[OS X TeX] XY plots (probably OT)

[Thomas Schröder]

Hi Maarten,

Am 25.05.2004 um 19:12 schrieb Maarten Sneep:

> On 25 mei 2004, at 18:26, Thomas Schröder wrote:
>
>> So, these are some of the features I'd like:
>>
>> - handling of big data files (10-12 columns, >10000 lines)
>> - support for 4 Y axes
>> - good output quality
>> - direct output of EPS and/or PDF
>> - decent support for user defined diagram types
>> - some basic math support (greek symbols, fractions, subscripts and 
>> superscripts)
>> - support for Lucida Bright and maybe Latin Modern fonts
>
> Not free, good quality: Igor Pro. Demo available.

OK, this seems to be the one as several here suggested it.

> Can use many axes for both x and y. Can handle huge data-sets, all 
> other requirements are fulfilled, AFAICS.
> You might need to tweak a bit to get Lucida Bright or the LM fonts (if 
> you only have the pfb fonts).
> Link: http://www.wavemetrics.com

I'll have a look at it.

> GNUplot. Not very user-friendly, will probably work. I've never used 
> it.

I was hoping someone might have :-(

> Metapost. Not user friendly, you will need to re-format the data-files 
> (max 4096 lines at a time, two columns at once).

Well, I guess then it's not for me :-(
I guess I could have worked around the 4096 lines thing with some data 
reduction macros, but only two columns at once isn't enough.

> Interfaces nicely with TeX, so axes and labels will be formatted 
> beyond belief. You have it installed already.

I knew that :-)

> I use this all the time. Sample file can be found at 
> http://www.nat.vu.nl/~sneep/tex/. In some ways this is easier than 
> what you want (more than 2 axis requires some more thought, although 
> the state indicators are special.

I like your demo, it looks really nice and professional. I also like 
the integrated look of it.

> For the analysis of scientific data, I'd recommend Igor (and it does 
> _really_ nice graphics too). The data-analysis alone is worth it over 
> Excel.

Up until now I haven't had to do too much data analysis and what I had 
to do I could do with Graphical Analysis.

Thanks for your comments.

Bye, Thomas
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