Gnuplot 4.

2 Tutorial

GNUPLOT 4.4 - A Brief Manual and Tutorial

1. INSTALLING AND STARTING GNUPLOT Gnuplot is a free, command-driven, interactive, function and data plotting program. Pre-compiled executeables and source code for Gnuplot may be downloaded for, e.g., OS X, Windows, and Linux. On Unix, Linux and OS X systems start Gnuplot by simply opening a terminal and typing: gnuplot For help on any topic type help followed by the name of the topic. Full documentation is provided here, and a quick reference can be found here.

2. FUNCTIONS In general, any mathematical expression accepted by C(++), FORTRAN, etc. may be plotted. The supported functions include: __________________________________________________________ Function Returns ---------------------------------------------------abs(x) absolute value of x, |x| acos(x) arc-cosine of x asin(x) arc-sine of x atan(x) arc-tangent of x cos(x) cosine of x, x is in radians. cosh(x) hyperbolic cosine of x, x is in radians erf(x) error function of x exp(x) exponential function of x, base e inverf(x) inverse error function of x invnorm(x) inverse normal distribution of x log(x) log of x, base e log10(x) log of x, base 10 norm(x) normal Gaussian distribution function rand(x) pseudo-random number generator sgn(x) 1 if x > 0, -1 if x < 0, 0 if x=0 sin(x) sine of x, x is in radians sinh(x) hyperbolic sine of x, x is in radians sqrt(x) the square root of x tan(x) tangent of x, x is in radians tanh(x) hyperbolic tangent of x, x is in radians

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Gnuplot 4.2 Tutorial

___________________________________________________________ Bessel, gamma, ibeta, igamma, and lgamma functions are also supported. Many functions can take complex arguments. Binary and unary operators are also supported. The supported operators in Gnuplot are the same as the corresponding operators in the C programming language, except that most operators accept integer, real, and complex arguments. The ** operator (exponentiation) is supported as in FORTRAN. Parentheses may be used to change the order of evaluation. The variable names x, y, and z are used as the default independent variables.

3. THE plot AND splot COMMANDS plot and splot are the primary commands in Gnuplot. They plot functions and data in many many ways. plot is used to plot 2-d functions and data, while splot plots 3-d surfaces and data. Syntax: plot {[ranges]} {[function] | {"[datafile]" {datafile-modifiers}}} {axes [axes] } { [title-spec] } {with [style] } {, {definitions,} [function] ...} where either a [function] or the name of a data file enclosed in quotes is supplied. For more complete descriptions, type: help plot, help plot using or help plot smooth . 3.1 Plotting Functions To plot functions simply type: plot [function] at the gnuplot> prompt. For example, try: gnuplot> gnuplot> gnuplot> plot sin(x)/x splot sin(x*y/20) plot sin(x) title 'Sine Function', tan(x) title 'Tangent'

Simple surface plot, using splot gnuplot> gnuplot> gnuplot> gnuplot> gnuplot> gnuplot> splot [x=-1:1] [y=-1:1] sqrt(x**2+y**2) set isosamples 20, 20 #increase default resolution replot set contour #with contour levels set cntrparam level 10 #10 levels replot

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Gnuplot 4.2 Tutorial

Simple parametric 3-D plot (2-D plots analogue) gnuplot> gnuplot> gnuplot> gnuplot> gnuplot> gnuplot> gnuplot> gnuplot> gnuplot> set param set isosamples 40, 40 #increase default resolution splot sin(u)*sin(v),sin(u)*cos(v),cos(u) #sphere splot [u=0:pi/2] [v=0:2*pi]sin(u)*sin(v),sin(u)*cos(v),cos(u) #half-sphere set contour #with contour levels set cntrparam level 10 replot set hidden3d #hidden line removal replot

