Re: multiple plot lines with plot '-'

[Allin C. <cot...@wf...>]

On Mon, 14 May 2012, Ethan A Merritt wrote:

> On Monday, May 14, 2012 08:12:25 am pl...@pi... wrote:
>> On 05/14/12 14:52, Allin Cottrell wrote:
>>> On Mon, 14 May 2012, Mojca Miklavec wrote:
>>>
>>>> Simply use empty quotation marks:
>>>> plot  "fast.log" using 1:2 t "systolic" w l,  "" using ...
>>>
>>> This doesn't work in the context plotter specified, namely when you
>>> replace the data file "fast.log" with inline data in the plot file,
>>> using "plot '-'".
>>>
>>> I too would be interested to know if there's any way to avoid repeating
>>> the inline data when plotting multiple lines. [...]
>>
>> unless someone points out a trick we're missing perhaps the plot '-'
>> feature could be extended to act in same way as a named file.
>
> It _does_ act in the same way as a named file.  The empty quotes indicate
> that the previous source of data should be read again.

With the source in this case being stdin, which has "moved on" 
by the time you attempt a second read, so you come up 
empty-handed. I see your point. On the other hand, with the 
plot-file syntax

plot '-' using ...
<inline-data>
e

it's sort of a fiction that the source is stdin, isn't it? 
(Albeit a well established fiction.) I wonder if it would be 
worth adding another "dummy" input, something like

plot inline using ...
<inline-data>
e

where the inline data would be read into an array and could be
reused at will.

> The closest I can think of still requires the use of a temporary file.
> The script would do:
>  set print "tempfile.dat'
>  print "first data line"
>  print "second data line"
>    ...
>  print "last data line"
>
>  plot 'tempfile.dat' using 1:2, '' using 3:4, '' using 99:100

Ah, that's clever. Not quite as nice as "inline" (if it were 
possible) but it serves the purpose of storing the data and 
the plot spec in a single file.

Allin Cottrell