Provided by: libgraphics-gnuplotif-perl_1.6-1_all bug

NAME

       Graphics::GnuplotIF - A dynamic Perl interface to gnuplot

VERSION

       This documentation refers to Graphics::GnuplotIF version 1.5

SYNOPSIS

         use Graphics::GnuplotIF qw(GnuplotIF);

         my  @x  = ( -2, -1.50, -1, -0.50,  0,  0.50,  1, 1.50, 2 ); # x values
         my  @y1 = (  4,  2.25,  1,  0.25,  0,  0.25,  1, 2.25, 4 ); # function 1
         my  @y2 = (  2,  0.25, -1, -1.75, -2, -1.75, -1, 0.25, 2 ); # function 2

         my  $plot1 = Graphics::GnuplotIF->new(title => "line", style => "points");

         $plot1->gnuplot_plot_y( \@x );                # plot 9 points over 0..8

         $plot1->gnuplot_pause( );                     # hit RETURN to continue

         $plot1->gnuplot_set_title( "parabola" );      # new title
         $plot1->gnuplot_set_style( "lines" );         # new line style

         $plot1->gnuplot_plot_xy( \@x, \@y1, \@y2 );   # plot 1: y1, y2 over x
         $plot1->gnuplot_plot_many( \@x, \@y1, \@x, \@y2 ); # plot 1: y1 - x, y2 - x

         my  $plot2  = Graphics::GnuplotIF->new;       # new plot object

         $plot2->gnuplot_set_xrange(  0, 4 );          # set x range
         $plot2->gnuplot_set_yrange( -2, 2 );          # set y range
         $plot2->gnuplot_cmd( "set grid" );            # send a gnuplot command
         $plot2->gnuplot_plot_equation(                # 3 equations in one plot
           "y1(x) = sin(x)",
           "y2(x) = cos(x)",
           "y3(x) = sin(x)/x" );

         $plot2->gnuplot_pause( );                     # hit RETURN to continue

         $plot2->gnuplot_plot_equation(                # rewrite plot 2
           "y4(x) = 2*exp(-x)*sin(4*x)" );

         $plot2->gnuplot_pause( );                     # hit RETURN to continue

         my  $plot3  = GnuplotIF;                      # new plot object

         my    @xyz    = (                             # 2-D-matrix, z-values
           [0,  1,  4,  9],
           [1,  2,  6, 15],
           [4,  6, 12, 27],
           [9, 15, 27, 54],
         );

         $plot3->gnuplot_cmd( "set grid" );            # send a gnuplot command
         $plot3->gnuplot_set_plot_titles("surface");   # set legend
         $plot3->gnuplot_plot_3d( \@xyz );             # start 3-D-plot
         $plot3->gnuplot_pause( );                     # hit RETURN to continue

DESCRIPTION

       Graphics::GnuplotIF is a simple and easy to use dynamic Perl interface to gnuplot.
       gnuplot is a freely available, command-driven graphical display tool for Unix.  It
       compiles and works quite well on a number of Unix flavours as well as other operating
       systems.

       This module enables sending display requests asynchronously to gnuplot through simple Perl
       subroutine calls.

       A gnuplot session is an instance of class Graphics::GnuplotIF.  The constructor starts
       gnuplot as a separate process for each session. The plot commands are send through a pipe.
       The graphical output from gnuplot will be displayed immediately.

       Several independent plots can be started from one script.  Each plot has its own pipe.
       All pipes will be closed automatically by the destructor when the script terminates.  The
       gnuplot processes terminate when the corresponding pipes are closed.  Their graphical
       output will now disappear (but see parameter persist).

       Graphics::GnuplotIF is similar to " gnuplot_i ", a C interface to gnuplot (
       http://ndevilla.free.fr/gnuplot/ ), and to  " gnuplot_i++ ", a C++ interface to gnuplot (
       http://jijo.cjb.net/code/cc++ ).