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For more information on plotting 3-D surfaces, type gnuplot> 3.2 Plotting Data Discrete data contained in a file can be displayed by specifying the name of the data file (enclosed in quotes) on the plot or splot command line. Data files should have the data arranged in columns of numbers. Columns should be separated by white space (tabs or spaces) only, (no commas). Lines beginning with a # character are treated as comments and are ignored by Gnuplot. A blank line in the data file results in a break in the line connecting data points. For example your data file, force.dat , might look like: # This file is called force.dat # Force-Deflection data for a beam and a bar # Deflection Col-Force Beam-Force 0.000 0 0 0.001 104 51 0.002 202 101 0.003 298 148 0.0031 290 149 0.004 289 201 0.0041 291 209 0.005 310 250 0.010 311 260 0.020 280 240 help splot

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You can display your data by typing: gnuplot> plot "force.dat" using 1:2 title 'Column', \ "force.dat" using 1:3 title 'Beam'

Do not type blank space after the line continuation character, "\" . Your data may be in multiple data files.In this case you may makeyour plot by using a command like: gnuplot> plot "fileA.dat" using 1:2 title 'data A', \ "fileB.dat" using 1:3 title 'data B'

For information on plotting 3-D data, type: gnuplot> help splot datafile

4. CUSTOMIZING YOUR PLOT Many items may be customized on the plot, such as the ranges of the axes, the labels of the x and y axes, the style of data point, the style of the lines connecting the data points, and the title of the entire plot. 4.1 plot command customization Customization of the data columns, line titles, and line/point style are specified when the plot command is issued. Customization of the data columns and line titles were discussed in section 3. Plots may be displayed in one of eight styles: lines, points, linespoints, impulses, dots, steps, fsteps, histeps, errorbars, xerrorbars, yerrorbars, xyerrorbars, boxes, boxerrorbars, boxxyerrorbars, financebars, candlesticks or vector To specify the line/point style use the plot command as follows: gnuplot> plot "force.dat" using 1:2 title 'Column' with lines, \ "force.dat" u 1:3 t 'Beam' w linespoints Note that the words: using , title , and with can be abbreviated as: u , t , and w . Also, each line and point style has an associated number. 4.2 set command customization Customization of the axis ranges, axis labels, and plot title, as well as many other features, are specified using the set command. Specific examples of the set command follow. (The numerical values used in these examples are arbitrary.) To view your changes type: replot at the gnuplot> prompt at any time. Create a title: Put a label on the x-axis: Put a label on the y-axis: Change the x-axis range: Change the y-axis range:
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> > > > >

set set set set set

title "Force-Deflection Data" xlabel "Deflection (meters)" ylabel "Force (kN)" xrange [0.001:0.005] yrange [20:500]

Gnuplot 4.2 Tutorial

Have Gnuplot determine ranges: Move the key: Delete the key: Put a label on the plot: 260 Remove all labels: Plot using log-axes: Plot using log-axes on y-axis: Change the tic-marks: Return to the default tics:

> > > > > > > > >

set autoscale set key at 0.01,100 unset key set label "yield point" at 0.003, unset label set logscale unset logscale; set logscale y set xtics (0.002,0.004,0.006,0.008) unset xtics; set xtics auto

Other features which may be customized using the set command are: arrow, border, clip, contour, grid, mapping, polar, surface, time, view, and many more. The best way to learn is by reading the on-line help information, trying the command, and reading the Gnuplot manual.

5. PLOTTING DATA FILES WITH OTHER COMMENT CHARACTERS If your data file has a comment character other than # you can tell Gnuplot about it. For example, if your data file has "%" comment characters (for Matlab compatability), typing gnuplot> set datafile commentschars "#%"

indicates that either a "#" or a "%" character starts a comment.

