xenial (1) bgraph.1.gz

Provided by: radiance_4R1+20120125-1.1_amd64 bug

NAME

       bgraph - do a set of batch graphs to a metafile

SYNOPSIS

       bgraph [ -type ..  ][ +variable value ..  ][ file ..  ]

DESCRIPTION

       Bgraph  reads each graph file in sequence and converts it to a plot suitable for use by a metafile driver
       program.  If no files are given, the standard input is read.

       The graph type can be defined with a -type option.  Types are simply  include  files  which  set  default
       values  for  certain  variables.   The  actual  include  file  name is the type concatanated with ".plt".
       Typical types are "scatter", "line", and "curve".  A scatter graph shows only points.  A line graph shows
       only lines connecting points.  A curve graph shows both points and connecting lines.

       Variables can be set explicitly with +variable value options.  The following standard graph variables are
       supported:

       fthick    The frame thickness, valued from 0 to 4.  A value of 0 turns the frame off.

       grid      The grid: 1 is on, 0 is off.

       include   The include file name.  Graph input is taken from the file.  If the file is not  found  in  the
                 current directory, it is searched for in a set of standard locations.

       legend    The legend title.

       othick    The origin axis thickness, valued from 0 to 4.  A value of 0 turns the origin off.

       period    The period for a polar plot.  For a plot in degrees, use 360.  For radians, use 6.283.  A value
                 of 0 (the default) indicates a Cartesian plot.

       subtitle  The graph subtitle.

       symfile   The point symbol metafile.

       tstyle    The frame tick mark style.  The default value is 1, which is outward tick marks.  A value of  2
                 is inward ticks, 3 is cross ticks.  A value of 0 disables frame tick marks.

       title     The graph title.

       xlabel    The x axis label.

       xmap      The x axis mapping function.  An x axis mapping xmap(x)=log(x) produces a log x axis.

       xmax      The x axis maximum.

       xmin      The x axis minimum.

       xstep     The x axis step.

       ylabel    The y axis label.

       ymap      The y axis mapping function.  An y axis mapping ymap(y)=log(y) produces a log y axis.

       ymax      The y axis maximum.

       ymin      The y axis minimum.

       ystep     The y axis step.

       In  addition to the standard graph variables, each curve has a set of variables.  The variables for curve
       'A' all begin with the letter 'A'; the variables for curve 'B' all begin with the letter 'B', and so  on.
       Up to 8 curves are supported on a single graph, 'A' through 'H'.  The variables for curve 'A' are:

       A         The  function  for  curve  'A'.   If  Adata  is  undefined, xmin, xmax and Anpoints are used to
                 determine which x values to plot.  If Adata is defined and A is a function of a single variable
                 (ie.  A(x)),  data values are interpreted as x values to be plotted.  If Adata is defined and A
                 is a function of two variables (ie. A(x,y)), data values are interpreted as (x,y) pairs  and  A
                 becomes a mapping function for the data.

       Acolor    The  color  for  curve  A.   The values 1-4 map to black, red, green, and blue respectively.  A
                 value of 0 turns curve A off.

       Adata     The point data for curve 'A'.  If Adata is set to  the  name  of  a  file,  data  is  read  and
                 interpreted from that file.  If Adata is set to a command (beginning with an exclamation, '!'),
                 the output of the command is read as data.  Otherwise, data is  read  from  the  current  file.
                 Data  values  are separated by white space and/or commas.  A semicolon or end of file indicates
                 the end of data.

       Alabel    The label for curve 'A'.  The curve label is printed in the legend when a curve is defined.

       Alintype  The line type for curve 'A', valued from 0 to 4.  A value of 0 turns line drawing off.  A value
                 of 1 is solid, 2 is dashed, 3 is dotted, and 4 is dot-dashed.

       Anpoints  The  number  of symbol points for curve 'A'.  If Adata is defined, all points will be connected
                 with the selected curve line, but only Anpoints points will be indicated with a  symbol.   This
                 prevents  messy  graphs  when large number of points are defined.  If A is defined and Adata is
                 not, Anpoints is used along with xmin and xmax to determine which x values to plot.

       Asymsize  The symbol radius for curve 'A'.  The default size is 100.  A value of 0 turns symbols off.

       Asymtype  This is the name of a segment in symfile which defines the graphics symbol for curve 'A'.

       Athick    The line thickness for curve 'A', valued from 0 to 4.  A thickness of 0 turns line drawing off.

GRAPH FILE FORMAT

       A graph file contains definitions for graph and curve variables.  These definitions fall one per line  in
       the following formats:

            vreal        = expression       # real variable
            vfunction(x) = expression(x)    # function
            vstring      = "string"         # string variable
            vdata        = filename         # data file
            vdata        = "!command"       # data generator
            variable     = continued \
                    line                    # newline escaped
            vdata        =                  # data
                 v1 v2 v3 v4 ... ;

       Comments  are  preceded  by a '#', and continue to the end of the line.  Except for comments, the newline
       can be escaped with a backslash.  Note that in the special case where data  is  contained  in  the  graph
       file,  a  definition  will  continue  over more than one line.  Data values can be separated by commas or
       white space, and reading continues until a semicolon is reached.  No comments are  allowed  in  the  data
       section of a file.

       An  expression  is  an  algebraic  formula  containing  numbers,  variables,  functions, and the standard
       operators {+,-,*,/,^,(,)}  (see  icalc(1)).   Besides  the  variables  described  in  the  last  section,
       definitions  of  intermediate real variables and functions are allowed for convenience.  They may be used
       in expressions of graph and curve variables.

EXAMPLE

       A file to graph the sine function is:

            title = "Sine Function from 0 to Pi"
            PI = 3.141592653589793
            A(x) = sin(x)
            xmin = 0
            xmax = PI
            Anpoints = 100

       Or, to graph selected points:

            title = "Sine Function at 0, .2, .6, and .8"
            A(x) = sin(x)
            Adata =
                 0 , .2
                 .6 , .8
            ;

       The commands to plot these files might be:

            bgraph -line sine1.plt | psmeta | lpr

            bgraph -curve +ymin -1 +ymax 1 sine2.plt | x11meta

FILES

       /usr/local/lib/meta/*.mta /usr/local/lib/meta/*.plt *.plt

AUTHOR

       Greg Ward

BUGS

       There is no mechanism provided for undefining  a  variable.   An  axis  mapping  function  which  is  not
       invertible (monotonically increasing or decreasing) confuses the program terribly.

SEE ALSO

       dgraph(1), gcomp(1), icalc(1), igraph(1), metafile(5), x11meta(1)