From:
<br...@ph...> - 2006-03-01 09:09:27
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[Forgot to CC: the list on this...] Daniel J Sebald wrote: > It would be nice to give names to the symbols so that either the name or > the number can be used. For example: > > plot sin(x) with points square > plot sin(x) with points triangle > > instead of > > plot sin(x) with points 4 > plot sin(x) with points 8 This proposal may seem charming, but neglects the well-considered reasons why gnuplot uses numbered point and line types instead of named ones. The question that this fails to answer is: what is a terminal driver supposed to do if I request a named point type that it simply doesn't have? Throw a tantrum, commit seppuku, read my mind, or what? The single most important design principle of gnuplot has always been absolute script compatibility --- scripts were never allowed to just fail just because you run them on a different platform's gnuplot, or on a different terminal driver. And where possible, they should generate usable output. It's this universality that the number point and line types achieve. Replace them by names, and compatibility goes down the drain. |