simplot library

overview of available routines

Simplot is a plot package, especially designed for C programmers. It also contains a simplot program for use by those having no programming experience at all. A very simple program, let's call it simple.c, looks like this:

#include <simplot.h>

int main(void) {
   plinit(X,"",200,200,15,15,"","");
   plloop();
   exit(0);
}

This program simply displays an X window of 200 x 200 millimeters, which has the origin at 15 mm from the left side and 15 mm from the bottom. It makes use of the default plevent routine, which recognises only a few interactions: the key stroke q ends your program, and the left mouse button displays cross hairs and their (x,y) position. The window also shows one button `Quit', which you can click with obvious results. Assuming that you installed Simplot in the default location, /simplot, you can compile this program with:

cc -I/usr/openwin/include \
   -I/simplot/include \
   -c -o simple.o simple.c

cc -L/simplot/lib \
   -L/usr/openwin/lib \
   -L/usr/X11R6/lib \
   -lsimplot -lxview -lolgx -lX11 -lm \
   -o simple simple.o \

You can make your own plevent routine to have more functionality. Here is an example:

#include <simplot.h>

void plevent(float x, float y, int key) {
   static float xx,yy;
   static int leftdown=FALSE;
   switch(key) {
      case 'q':
         plend();
         exit(0);
         break;
      case MouseMiddleDown:
         plmess("%g %g",x,y);
         plhairs(x,y,TRUE,TRUE);
         break;
      case MouseLeftDown:
         leftdown=TRUE;
         plmess("%g %g",x,y);
         plu(xx=x,yy=y);
         break;
      case MouseDrag:
         plmess("%g %g",x,y);
         if (leftdown) {
    	   plu(xx,yy);
	   pld(xx=x,yy=y);
         } else {
           plhairs(x,y,TRUE,TRUE);
         }
         break;
      case MouseLeftUp:
      case MouseMiddleUp:
         leftdown=FALSE;
         plhairs(x,y,FALSE,FALSE);
         plmess("");
         break;
   }
}

int main(void) {
   plinit(X,"",200,200,15,15,"","");
   plloop();
   exit(0);
}

This program shows the same cross hairs as the previous example, but in this case on pressing the middle mouse button. The left button now lets you draw free-hand curves. Here is an overview of all Simplot's routines; click on the routine names for full detail:

