GNUPLOT(1) GNUPLOT(1)
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NAME
gnuplot - an interactive plotting program
SYNOPSIS
gnuplot [X11 options] [options] [file ...]
DESCRIPTION
Gnuplot is a command-driven interactive plotting program.
If file names are given on the command line, gnuplot loads each file
with the load command, in the order specified, and exits after the
last file is processed. If no files are given, gnuplot prompts for
interactive commands.
Here are some of its features:
Plots any number of functions, built up of C operators, C math library
functions, and some things C doesn't have like **, sgn(), etc.
User-defined constants and functions.
All computations performed in the complex domain. Just the real part
is plotted by default, but functions like imag() and abs() and arg()
are available to override this.
Many presentation styles for plotting user data from files, including
surface-fitting, error bars, boxplots, histograms, heat maps, and
simple manipulation of image data. There is an on-line demo
collection at
http://gnuplot.info/demo
Nonlinear least-squares fitting.
2D and 3D plots with mouse-controlled zoom and rotation.
Shell escapes and command line substitution.
Load and save capability.
Support for a huge variety of output devices and file formats.
OPTIONS
-p, --persist lets plot windows survive after main gnuplot program
exits.
-d, --default settings. Do not read from gnuplotrc or ~/.gnuplot on
entry.
-e "command list" executes the requested commands before loading the
next input file.
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-h, --help print summary of usage
-V show current version
X11 OPTIONS
Gnuplot provides the x11 terminal type for use with X servers. This
terminal type is set automatically at startup if the GNUTERM
environment variable is set to x11, or if the -display command line
option is used. For terminal type x11, gnuplot accepts the standard X
Toolkit options and resources such as geometry, font, and background.
See the X(1) man page for a description of common options. For
additional X options specific to gnuplot, type help x11 on the gnuplot
command line.
ENVIRONMENT
A number of shell environment variables are understood by gnuplot.
None of these are required.
GNUTERM
The name of the terminal type to be used by default. This can be
overridden by the gnuplotrc or .gnuplot start-up files and, of
course, by later explicit "set terminal" commands.
GNUHELP
The pathname of the HELP file (gnuplot.gih).
HOME The name of a directory to search for a .gnuplot file.
PAGER
An output filter for help messages.
SHELL
The program used for the "shell" command.
FIT_SCRIPT
Specifies a gnuplot command to be executed when a fit is
interrupted---see "help fit".
FIT_LOG
The name of the logfile maintained by fit.
GNUPLOT_LIB
Additional search directories for data and command files. The
variable may contain a single directory name, or a list of
directories separated by ':'. The contents of GNUPLOT_LIB are
appended to the "loadpath" variable, but not saved with the
"save" and "save set" commands.
GDFONTPATH
Several gnuplot terminal drivers access TrueType fonts via the gd
library. This variable gives the font search path for these
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drivers.
GNUPLOT_DEFAULT_GDFONT
The default font for the terminal drivers that access TrueType
fonts via the gd library.
GNUPLOT_FONTPATH
The font search path used by the postscript terminal. The format
is the same as for GNUPLOT_LIB. The contents of GNUPLOT_FONTPATH
are appended to the "fontpath" variable, but not saved with the
"save" and "save set" commands.
GNUPLOT_PS_DIR
Used by the postscript driver to locate external prologue files.
Depending on the build process, gnuplot contains either a builtin
copy of those files or simply a default hardcoded path. Use this
variable to test the postscript terminal with custom prologue
files. See "help postscript prologue".
FILES
gnuplotrc
When gnuplot is run, it first looks for a system-wide
initialization file named gnuplotrc. The standard location of
this file expected by the program is reported by the "show
loadpath" command.
.gnuplot
After loading the system-wide initialization file, if any,
Gnuplot looks for a private initialization file in the HOME
directory. It may contain any legal gnuplot commands, but
typically they are limited to setting the preferred terminal and
line types and defining frequently-used functions or variables.
fit.log
The default name of the logfile output by the "fit" command.
AUTHORS
Original authors: Thomas Williams and Colin Kelley. Starting with
gnuplot version 3.8, the project source is cooperatively maintained on
SourceForge by a large number of contributors.
BUGS
Please report bugs using the project bug tracker on SourceForge.
SEE ALSO
See the printed manual or the on-line help for details on specific
commands. Project web site at http://gnuplot.info
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