home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- PGPLOT Version 5.0
-
- All changes are intended to be backwards-compatible: i.e., existing programs
- should run correctly when recompiled, and recompilation should not be
- necessary. Some programs may give slightly different results, owing to the bug
- fixes described below.
-
- New installation procedure
-
- The installation procedure for UNIX systems has changed substantially, to allow
- automatic generation of the makefile and the device dispatch routine
- (grexec.f).
-
- New C binding
-
- This release of PGPLOT includes an experimental C binding for calling PGPLOT
- from C programs. It consists of two files, a header file cpgplot.h that should
- be included in C programs that call PGPLOT, and a system-dependent wrapper
- library that encapsulates the manipulations necessary to call Fortran
- subroutines from C programs (e.g, converting C null-terminated char arrays to
- Fortran character strings). The wrapper library requires an ANSI-compliant C
- compiler, and is not available on all systems (interlanguage calls are very
- difficult or impossible on some systems).
-
- Changes to device drivers
-
- * PostScript: the PostScript device driver (device types /PS, /VPS, /CPS,
- and /VCPS) has been changed to handle the new PGIMAG routine. Use /CPS or
- /VCPS for color images. One side-effect is that the monochrome types (/PS
- and /VPS) now honor color representation changes requested by PGSCR,
- although they substitute a grey level for the requested color.
- * X-Window: the X-Window driver has had major changes to speed it up, make
- it more portable, and add new features. The window is now resizable, and
- it is possible to specify that it stay up after the PGPLOT program exits.
- The driver provides support for the new cursor features in PGBAND. The
- number of colors reserved and the default placement of the window can be
- specified in X resources.
- * GIF (Graphics Interchange Format): a new driver to create GIF files (type
- /GIF or /VGIF).
- * PPM (Portable Pixmap): a new driver to create PPM files (type /PPM or
- /VPPM).
- * Many of the other drivers have been cleaned up to make them more portable.
-
- New routines
-
- For details of all the PGPLOT routines, see file pgplot.doc or pgplot.html that
- the installation procedures puts in the pgplot directory. The file pgplot.html
- can be viewed with Mosaic (e.g., Mosaic /usr/local/pgplot/pgplot.html).
-
- * PGSCIR, PGQCIR: set/query the range of color indices used by routines
- PGGRAY and PGIMAG.
- * PGERAS: erase screen without advancing to new page.
- * PGCONL: for labelling contours drawn with PGCONT.
- * PGBAND: new cursor routine, with many more features than PGCURS including
- cross-hairs and rubber-bands (on devices that support this; currently only
- X-window).
- * PGIMAG: new routine (like PGGRAY) for color images.
- * PGCTAB: for generating a color table for use with PGIMAG.
- * PGSITF/PGQITF: set/query the image transfer function used by routines
- PGGRAY and PGIMAG.
- * PGPANL: to move to a different panel when the view surface has been
- divided into panels with PGBEG or PGSUBP.
-
- The pgdem* programs in pgplot/examples have been enhanced to demonstrate the
- new routines, and there are new demos programs (10--12).
-
- Enhanced routines
-
- * PGBOX: new options for forcing decimal or exponential labeling.
- * PGBEG (PGBEGIN): now parses device specifications differently, so that
- file names including slash characters do not need to be quoted.
- * PGCONX: contours are now traced in a consistent direction (clockwise or
- anticlockwise).
- * PGGRAY: enhanced to allow use of linear, log, or square-root mapping of
- array value onto image brightness (see PGSITF).
- * PGPIXL: new algorithm makes smaller PS files that print faster.
- * PGPAGE: no longer beeps when prompting for next page.
-
- Bugs fixed
-
- * PGNUMB: the FORM argument was ignored, but is now used as documented.
- * PGPAP (PGPAPER) was boken in 4.9H; it now works as documented, and can be
- used to change size between pages.
- * PGQCR: now works as advertised (on most devices).
- * Calling PGSCR before starting a new page (or defining PGPLOT_BACKGROUND or
- PGPLOT_FOREGROUND) no longer creates a blank page in the graphics file.
- * Filled polygons are now correctly clipped against the window on all
- devices; formerly they were not clipped on PostScript and X-Window
- devices.
- * The unit of line-width in PGSLW is now 0.005 inch on all devices.
- * Sometimes markers centered exactly on the edge of the window were not
- drawn when they should have been.
-
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Tim Pearson, California Institute of Technology, tjp@astro.caltech.edu
- Copyright ⌐ 1995 California Institute of Technology
-