Re: Handle graphics plotting functions

On 2/13/06, Petr Mikulik <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> What's missing in gnuplot?
> >

In a word -- CONTROL.

Today the gnuplot developers control gnuplot and control the way my
plots look -- 95% of the time this is excellent since gnuplot is a
high quality piece of software, however at times the user need more
control, and than he is stuck:

I just invented a new graph type. I cannot implement in in gnuplot
because it does not give me access to it's primitives. I made do with
candlesticks at the end, but the results was not very nice. Now I have
2 choices:
I can appeal to gnuplot developers to implement this new graph type,
but it's very shai-specific, so why should they put it anywhere near
the top of their TODO list?
I could write implement it in gnuplot myself, but that would mean I would
1. have to delve into it's sources
2. release my code through a questionable license which up to now I'm
not sure is quite GPL

OTOH, if you have a handle graphics system you have full access to all
drawing primitives and you can implement your graph to the degree of
quality you want using a simple well documented interface, and than
either release it to the world under a license of your liking or keep
it to yourself.

As an example: area plots or candlestick are not currently implemented
in octplot, but adding them is simple, and can be done using m-files
only. I had no way of doing this in gnuplot before the gnuplot
developers implemented this themselves.

Shai