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1 clear This command erases the current screen or output device as specified by 'set output'. This usually generates a formfeed on hardcopy devices. Use 'set terminal' to set the device type. 1 exit 'exit', 'quit' and your computer's END-OF-FILE character will exit GNUPLOT. All these commands will clear the output device (as the 'clear' command does) before exiting. 1 expressions 2 express In general, any mathematical expression accepted by C, FORTRAN, Pascal, or BASIC is valid. The precedence of these operators is determined by the specifications of the C programming language. White space (spaces and tabs) is ignored inside expressions. Complex constants may be expressed as the {real,imag}, where <real> and <imag> must be numerical constants. For example {3,2} represents 3 + 2i; {0,1} represents 'i' itself. 2 functions 3 abs This function returns the absolute value of its argument. The returned value is of the same type as the argument. For complex arguments, abs(x) is defined as the length of x in the complex plane [i.e. sqrt(real(x)**2 + imag(x)**2) ]. 3 acos This function returns the arc cosine (inverse cosine) of its argument. 'acos' returns its argument in radians. 3 arg This function returns the phase of a complex number, in radians. 3 asin This function returns the arc sin (inverse sin) of its argument. 'asin' returns its argument in radians. 3 atan This function returns the arc tangent (inverse tangent) of its argument. 'atan' returns its argument in radians. 3 besj0 This function returns the j0th Bessel function of its argument. 'besj0' expects its argument to be in radians. 3 besj1 This function returns the j1st Bessel function of its argument. 'besj1' expects its argument to be in radians. 3 besy0 This function returns the y0th Bessel function of its argument. 'besy0' expects its argument to be in radians. 3 besy1 This function returns the y1st Bessel function of its argument. 'besy1' expects its argument to be in radians. 3 ceil This function returns the largest integer not less than its argument. For complex numbers, 'ceil' returns the largest integer not less than the real part of its argument. 3 cos This function returns the cosine of its argument. 'cos' expects its argument to be in radians. 3 cosh This function returns the hyperbolic cosine of its argument. 'cosh' expects its argument to be in radians. 3 exp This function returns the exponential function of its argument (e raised to the power of its argument). 3 floor This function returns the smallest integer not greater than its argument. For complex numbers, 'floor' returns the smallest integer not greater than the real part of its argument. 3 funct The functions in GNUPLOT are the same as the corresponding functions in the UNIX math library, except that all functions accept integer, real, and complex arguments, unless otherwise noted. The sgn() function is also supported, as in BASIC. 3 imag This function returns the imaginary part of its argument as a real number. 3 int This function returns the integer part of its argument, truncated toward zero. 3 log This function returns the natural logarithm (base e) of its argument. 3 log10 This function returns the logarithm (base 10) of its argument. 3 real This function returns the real part of its argument. 3 sgn This function returns 1 if its argument is positive, -1 if its argument is negative, and 0 if its argument is 0. If the argument is a complex value, the imaginary component is ignored. 3 sin This function returns the sine of its argument. 'sin' expects its argument to be in radians. 3 sinh This function returns the hyperbolic sine of its argument. 'sinh' expects its argument to be in radians. 3 sqrt This function returns the square root of its argument. 3 tan This function returns the tangent of its argument. 'tan' expects its argument to be in radians. 3 tanh This function returns the hyperbolic tangent of its argument. 'tanh' expects its argument to be in radians. 2 operators 3 binary The following is a list of all the binary operators and their usages: Symbol Example Explanation ** a**b exponentiation * a*b multiplication / a/b division % a%b * modulo + a+b addition - a-b subtraction == a==b equality != a!=b inequality & a&b * bitwise and ^ a^b * bitwise exclusive or | a|b * bitwise inclusive or && a&&b * logical and || a||b * logical or ?: a?b:c * ternary operation (*) Starred explanations indicate that the operator requires integer arguments. Logical AND (&&) and OR (||) short-circuit the way they do in C. That is, the second && operand is not evaluated if the first is false; the second || operand is not evaluated if the first is true. The ternary operator evaluates its first argument (a). If it is true (non-zero) the second argument (b) is evaluated and returned, otherwise the third argument (c) is evaluated and returned. 3 oper The operators in GNUPLOT are the same as the corresponding operators in the C programming language, except that all operators accept integer, real, and complex arguments, unless otherwise noted. The ** operator (exponentiation) is supported, as in FORTRAN. Parentheses may be used to change order of evaluation. 3 unary The following is a list of all the unary operators and their usages: Symbol Example Explanation - -a unary minus ~ ~a * one's complement ! !a * logical negation ! a! * factorial (*) Starred explanations indicate that the operator requires an integer argument. The factorial operator returns a real number to allow a greater range. 