[OS X TeX] XY plots (probably OT)

[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.
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

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

Metapost. Not user friendly, you will need to re-format the data-files 
(max 4096 lines at a time, two columns at once). Interfaces nicely with 
TeX, so axes and labels will be formatted beyond belief. You have it 
installed already. 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.

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.

Maarten
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