted to comp.sources.misc.


NORTH AMERICA:

     Anonymous ftp to dartmouth.edu (129.170.16.4)
     Fetch
        pub/gnuplot/gnuplot3.2.tar.Z
     in binary mode.

     Users without ftp capability can obtain it through a mail ftp
     server. Send a mail message saying 'help' to
     BITFTP@pucc.princeton.edu for instructions. For a uuencoded
     copy of the gnuplot sources (compressed tar file), send this
     message to BITFTP@pucc.princeton.edu:
         FTP DARTMOUTH.EDU UUENCODE
         USER ANONYMOUS
         CD pub/gnuplot
         BINARY
         GET gnuplot3.2.tar.Z
         QUIT


AUSTRALIA:

     Anonymous ftp to monu1.cc.monash.edu.au (130.194.1.101).
     Fetch pub/gnuplot3.2.tar.Z in binary mode.


EUROPE:

     Anonymous ftp to irisa.irisa.fr (131.254.2.3).
     Fetch pub/gnuplot3.2.tar.Z in binary mode.
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