1 gplt 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 (;). 1 help.hlm 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 (;). 1 help The 'help' command displays on-line help. To specify information on a particular topic use the syntax: help <topic> You may exit the help utility and return to GNUPLOT by either pressing <return> at the 'Topic?' prompt or pressing your computer's END-OF-FILE character at any help prompt. 1 load This command executes each line of the specified input file as if it had been typed in interactively. Files created by the 'save' command can later be 'load'ed. Any text file containing valid commands can be created and then executed by the 'load' command. Files being 'load'ed may themselves contain 'load' commands. Lines beginning with # (or ! if using VMS) will be treated as comments and ignored. The 'load' command must be the last command on the line. Syntax: load <input-file> The name of the input file must be enclosed in quotes. Examples: load 'work.gnu' load "func.dat" 1 plot 2 datafile Discrete data contained in a file can displayed by specifying the name of the data file (enclosed in quotes) on the 'plot' command line. Data files should contain one data point per line. A data point may be specified either as an X and Y value separated by blank space, or as just the Y value, in which case the program will use the number of the coordinate as the X value. Coordinate numbers starts at 0 and are incremented for each data point read. Blank lines and lines beginning with # will be treated as comments and ignored. This example compares the data in the file population.dat to a theoretical curve: pop(x) = 103*exp((1965-x)/10) plot [1960:1990] 'population.dat', pop(x) The file population.dat might contain: # Gnu population in Antarctica since 1965 1965 103 1970 55 1975 34 1980 24 1985 10 2 plthlp 'plot' is the primary command of the program. It plots functions and data in many, many ways. The full syntax of this command is: plot {ranges} <function> {style} {, <function> {style}...} Where <function> is either a mathematical expression or the name of a data file enclosed in quotes. User-defined functions and variables may also be defined here. Curly braces {,} denote optional items. A 'plot' command can be as simple as plot sin(x) or as complex as (!) plot [t=1:10] [-pi:pi*2] tan(t),"data.1" with lines,t**2 with points 2 ranges This option specifies the region of the plot which will be displayed. Ranges may be provided on the 'plot' command line as synonyms for the 'set xrange' and 'set yrange' commands. Syntax: [{dummy-var =} {xmin : xmax}] { [{ymin : ymax}] } Where dummy-var is the independent variable (the default is 'x', but this may be changed with the 'set dummy' command) and the min and max terms can be expressions or constants. Both the min and max terms are optional. The ':' is also optional if neither a min nor a max term is specified. This allows '[]' to be used as a null range specification. Specifying a Y range turns autoscaling OFF. Examples: This uses current ranges: plot cos(x) This sets the xrange only: plot [-10:30] sin(pi*x)/(pi*x) This is the same, but uses t as the dummy-variable: plot [t = -10 :30] sin(pi*t)/(pi*t) This sets both the x and yranges: plot [-pi:pi] [-3:3] tan(x), 1/x This sets only the yrange: plot [] [-2:sin(5)*-8] sin(x)**besj0(x) This sets xmax and ymin only: plot [:200] [-pi:] exp(sin(x)) 2 style Plots may be displayed in one of three styles: 'lines', 'points', or 'impulses'. The 'lines' style connects adjacent points with lines. The 'points' style displays a small symbol at each point. The 'impulses' style displays a vertical line from the X axis to each point. Default styles are chosen with the 'set function style' and 'set data style' commands. Syntax: with <style> Where <style> is one of 'lines', 'points', or 'impulses'. These keywords may be abbreviated. Examples: This plots sin(x) with impulses: plot sin(x) with impulses This plots sin(x) with points, cos(x) default: plot [-9:30] sin(x) w points, cos(x) This plots tan(x) with the default function style, "data.1" with lines: plot [] [-2:5] tan(x), "data.1" with l This plots "leastsq.dat" with impulses: plot 'leastsq.dat' w i 1 print This command prints the value of <expression> to the screen. Syntax: print <expression> See 'expressions'. 1 quit 'quit' is a synonym for 'exit'. See 'exit'. 1 replot 'replot' repeats the last 'plot' command. This can be useful for viewing a plot with different 'set' options, or when generating the same plot for several devices. 1 save This command saves either user-defined functions, variables, or both to the specified file. Syntax: save {option} <filename> Where <option> is either 'functions' or 'variables'. If no option is used GNUPLOT saves both functions and variables. 'save'd files are written in text format and may be read by the 'load' command. The filename must be enclosed in quotes. Examples: save "work.gnu" save functions 'func.dat' save var 'var.dat' 1 set-show 2 autoscal If autoscaling is set, the Y axis is automatically scaled to fit the range of the function or data being plotted. If autoscaling is not set, the current Y range is used. See 'set yrange'. Syntax: set autoscale set noautoscale show autoscale 2 dummy By default, GNUPLOT assumes that the independent variable is 'x' on the 'plot' command line. 