# Plotutils
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{{Short description|Set of free software utilities and libraries for generating 2D plots}}
{{distinguish|Gnuplot}}
{{lowercase title}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Plotutils
| author = Robert Maier, Nick Tufillaro
| developer = [GNU Project](/source/GNU_Project)
| latest release version = 2.6
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2009|09|27}}
| operating system = [Cross-platform](/source/Cross-platform)
| license = [GNU General Public License](/source/GNU_General_Public_License)
| website = {{URL|https://gnu.org/software/plotutils}}
}}
'''GNU plotutils''' is a set of [free software](/source/free_software) command-line tools and [software libraries](/source/software_libraries) for generating 2D plot graphics based on data sets. It is used in projects such as [PSPP](/source/PSPP) and [UMLgraph](/source/UMLgraph), and in many areas of academic research,[[http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2105/8/148 Sennblad, et al., 2007.]][[http://www-verimag.imag.fr/~frehse/phaver_web/ PHAVer, Polyhedral Hybrid Automaton Verifyer]][{{Cite web |url=http://www.cmr.uq.edu.au/XSopheTitle.htm |title=XSohie, electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum simulator |access-date=2009-08-20 |archive-date=2009-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929065345/http://www.cmr.uq.edu.au/XSopheTitle.htm |url-status=dead }}] and is included in many [Linux](/source/Linux) distributions such as [Debian](/source/Debian).[{{Cite web|url=http://packages.debian.org/lenny/plotutils|title=Debian -- Error}}] [Windows](/source/Microsoft_Windows) and [Mac OS X](/source/Mac_OS_X) versions are also available. The library provides bindings for the [C](/source/C_(programming_language)) and [C++](/source/C%2B%2B) languages. Its stand-alone command-line tools can generate graphs and perform numerical calculation of spline curves and systems of ordinary differential equations. Plotutils is a [GNU package](/source/GNU_package) and is distributed under a [free software licence](/source/free_software_licence), the [GPL](/source/GNU_General_Public_License).
==History==
Several utilities were inspired by [Unix](/source/Unix) plotting utilities. A ''[graph](/source/Graph_(Unix))'' utility and various plot filters were present in the first releases of Unix from [Bell Laboratories](/source/Bell_Laboratories). By the time of Version 7 Unix, ''graph'', ''plot'', ''spline'', and several device-dependent versions of ''libplot'' were standard Unix features. The first display device supported by the package was a Tektronix 611 storage scope. By the early 1980s, numerous other devices were supported.
In 1989, the first GNU versions of ''graph'', ''plot'', ''tek2plot'', ''spline'' and their respective documentation were written. [Richard Stallman](/source/Richard_Stallman) further directed development of the programs and documentation. The distribution, as it stood in 1991, was distributed under the name ''GNU graphics''.
In 1995, the package was significantly expanded by writing a device-independent, standalone version of ''libplot'', and by rewriting ''graph'' from scratch, turning it into a real-time filter.
==Features==
===Stand alone tools===
* [GNU graph](/source/GNU_graph), which plots 2-D datasets or data streams in real time.
* [GNU plot](/source/GNU_plot), which translates GNU Metafile format to any of the other formats.
* [GNU tek2plot](/source/GNU_tek2plot), for translating [Tektronix 4010](/source/Tektronix_4010) data to any of the above formats.
* [GNU pic2plot](/source/GNU_pic2plot), for translating the [pic language](/source/pic_language) to any of the above formats.
* [GNU plotfont](/source/GNU_plotfont), for displaying character maps of the fonts that are available in the above formats.
* [GNU spline](/source/GNU_spline), which does [spline](/source/spline_(mathematics)) interpolation of data.
* [GNU ode](/source/GNU_ode), which numerically integrates a system consisting of one or more ordinary differential equations.
===Supported output formats===
* [X Window System](/source/X_Window_System) display
* [Tektronix 4010](/source/Tektronix_4010)
* [SVG](/source/Scalable_Vector_Graphics)
* [PNG](/source/Portable_Network_Graphics)
* [PNM](/source/Netpbm_format)
* pseudo-[GIF](/source/GIF) (using [run-length encoding](/source/run-length_encoding) rather than [LZW](/source/LZW) to avoid the past [patent issue](/source/Gif))
* [WebCGM](/source/WebCGM)
* [Adobe Illustrator](/source/Adobe_Illustrator)
* [PostScript](/source/PostScript)
* [PCL](/source/Printer_Command_Language)
* [HP-GL](/source/HP-GL)
* [xfig](/source/xfig)
==See also==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
* [Graph (Unix)](/source/Graph_(Unix))
* [GNU Project](/source/GNU_Project)
* [gnuplot](/source/gnuplot)
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* {{Official website|https://gnu.org/software/plotutils}}
* [http://prime.sbc.su.se/primetv/plotutils.html GNU Plotutils] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108070030/http://prime.sbc.su.se/primetv/plotutils.html |date=2022-01-08 }}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=qsfzxExOVTsC&dq=plotutils&pg=PA316 C++ for mathematicians: an introduction for students and professionals]
* [https://github.com/rich-murphey/gnu-graphics GNU Graphics]
{{GNU}}
Category:GNU Project software
Category:Graphics libraries
Category:Free plotting software
Category:Free computer libraries
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Plotutils](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plotutils) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plotutils?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.