SUBROUTINES/METHODS

       An object of this class represents an interface to a running gnuplot process.  During the
       creation of an object such an process will be started for each such object.  Communication
       is done through an unidirectional pipe; the resulting  stream  is  write-only.

       Most methods return a reference to the Graphics::GnuplotIF object, allowing method calls
       to be chained like so:

         $plot1 -> gnuplot_plot_xy(\@x, \@y)
            -> gnuplot_reset;

       The exception to this are "gnuplot_get_plotnumber" and "gnuplot_get_object_id", which are
       used to obtain specific scalar values.

   new
       The constructor creates a new gnuplot session object, referenced by a handle:

         $plot1  = Graphics::GnuplotIF->new( );

       A few named arguments can be passed as key - value  pairs (here shown with their default
       values):

         style        => 'lines', # one of the gnuplot line styles (see below)
         title        => '',      # string
         xlabel       => 'x',     # string
         ylabel       => 'y',     # string
         xrange       => [],      # array reference; autoscaling, if empty
         xrange       => [],      # array reference; autoscaling, if empty
         plot_titles  => [],      # array of strings; titles used in the legend
         scriptfile   => '',      # write all plot commands to the specified file
         plot_also    => 0,       # write all plot commands to the specified file,
                                  # in addition show the plots
         persist      => 0,       # let plot windows survive after gnuplot exits
                                  # 0 : close / 1 : survive
         objectname   => '',      # an optional name for the object
         silent_pause => 1,       # 0 suppress message from gnuplot_pause()

       These attributes are stored in each object.

       Allowed line styles are

         boxes     dots   filledcurves  fsteps  histeps
         impulses  lines  linespoints   points  steps

       The generated gnuplot commands can be stored to a file instead of beeing executed
       immediately.  This file can be used as input to gnuplot, e.g.

         gnuplot < function_set_1.gnuplot

       A script file can also be used for checking the commands send to gnuplot.

       The objects are automatically deleted by a destructor.  The destructor closes the pipe to
       the gnuplot process belonging to that object.  The gnuplot process will also terminate and
       remove the graphic output.  The termination can be controlled by the method
       "gnuplot_pause"  .

   GnuplotIF
       The short form of the constructor above ("new"):

         use Graphics::GnuplotIF qw(GnuplotIF);

         $plot1  = GnuplotIF;

       This subroutine is exported only on request.

   gnuplot_plot_y
         $plot1->gnuplot_plot_y( \@y1, \@y2 );

       "gnuplot_plot_y" takes one or more array references and plots the values over the x-values
       0, 1, 2, 3, ...

   gnuplot_plot_xy
         $plot1->gnuplot_plot_xy( \@x, \@y1, \@y2 );

       "gnuplot_plot_xy" takes two or more array references.  The first array is assumed to
       contain the x-values for the following function values.

   gnuplot_plot_xy_style
         %y1 = ( 'y_values' => \@y1, 'style_spec' => "lines lw 3" );
         %y2 = ( 'y_values' => \@y2,
                 'style_spec' => "points pointtype 4 pointsize 5" );

         $plot1->gnuplot_plot_xy_style( \@x, \%y1, \%y2 );

       "gnuplot_plot_xy_style" takes one array reference and one or more hash references.  The
       first array is assumed to contain the x-values for the following function values. The
       following hashes are assumed to contain pairs of y-values and individual style
       specifications for use in the plot command. The 'style_spec' settings are placed between
       "with" and "title" of gnuplot's "plot" command.

   gnuplot_plot_many
         $plot1->gnuplot_plot_xy( \@x1, \@y1, \@x2, \@y2 );

       "gnuplot_plot_many" takes pairs of array references.  Each pair represents a function and
       is a reference to the arrays of x- and y-values for that function.

   gnuplot_plot_many_style
         %f1 = ( 'x_values' => \@x1, 'y_values' => \@y1,
                 'style_spec' => "lines lw 3" );
         %f2 = ( 'x_values' => \@x2, 'y_values' => \@y2,
                 'style_spec' => "points pointtype 4 pointsize 5" );

