gnuplot-beta

Please suggest syntax for new command

[Ethan A M. <merritt@u.washington.edu>]

I've coded up a fairly trivial option that selects 
successive line *styles* for plots rather than successive
line *types*.  That would answer many requests over the years
for user control over the order of colors, etc,
without having to re-write all the corresponding plot commands.

Amazingly enough, this requires only about 6 lines of code.
However, it also requires some command to turn it on or off.
What should such a command look like?
I'm using as a test:

	set style preferences {ls|linestyle|lt|linetype}

where "preferences" can be abbreviated down to "pref".
I'm totally open to other suggestions, though.
Maybe   set style plot ...

There are a couple of other trivial user preferences that could
be stuffed into such a new style type, whatever it would be called.
None are very important, but have been requested from time to time.
E.g.	line spacing of multi-line text
	key titles in black/color
	max number of linetypes used before recycling
	text comment to be stored in the output	file if possible

-- 
Ethan A Merritt
Biomolecular Structure Center
University of Washington, Seattle 98195-7742

Re: Please suggest syntax for new command

[<br...@ph...>]

Ethan A Merritt wrote:

> Amazingly enough, this requires only about 6 lines of code.
> However, it also requires some command to turn it on or off.
> What should such a command look like?
> I'm using as a test:
> 
> 	set style preferences {ls|linestyle|lt|linetype}
> 
> where "preferences" can be abbreviated down to "pref".

I think "set style increment" or "set style autoincrement" would be
clearer.  And because auto-increment affects point types as well as line 
types, I think the option values would have be "type" and "style", or 
maybe "system" and "user", not ls and lt.

> E.g.	line spacing of multi-line text
> 	key titles in black/color

belongs in 'set key'.

> 	max number of linetypes used before recycling

Sub-option of the new command above.

> 	text comment to be stored in the output	file if possible

Strictly terminal-specific ---> set term or set termoption

Re: Please suggest syntax for new command

[Ethan A M. <merritt@u.washington.edu>]

On Tuesday 28 February 2006 05:59 am, Hans-Bernhard Br=C3=B6ker wrote:
> > I'm using as a test:
> > 	set style preferences {ls|linestyle|lt|linetype}
>=20
> I think "set style increment" or "set style autoincrement" would be
> clearer.  And because auto-increment affects point types as well as line=
=20
> types, I think the option values would have be "type" and "style", or=20
> maybe "system" and "user", not ls and lt.

Good point.


> > 	text comment to be stored in the output	file if possible
>=20
> Strictly terminal-specific ---> set term or set termoption

The notion was to be able to associate arbitrary text, say a figure
caption, with the plot as it was generated.  This does not depend on
the terminal type, and if you do a "set term ... replot"  you would
want that same text item to go into the new output format as well.
It's not really on my list of things to do; I just mentioned it as
another example of a plot property.


=2D-=20
Ethan A Merritt
Biomolecular Structure Center
University of Washington, Seattle 98195-7742