[Graph-dev] bugfix/change request for Chart-Graph-3.2's Chart/Graph/Gnuplot.pm

[Emile Aben]

Hi Ketan,

The functionality you want added is the ability to output to screen instead
of to a file. Chart-Graph-3.2 has the ability to output to standard output
instead of to file; you'll have to set the 'output file' option to undef.

I'll discuss with others on the team if we'd want to extend the scope of
Chart::Graph::Gnuplot to support persistant gnuplot processes and how we'd want
to do that.

best regards,
Emile Aben
Data Administrator
CAIDA/SDSC/UCSD

On Fri, Jan 19, 2007 at 10:03:30AM -0500, Ketan Desai wrote:
> 
> Hi,  We recently upgraded our installation of Chart-Graph-3.2 and I ran into some problems.
> I generally invoke this perl module inside a Perl/Tk application where the user expects to see
> a plot on the screen (I use the gnuplot x11 device).
> 
> I tracked my problems down and have two changes to request.
> 
> 1) gnuplot used to be invoked with a '-persist' flag.  The latest module seems to have just removed that flag.

I didn't find any reference to the -persist flag in our current CVS repository, so I don't think this has ever
been a part of Chart-Graph.
 
>     I would like to add a switch to allow the user to request that form of invocation.
> 
> 2) The "output type" option previously could be set to 'undefined' .  This is necessary if one does not want to
>     write to a file. (I chose not to hack an output type of 'x11' because presumably there are other graphical
>     devices besides x11 that one might choose to use.)
> 
>     I would like to add this functionality back in.
> 
> Below I show the diff of my version of Chart/Graph/Gnuplot.pm and our installed version (which came from Chart-Graph-3.2).
> 
> Thanks for all your efforts, this module is very useful.
> 
> -K
> 
> 
> *** <loc>/Chart/Graph/Gnuplot.pm 2007-01-10 12:09:40.723747000 -0500
> --- /usr/local/products/perl/5.8.8/lib/site_perl/5.8.8/Chart/Graph/Gnuplot.pm   2006-06-07 17:09:33.000000000 -0400
> ***************
> *** 63,69 ****
>    # these variables  hold default options for gnuplot
>    my %def_gnu_global_opts = (
>                             "title" => "untitled",
> -                            "persist" => 0,
>                             "output type" => "png",
>                             "output file" => "untitled-gnuplot.png",
>                             "x-axis label" => "x-axis",
> --- 63,68 ----
> ***************
> *** 116,122 ****
>    sub gnuplot {
>        my ($user_global_opts_ref, @data_sets) = @_;
>        my (%data_opts, %global_opts,);
> !     my ($plottype, $output_file, $plot_file, $output_type, $data_set_ref, $qPersist);
>        # create a new filehandle to be used throughout package
>        my $handle = new FileHandle;
> 
> --- 115,121 ----
>    sub gnuplot {
>        my ($user_global_opts_ref, @data_sets) = @_;
>        my (%data_opts, %global_opts,);
> !     my ($plottype, $output_file, $plot_file, $output_type, $data_set_ref);
>        # create a new filehandle to be used throughout package
>        my $handle = new FileHandle;
> 
> ***************
> *** 358,364 ****
>              $output_file = $value;
>          }
> 
> !       if ($key eq "output type" and defined $value) {
>              if (!($value =~ /^(pbm|gif|tgif|png|svg|eps(:? .*)?)$/)) {
>                  carp "invalid output type: $value";
>                  $handle->close();
> --- 357,363 ----
>              $output_file = $value;
>          }
> 
> !       if ($key eq "output type") {
>              if (!($value =~ /^(pbm|gif|tgif|png|svg|eps(:? .*)?)$/)) {
>                  carp "invalid output type: $value";
>                  $handle->close();
> ***************
> *** 367,376 ****
>              }
>              $output_type = $value;
>          }
> -
> -         if ($key eq 'persist') {
> -           $qPersist = 1;
> -         }
>        }
> 
>        # create the data file
> --- 366,371 ----
> ***************
> *** 441,447 ****
>        $handle->close();
> 
>        # gnuplot and convert pbm file to gif
> !     if (not _exec_gnuplot($command_file, $qPersist)) {
>          _cleanup_tmpdir();
>          return 0;
>        }
> --- 436,442 ----
>        $handle->close();
> 
>        # gnuplot and convert pbm file to gif
> !     if (not _exec_gnuplot($command_file)) {
>          _cleanup_tmpdir();
>          return 0;
>        }
> ***************
> *** 765,772 ****
>    #
> 
>    sub _exec_gnuplot {
> !     my ($command_file, $qPersist) = @_;
> !     my $status = system("$gnuplot", ($qPersist ? '-persist' : ()), "$command_file");
> 
>        if (not _chk_status($status)) {
>          return 0;
> --- 760,767 ----
>    #
> 
>    sub _exec_gnuplot {
> !     my ($command_file) = @_;
> !     my $status = system("$gnuplot", "$command_file");
> 
>        if (not _chk_status($status)) {
>          return 0;
> ***************
> *** 1047,1053 ****
>     |                |   'svg' or "eps $epsoptions"|                             |
>     |'output file'   |  set your own output file,  |     'untitled-gnuplot.png'  |
>     |                |   undef to output to STDOUT |                             |
> -  |'persist'       |  0 or 1                     |     0                       |
>     |'x-axis label'  |  set your own label         |     'x-axis'                |
>     |'y-axis label'  |  set your own label         |     'y-axis'                |
>     |'x2-axis label' |  set your own label         |     none                    |
> --- 1042,1047 ----
> ***************
> *** 1126,1135 ****
> 
>    Finally, data can be stored in a file.
> 
> - If the plot is to be displayed on a terminal, the "persist" option
> - should be used so that I<Gnuplot> will be invoked with "-persist".
> - The resultant plot window will persist until the user exits it.
> -
>    =head2 USING GNUPLOT TO READ AND PLOT DATE/TIME DATA DIRECTLY
> 
>    I<Gnuplot> now has the capability to read date/time data and to create
> --- 1120,1125 ----
> 
> 
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