         $plot1->gnuplot_plot_many_style( \%f1, \%f2 );

       "gnuplot_plot_many_style" takes one or more hash references.  The hashes are assumed to
       contain array referenses to x-values and y-values and individual style specifications for
       use in the plot command. The 'style_spec' settings are placed between "with" and "title"
       of gnuplot's "plot" command.

   gnuplot_plot_equation
         $plot2->gnuplot_plot_equation(         # 3 equations in one plot
           "y1(x) = sin(x)",
           "y2(x) = cos(x)",
           "y3(x) = sin(x)/x" );

       "gnuplot_plot_equation" takes one or more gnuplot function descriptions as strings.  The
       plot ranges can be controlled by "gnuplot_set_xrange" and "gnuplot_set_yrange" .

   gnuplot_plot_3d
         $plot2->gnuplot_plot_3d( \@array );    # 3-D-plot

       "gnuplot_plot_3d" takes one reference to an 2-D-array of z-values.

   gnuplot_pause
         $plot1->gnuplot_pause( [time] [,text] );

       This is an emulation of the gnuplot "pause" command.  It displays any text associated with
       the command and waits a specified amount of time or until the carriage return is pressed.
       The message can be suppressed by

         silent_pause => 0

       given to the constructor (see new ).

       "time" may be any constant or expression. Choosing 0 (default) will wait until a carriage
       return is hit, a negative value won't pause at all, and a positive number will wait the
       specified number of seconds.

       The time value and the text are stored in the object and reused.  A sequence like

         $plot1->gnuplot_plot_y( \@y1 );
         $plot1->gnuplot_pause( 5.5 );          # delay is 5.5 seconds

         $plot1->gnuplot_plot_y( \@y2 );
         $plot1->gnuplot_pause( );

         $plot1->gnuplot_plot_y( \@y3 );
         $plot1->gnuplot_pause( );

       will display 3 plots with 5.5 seconds delay.

   gnuplot_cmd
         $plot2->gnuplot_cmd( 'set grid',
                              'set timestamp "%d/%m/%y %H:%M" 0,0 "Helvetica"'
                              );

       "gnuplot_cmd" can be used to send one or more gnuplot commands, especially those not
       wrapped by a Graphics::GnuplotIF method.

   gnuplot_reset
         $plot1->gnuplot_reset();

       Set all options set with the "set" command to their gnuplot default values.

   gnuplot_set_style
         $plot1->gnuplot_set_style( "steps" );   # new line style

       Sets one of the allowed line styles (see new ) in a plot command.

   gnuplot_set_title
         $plot1->gnuplot_set_title("parabola");  # new title

       Sets the plot title.  Equivalent to the gnuplot command "set title "parabola"".

   gnuplot_set_xlabel
         $plot1->gnuplot_set_xlabel("time (days)");

       Sets the x axis label.  Equivalent to the gnuplot command "set xlabel "time (days)"".

   gnuplot_set_ylabel
         $plot1->gnuplot_set_ylabel("bugs fixed");

       Sets the y axis label.  Equivalent to the gnuplot command "set ylabel "bugs fixed"".

   gnuplot_set_xrange
         $plot1->gnuplot_set_xrange( left, right );

       Sets the horizontal range that will be displayed.  Equivalent to the gnuplot command "set
       xrange [left:right]".

   gnuplot_set_yrange
         $plot1->gnuplot_set_yrange( low, high );

       Sets the vertical range that will be displayed.  Equivalent to the gnuplot command "set
       yrange [low:high]".

   gnuplot_set_plot_titles
         $plot1->gnuplot_set_plot_titles( @ytitles );

       Sets the list of titles used in the key for each of the y-coordinate data sets specified
       in subsequent calls to gnuplot_plot_xy or gnuplot_plot_y commands.  This is not equivalent
       to a complete gnuplot command; rather it adds a "title" clause to each data set specified
       in a gnuplot "plot" command.

   gnuplot_hardcopy
       "gnuplot_cmd" can be used to write a plot into a file or make a printable file by
       setting/resetting the terminal and the output file:

         $plot1->gnuplot_hardcopy( 'function1.gnuplot.ps',
                                   'postscript',
                                   'color lw 3' );

         $plot1->gnuplot_plot_xy( \@x, \@y1, \@y2 );

         $plot1->gnuplot_restore_terminal();

       The 1. parameter is a file name,  the 2. parameter is a gnuplot terminal type, the 3.
       parameter is a string with additional terminal parameters (optional).  The current
       terminal settings will be saved.

   gnuplot_restore_terminal
       Restores the saved terminal settings after a call to "gnuplot_hardcopy()".  Output will go
       to "STDOUT" again.

       Print a plot directly

       A hardcopy can be made with an appropriate output format and a pipe to a printer:

         $plot1->gnuplot_cmd( 'set terminal postscript',
                              'set output   " | lpr " ' );

         $plot1->gnuplot_plot_xy( \@x, \@y1, \@y2 );

         $plot1->gnuplot_cmd( 'set output',
                              'set terminal x11' );

   gnuplot_get_object_id
       Get the (internal) object number (and the object name):

          $obj_number              = $plot1->gnuplot_get_object_id();
         ($obj_number, $obj_name)  = $plot1->gnuplot_get_object_id();

       The object number is set automatically by the constructor.  The object name can be set by
       the constructor (objectname => 'MyName').

   gnuplot_get_plotnumber
       Get the (internal) plot number of the next plot:

          $plot_number             = $plot1->gnuplot_get_plotnumber()

       The plot number is set automatically by the constructor starting with 1.  Each call to

         gnuplot_plot_y
         gnuplot_plot_xy
         gnuplot_plot_xy_style
         gnuplot_plot_many
         gnuplot_plot_many_style
         gnuplot_plot_equation
         gnuplot_plot_3d

       increments this number by 1. This can be used to identify single plots, e.g.  with

         $plot->gnuplot_cmd( "set timestamp \"plot number ${plot_number} / %c\"" );

EXPORTS

       GnuplotIF     constructor, short form (see "GnuplotIF" ).

DIAGNOSTICS

       Dialog messages and diagnostic messages start with " Graphics::GnuplotIF (object NR): ...
       " .

       "NR" is the number of the corresponding Graphics::GnuplotIF object and output stream.  NR
       counts the objects in the order of their generation.

       The gnuplot messages going to STDERR will be redirected to the file
       ".gnuplot.PPP.OOO.stderr.log". PPP is the process number, OOO is the number of the plot
       object (see "gnuplot_get_object_id").

CONFIGURATION AND ENVIRONMENT

       The environment variable DISPLAY is checked for the display.

DEPENDENCIES

       • "gnuplot" ( http://sourceforge.net/projects/gnuplot ) must be installed.

       • The module "Carp" is used for error handling.

       • The module "IO::Handle" is used to handle output pipes.  Your operating system must
         support pipes, of course.

INCOMPATIBILITIES

       There are no known incompatibilities.

BUGS AND LIMITATIONS

         $plot1->gnuplot_cmd("pause -1");     # send the gnuplot pause command

       does not work. Use

         $plot1->gnuplot_pause( );

       There are no known bugs in this module.  Please report problems to author.  Patches are
       welcome.

AUTHOR

       Dr.-Ing. Fritz Mehner (mehner@fh-swf.de)

CREDITS

       Stephen Marshall (smarshall at wsi dot com) contributed "gnuplot_set_plot_titles".

       Georg Bauhaus (bauhaus at futureapps dot de) contributed "gnuplot_plot_xy_style".

       Bruce Ravel (bravel at bnl dot gov) contributed "gnuplot_plot_many" and
       "gnuplot_plot_many_style"  and made method calls chainable.

LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (C) 2005-2008 by Fritz Mehner

       This module is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same
       terms as Perl itself. See perldoc perlartistic.  This program is distributed in the hope
       that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
       MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

SEE ALSO

       gnuplot(1).