6. GNUPLOT SCRIPTS Sometimes, several commands are typed to create a particular plot, and it is easy to make a typographical error when entering a command. To stream- line your plotting operations, several Gnuplot commands may be combined into a single script file. For example, the following file will create a customized display of the force-deflection data: # Gnuplot script file for plotting data in file "force.dat" # This file is called force.p set autoscale # scale axes automatically unset log # remove any log-scaling unset label # remove any previous labels set xtic auto # set xtics automatically set ytic auto # set ytics automatically set title "Force Deflection Data for a Beam and a Column" set xlabel "Deflection (meters)" set ylabel "Force (kN)" set key at 0.01,100 set label "Yield Point" at 0.003,260 set arrow from 0.0028,250 to 0.003,280 set xr [0.0:0.022] set yr [0:325] plot "force.dat" using 1:2 title 'Column' with linespoints , \ "force.dat" using 1:3 title 'Beam' with points

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Then the total plot can be generated with the command: gnuplot> load 'force.p'

Note: symbols and linestyles can vary from terminal to terminal. To display the actual styles, type gnuplot> test

7. CURVE-FITTING WITH GNUPLOT To fit the data in force.dat with a function use the commands: f1(x) = a1*tanh(x/b1) # define the function to be fit a1 = 300; b1 = 0.005; # initial guess for a1 and b1 fit f1(x) 'force.dat' using 1:2 via a1, b1 Final set of parameters ======================= a1 = 308.687 b1 = 0.00226668 and the commands: f2(x) = a2 * tanh(x/b2) # define the function to be fit a2 = 300; b2 = 0.005; # initial guess for a and b fit f2(x) 'force.dat' using 1:3 via a2, b2 Final set of parameters ======================= a2 = 259.891 b2 = 0.00415497
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Asymptotic Standard Error ========================== +/- 10.62 (3.442%) +/- 0.0002619 (11.55%)

Asymptotic Standard Error ========================== +/- 12.82 (4.933%) +/- 0.0004297 (10.34%)

Gnuplot 4.2 Tutorial

The curve-fit and data may now be plotted with the commands: set set set set set plot key at 0.018,150 title "F(x) = A tanh (x/B)" # title to key! title "Force Deflection Data \n and curve fit" # note newline! pointsize 1.5 # larger point! xlabel 'Deflection, {/Symbol D}_x (m)' # Greek symbols! ylabel 'Force, {/Times-Italic F}_A, (kN)' # italics! "force.dat" using 1:2 title 'Column data' with points pt 3, \ "force.dat" using 1:3 title 'Beam data' with points pt 4, \ a1 * tanh( x / b1 ) title 'Column-fit: A=309, B=0.00227', \ a2 * tanh( x / b2 ) title 'Beam-fit: A=260, B=0.00415'

Note: Greek symbols, italics etc. will be displayed only for an 'enhanced' text mode, subject to the available fonts. gnuplot> set term x11 enhanced

8. SPREAD-SHEET LIKE CALCULATIONS ON DATA Gnuplot can mathematically modify your data column by column: to plot sin( col.3 + col.1 ) vs. 3 * col.2 type: plot 'force.dat' using (3*$2):(sin($3+$1))

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9. MULTI-PLOT Gnuplot can plot more than one figure in a frame ( like subplot in matlab ) i.e., try: set multiplot; set size 1,0.5; set origin 0.0,0.5; set origin 0.0,0.0; unset multiplot # get into multiplot mode plot sin(x); plot cos(x) # exit multiplot mode

10. GNUPLOT DEMO FILES AND THE GNUPLOT FAQ Most of Gnuplot's current features are illustrated in one or more of the Gnuplot demonstration files. To run the demo's yourself, copy the corresponding directory to your home directory, start Gnuplot from within, and type load "all.dem" The Gnuplot feature you are looking for will probably be illustrated in one of the demo files.

11. HARD-COPY (PLOTTING ON PAPER) You can create a PostScript file of your plot by using the commands. set terminal postscript landscape color enhanced set output "my-plot.ps" # or any other filename replot unset output set terminal x11 enhanced

12. FURTHER READING / MORE TUTORIALS Grundkurs Gnuplot (in German): http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~voelker/gnuplotkurs/gnuplotkurs.html Visualisierung mit gnuplot - eine Einfhrung (in German): http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/urz/kurse/unterlagen/ gnuplot/gnuplot.html Gnuplot -- not so Frequently Asked Questions: http://t16web.lanl.gov/Kawano/gnuplot/index-e.html

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