Re: -persist command line option and the wxWidgets terminal

[Daniel J S. <dan...@ie...>]

Timoth=C3=A9e Lecomte wrote:
> Hi,
>=20
> I am working on the bug #1527701, and I need some advice.
>=20
> The bug comes from the current implementation of "persist" in the wxt=20
> terminal.
>=20
> This option is used by external programs, like maxima, to control=20
> gnuplot. They send their commands through a pipe or a file or whatever,=
=20
> they let gnuplot exit at the end of the commands, but as they want the=20
> plot windows to stay open, they use "persist".

They issue the commands for a plot and then close gnuplot?  Well it shoul=
dn't be done that way.  That is not what persist is intended for.  The pr=
ogram should keep the pipe open.

Octave opens gnuplot and holds onto the pipe.  (If I recall, it uses a fo=
rk...  The person that oversees Octave is a very good and organized progr=
ammer.)

I can make a guess as to what may be going on here.  We've had this discu=
ssion many times in the past, which is the fact that gnuplot only retains=
 information about a single plot.  If there are several X windows open, s=
till it is only the information about the most recent plot that is availa=
ble.  Hence, you'll see that the mouse functions only work for the most r=
ecent X plot.

Well, I know that for Octave, John decided to open a new instance of gnup=
lot for every plot created.  That way, ever plot in Octave does have its =
information retained.  John figured that gnuplot was a rather small progr=
am so not much harm done.

Maybe Maxima people have the same philosophy to get multiple windows, onl=
y they figure why keep so many versions of gnuplot around?  It's wasting =
memory.  If Maxima had a multiple window version of the terminal (I assum=
e we're talking of Windows here, no?) then perhaps they would be willing =
to change their program.

Dan