'x' is called the dummy variable because it is just a notation to indicate the independent variable. The 'set dummy' command changes this default dummy variable name. For example, you may find it more convenient to call the dummy variable 't' when plotting time functions: set dummy t plot sin(t), cos(t) Syntax: set dummy <dummy-var> show dummy 2 function The 'show functions' command lists all user-defined functions and their definitions. Syntax: show functions 2 hlp The 'set' command sets LOTS of options. The 'show' command shows their settings. 'show all' shows all the settings. 2 logscale Log scaling may be set on the X and/or Y axis. Syntax: set logscale <axes> set nologscale show logscale Where <axes> is either 'x', 'y', or 'xy'. 2 output By default, plots are displayed to the standard output. The 'set output' command redirects the displays to the specified file or device. Syntax: set output {filename} show output The filename must be enclosed in quotes. If the filename is omitted, output will be sent to the standard output. 2 samples The sampling rate of functions may be changed by the 'set samples' command. By default, sampling is set to 160 points. A higher sampling rate will produce more accurate plots, but will take longer. In generating plots, GNUPLOT will use either the sampling rate set or the resolution of the current output device, whichever is lower. Syntax: set samples <expression> show samples 2 style Plots may be displayed in one of three styles: 'lines', 'points', or 'impulses'. The 'lines' style connects adjacent points with lines. The 'points' style displays a small symbol at each point. The 'impulses' style displays a vertical line from the X axis to each point. Default styles are chosen with the 'set function style' and 'set data style' commands. See 'plot' for information about how to override the default plotting style for individual functions. Syntax: set function style <style> set data style <style> show function style show data style Where style is either 'lines', 'points', or 'impulses'. 2 terminal GNUPLOT supports many different graphics devices. Use the 'set terminal' command to select the type of device for which GNUPLOT will produce output. Syntax: set terminal {terminal-type} show terminal If <terminal-type> is omitted, GNUPLOT will list the available terminal types. <terminal-type> may be abbreviated. Use 'set output' to redirect this output to a file or device. 2 variable The 'show variables' command lists all user-defined variables and their values. Syntax: show variables 2 xrange The 'set xrange' command sets the horizontal range which will be displayed. This range may also be specified on the 'plot' command line. Syntax: set xrange [{xmin : xmax}] Where <xmin> and <xmax> terms are expressions or constants. Both the <xmin> and <xmax> terms are optional. 2 yrange The 'set yrange' command sets the vertical range which will be displayed. This command turns autoscaling OFF. This range may also be specified on the 'plot' command line. Syntax: set yrange [{ymin : ymax}] Where <ymin> and <ymax> terms are expressions or constants. Both the <ymin> and <ymax> terms are optional. 2 zero GNUPLOT will not plot a point if its imaginary part is greater in magnitude than the 'zero' threshold. The default 'zero' value is 1e-8. Syntax: set zero <expression> show zero 1 shell The 'shell' command spawns an interactive shell. To return to GNUPLOT, type 'logout' if using VMS, 'exit' or your END-OF-FILE character if using Unix, or 'exit' if using MS-DOS. A single shell command may be spawned by preceding it with the ! character ($ if using VMS) at the beginning of a command line. Control will return immediately to GNUPLOT after this command is executed. For example, ! dir prints a directory listing and then returns to GNUPLOT. 1 startxup When GNUPLOT is run, it looks for an initialization file to load. This file is called '.gnuplot' on Unix systems, and 'GNUPLOT.INI' on other systems. If this file is not found in the current directory, the program will look for it in your home directory (under MS-DOS, the environment variable GNUPLOT should contain the name of this directory). If this file is found, GNUPLOT executes the commands in this file. This is most useful for setting your terminal type and defining any functions or variables which you use often. The variable 'pi' is already defined for you. 1 subsitut Command-line substitution is specified by a system command enclosed in backquotes (`). This command is spawned and the output it produces replaces the name of the command (and backquotes) on the command line. Newlines in the output produced by the spawned command are replaced with blanks. Command-line substitution can be used anywhere on the GNUPLOT command line. Example: This will run the program 'leastsq' and substitute `leastsq` on the command line with its output: f(x) = `leastsq` or, in VMS f(x) = `run leastsq` 1 userdef You may define your own functions and variables. User-defined functions and variables may be used anywhere. User-defined function syntax: <function-name> ( <dummy-var> ) = <expression> Where <expression> is defined in terms of <dummy-var>. User-defined variable syntax: <variable-name> = <constant-expression> Examples: w = 2 q = floor(tan(pi/2 - 0.1)) f(x) = sin(w*x) sinc(x) = sin(pi*x)/(pi*x) delta(t) = (t == 0) ramp(t) = (t > 0) ? t : 0 The variable 'pi' is already defined for you. See 'show functions' and 'show variables'.