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Gnuplot.jl

A Julia interface to Gnuplot.

The Gnuplot.jl package allows easy and fast use of gnuplot as a data visualization tool in Julia. Have a look at Basic usage and Examples for a quick overview. The package main features are:

  • fast time-to-first-plot (~1 sec);

  • extremely concise yet meaningful syntax, makes it ideal for interactive data exploration;

  • no need to learn new API functions or keywords: only two macros (@gp for 2D plots, @gsp for 3D plots) and a basic knowledge of gnuplot are enough to generate the most complex plots;

  • transparent interface between Julia and gnuplot to exploit all functionalities of the latter, both present and future ones;

  • fast data transmission through system pipes (no temporary files involved);

  • availability of all the palettes from ColorSchemes;

  • support for multiple plots in one window, multiple plotting windows, as well as ASCII and Sixel plots (to plot directly in a terminal);

  • support for histograms (both 1D and 2D);

  • enhanced support for contour plots;

  • export to a huge number of formats such as pdf, png, $\LaTeX$, svg, etc. (actually all those supported by gnuplot);

  • save sessions into gnuplot scripts enables easy plot reproducibility and modifications.

Yet another plotting package?

A powerful plotting framework is among the most important tool in the toolbox of any modern scientist and engineer. As such, it is hard to find a single package to fit all needs, and many solutions are indeed available in the Julia ecosystem.

Gnuplot.jl package fills the niche of users who needs:

  1. publication-quality plots, by exploiting the capabilities of a widely used tool such as gnuplot, and its many output formats available;
  2. a well-documented framework, by taking advantage of all the gnuplot documentation, tutorials and examples available on the web;
  3. a fast response, by relying on an external program (rather than on a large Julia code base);
  4. an interactive data exploration framework, by exposing a carefully designed, extremely concise and easy to remember syntax (at least for users with minimal gnuplot knowledge);
  5. a procedure to foster plot reproducibility by sharing just the data and commands in the form of gnuplot scripts, rather than the original Julia code.

Unlike other packages Gnuplot.jl is not a pure Julia solution as it depends on an external package to actually generate plots. However, if gnuplot is not available on a given platform, the package could still be used in "dry" mode, and no error for a missing dependency will be raised (see Dry sessions).

The Gnuplot.jl package development follows a minimalistic approach: it is essentially a thin layer to send data and string commands to gnuplot. This way all underlying capabilities, both present and future ones, are automatically exposed to Julia user, with no need to implement dedicated wrappers.

The functionalities 1, 2 and 3 listed above are similar to those provided by the Gaston package. Gnuplot.jl also provides features 4 and 5, as well as the minimalistic approach.

Do Gnuplot.jl suits my needs?

Any modern plotting package is able to produce a simple scatter plot, with custom symbols, line styles, colors and axis labels. Indeed, this is exactly the example that is reported in every package documentation (also here: see 2D plots). Still, producing complex and publication-quality plots is not an easy task. As a consequence is also not easy to determine whether a package can cope with the most difficult cases (unless you actually try it out) and a reasonable choice is typically to rely on the size of the user base, the availability of documentation / tutorials, and the possibility to preview complex examples.

Gnuplot.jl aims to be ready for even the most challenging plots by relying on the widely and long lasting used gnuplot application, and by allowing each native feature (both present and future ones) to be immediately available in the Julia language. Moreover, Gnuplot.jl provides a unique syntax specifically aimed to increase productivity while performing interactive data exploration.

Last but not least, have a look at the Gnuplot.jl Examples page.

Notation

In this documentation:

  • Gnuplot.jl refers to the Julia package;
  • gnuplot refers to the gnuplot application.

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