.TH PLOTxD 1 "30 July 2002" "WFDB 10.2.7" "WFDB Applications Guide"
.SH NAME
plot2d, plot3d \- make 2-D or 3-D plots from text files of data, using \fBgnuplot\fR
.SH SYNOPSIS
\fBplot2d\fR [ \fIinput-file\fR ] [ [ \fIxcol\fR ] \fIycol\fR ] [ \fIoptions ...\fR ]
.br
\fBplot3d\fR [ \fIinput-file\fR ] [ [ \fIxcol ycol\fR ] \fIzcol\fR ] [ \fIoptions ...\fR ]
.SH DESCRIPTION
.PP
These UNIX shell scripts can be used to produce simple 2-D and 3-D
plots using \fBgnuplot\fR(1) in batch (non-interactive) mode.
\fBplot2d\fR was designed as a quick-and-dirty replacement for
\fBplt\fR(1) (see http://www.physionet.org/physiotools/plt/ ). \fBplot2d\fR
accepts a few of the most commonly-used \fBplt\fR options and produces
similar plots. \fBplot3d\fR uses the same syntax as \fBplot2d\fR, but
it produces simple 3-D plots (a capability not yet offered by \fBplt\fR).
.PP
The \fIinput-file\fR should contain one or more space- or tab-separated columns
of data per line, with each point on a line. Omit the \fIinput-file\fR
argument to read data from the standard input. (Note: since \fBgnuplot\fR
cannot read data from a pipe, \fBplot2d\fR and \fBplot3d\fR save piped input
in a temporary file before invoking \fBgnuplot\fR.)
.PP
\fIxcol\fR, \fIycol\fR, and \fIzcol\fR specify the column numbers within the
input file for the x, y, and z coordinates of the points to be plotted. The
leftmost column is column 0 (this convention follows that used by \fBplt\fR,
rather than that used by \fBgnuplot\fR). Omit the \fIxcol\fR argument to
\fBplot2d\fR to use row numbers as abscissas; if \fIycol\fR is also omitted,
\fBplot2d\fR plots column 1 vs. column 0. When using \fBplot3d\fR, omit
both \fIxcol\fR and \fIycol\fR to generate x and y coordinates sequentially
based on row numbers; a blank line in the input resets x and increments y
in this case.
.PP
\fIOptions\fR include:
.TP
\fB-h\fR
Print help and exit (no plot is made).
.TP
\fB-t\fR \fItitle\fR
Use \fItitle\fR as the title for the plot.
.TP
\fB-x\fR \fIlabel\fR
Use \fIlabel\fR as the X-axis label.
.TP
\fB-y\fR \fIlabel\fR
Use \fIlabel\fR as the Y-axis label.
.TP
\fB-z\fR \fIlabel\fR
Use \fIlabel\fR as the Z-axis label (\fIplot3d\fR only).
.TP
\fB-X \fIxmin xmax\fR
Plot x-coordinates between \fIxmin\fR and \fIxmax\fR only.
.TP
\fB-Y\fR \fIymin ymax\fR
Plot y-coordinates between \fIymin\fR and \fIymax\fR only.
.TP
\fB-Z\fR \fIzmin zmax\fR
Plot z-coordinates between \fIzmin\fR and \fIzmax\fR only (\fIplot3d\fR only).
.TP
\fB-T\fR \fIprinter\fR
Produce output on the specified PostScript \fIprinter\fR (default: plot
on-screen). Use \fB-T eps\fR to generate encapsulated PostScript on the
standard output.
.SH EXAMPLES
.PP
Create a text file with the following contents:
.br
0 0 0
.br
1 1 1
.br
2 4 8
.br
3 9 27
.br
4 16 64
.br
and call the file \fIpowers\fR. Plot the first column vs. the second by:
.br
\fBplot2d powers 0 1 -t "Squares of small integers" -x "Integer" -y "Square"\fR
.br
The same file can be used to generate a number of different plots, by
choosing different columns. To plot the third column vs. the first, try:
\fBplot2d powers 2 0 -t "Marshmallows" -x "Mass (kg)" -y "Height (m)"\fR
.SH SEE ALSO
\fBgnuplot\fR(1), \fBplt\fR(1)
.SH AUTHOR
George B. Moody (george@mit.edu)
.SH SOURCES
http://www.physionet.org/physiotools/wfdb/psd/plot2d
.br
http://www.physionet.org/physiotools/wfdb/psd/plot3d
.br
\fIgnuplot\fR: http://www.gnuplot.info/