a	plarc	xcenter,ycenter,radius,start_angle,arc ,line_style
		plot an arc using user units
	plarcm	xcenter,ycenter,radius,start_angle,arc ,line_style
		plot an arc using user units
	plarcr	dxcenter,dycenter,arc ,line_style
		plot an arc relative to the current position, in user units
	plarcrm	dxcenter,dycenter,arc ,line_style
		plot an arc relative to the current position, in millimeter units
	plarrow	dx,dy,len_pointer,ang_small,ang_large ,both_ends ,open,filled,perpendicular ,*text
		plot an annotated arrow
	plaxes	xleft,ybot,xright,ytop,xlen,ylen ,*xtext,*ytext,*text
		plot x-- and y--axes, more or less automatically
	plaxfit	*x,*y ,n ,dpercent,xlen,ylen ,*xtext,*ytext,*text
		plot axes, fitted to an (x,y) array
b	plblock	x1,y1,z1,x2,y2,z2
		plot a 3D-block in user units
	plblockm	x1,y1,z1,x2,y2,z2
		plot a 3D-block in millimeter units
	plbox	x1,y1,x2,y2,radius
		plot a box with rounded corners in user units
	plboxm	x1,y1,x2,y2,radius
		plot a box with rounded corners in millimeter units
	plbutton	*label ,(*func )()
		create a button in an X-display
c	plclip	x1,y1,x2,y2
		set clipping rectangle in user units
	plclipm	x1,y1,x2,y2
		set clipping rectangle in millimeter units
	plcont	*xy,*x,*y ,nx,ny,nxa ,height ,*ident ,line_style ,*flag
		plot contours in an (x,y) array
	plcolor	red,green,blue
		set the current color
d	pld	x,y
		draw a straight line to a position in user units
	pldm	x,y
		draw a straight line to a position in millimeter units
	pldot	x,y
		plot a dot with diameter equal to current linewidth in user units
	pldotm	x,y
		plot a dot with diameter equal to current linewidth in millimeter units
	pldraw	(void)
		the user's drawing routine; (re)draws everything
e	plend	(void)
		end plotting session
	plevent	xpointer,yointer ,event_code
		handle X-events
	plexit	*message
		print a message to standard error and exit
	pleye	xeye,yeye,zeye,xfocus,yfocus,zfocus
		define location and focus of the eye in a 3D plot in user units
	pleyem	xeye,yeye,zeye,xfocus,yfocus,zfocus
		define location and focus of the eye in a 3D plot in millimeter units
f	plfill	fill_red,fill_green,fill_blue,stroke_red,stroke_green,stroke_blue
		fill and/or stroke the current path
	plfcolor	fill_red,fill_green,fill_blue
		set fill_color for filled objects
	plfont	(void)
		toggle between primary and alternate font
	plformat	left_right,up_down ,*format...
		plot text according to extended C-format string with justification
	plframe	distance ,radius
		draw a (rounded) box around current plot
	plfunc	(*func)(xf),xmin,ymin,xmax,ymax ,line_style
		plot a 2D function
g	plget	name
		return the value of a global variable
h	plhairs	x,y ,horizontal,vertical
		(re)display or clear horizontal and/or vertical hairs in an X-application
	plhiss	*x,*y ,n,type,baseline ,ybase ,line_style ,ang,dis ,icshad
		plot shaded histogram
	plhist	*x,*y ,n,type,baseline ,ybase
		plot histogram or stick plot
i	plinit	drvr ,*file ,xsize,ysize ,*main_font,*alternate_font
		initialize the plot-system
l	plloop	(void)
		start event loop
m	plmess	*format...
		display a formatted message
	plmvorg	x,y
		move the origin in user units
	plmvorgm	x,y
		move the origin in millimeter units
o	plot	x,y ,line_style
		move the pen to a new 2D position in user units
	plotm	x,y ,line_style
		move the pen to a new 2D position in millimeter units
	plot3	x,y,z ,line_style
		move the pen to a new 3D position in user units
	plotm3	x,y,z ,line_style
		move the pen to a new 3D position in millimeter units
	plotr	x,y ,line_style
		move the pen to a new relative 2D position in user units
	plotrm	x,y ,line_style
		move the pen to a new relative 2D position in millimeter units
	plotr3	x,y,z ,line_style
		move the pen to a new relative 3D position in user units
	plotrm3	x,y,z ,line_style
		move the pen to a new relative 3D position in millimeter units
p	plpage	(void)
		feed a new page / clear the screen
	plpgon	*x,*y ,n,filltype ,spacing,angle ,line_style,last
		plot a (filled) polygon
	plpie	**label ,n,lablen ,radius,x,y ,*toptext ,topfac ,*bottext ,botfac
		plot an annotated pie
	plpline	*x,*y ,n ,*marker ,dash
		plot a 2D polyline
	plpline3	*x,*y,*z ,n,isym
		plot a 3D polyline
	plpolar	size,angle ,pen
		plot e vector in polar coordinates in user units
	plpolarm	size,angle ,pen
		plot e vector in polar coordinates in millimeter units
	plpolc	*p
		retrieve the coefficients of the current polynomial
	plpolf	*x,*y ,n,kk
		calculate a polynomial
	plpolv	x
		evaluate the current polynomial in x
	plpoly	*x,*y ,n,kk ,xmin,xmax ,line_style
		calculate and plot a polynomial
r	plrect	x1,y1,x2,y2
		plot a (filled) rectangle in user units
	plrectm	x1,y1,x2,y2
		plot a (filled) rectangle in millimeter units
	plrectr	dx,dy
		plot a (filled) relative rectangle in user units
	plrectrm	dx,dy
		plot a (filled) relative rectangle in millimeter units
	pldraw	(void)
		user-defined routine redrawing the canvas in X-applications
	plreserv	xrg,yrg,yhigh
		move origin for concatenation of sub-plots
	plrotate	dx,dy
		rotate user coordinate system
s	plsave	(void)
		save current graphics context
	plscale3	xmin,ymin,zmin,xmax,ymax,zmax,xlen,ylen,zlen
		define 3D scaling factors
	plset	name ,value
		set global values
	plshade	*xvert,*yvert ,nvert ,dir,wmesh ,line_style
		hatch polygon
	plsize	*s
		return the length of a string plotted in the current font
	plsmooth	*a ,n,k
		perform k-point smoothing on (x,y) array
	plsort	*x,*y ,n
		sort (x,y) array
	plsymbol	isym
		plot a symbol
t	pltext0	*text
		plot a string, returning to position
	pltext	*s
		plot a string, leave pen at end
	pltrace	(*f)(x,y),xmin,ymin,xmax,ymax,resol,grid ,*ident ,line_style
		track an (implicit) 2D function
u	plu[m]	x,y
		move to position without plotting in user units
	plu[m]	x,y
		move to position without plotting in user units
	plunclip	(void)
		remove clipping
	plunsave	(void)
		restore graphics context
x	plxbar	v
		plot error bar in x-direction
y	plybar	v
		plot error bar in x-direction

Predefined names are:

A0	A1	A2	A3
A4	A5	A6	A7
ANGLE	ArrowDown	ArrowLeft	ArrowRight
ArrowUp	CROSS	DASH	DASHUNIT
DOWN	Delete	EVENT_ASCII	EVENT_BUTTON
EVENT_DOWN	EVENT_FUNCTION	EVENT_UP	End
Escape	F1	F10	F11
F12	F2	F3	F4
F5	F6	F7	F8
F9	GXcopy	GXxor	HEIGHT
Home	Insert	LEVENTS	MouseDrag
MouseLeftDown	MouseLeftUp	MouseMiddleDown	MouseMiddleUp
MouseRightDown	MouseRightUp	OPAQUETEXT	PDF
PDFL	PENDIA	PLOTMODE	PLOTTER
preCISION	PS	PSL
PageDown	PageUp	RECTFILL	RECTSTROKE
RESOLUTION	UP	X	XANGLE
XCROSS	XGRID	XIN	XLOG
XMARK	XPEN	XSIZE	XSKIP
XSQUAR	XU2M	XU2P	YANGLE
YCROSS	YGRID	YIN	YLOG
YMARK	YPEN	YSIZE	YSKIP
YSQUAR	YU2M	YU2P