1 Introduction

PyXPlot is a multi-purpose command-line tool for performing simple data processing and for producing graphs and vector graphics. The central philosophy of PyXPlot’s interface is that common tasks – for example, plotting labelled graphs of data – should be accessible via short, simple and intuitive commands which require minimal typing to produce a first draft result. At the same time, these commands also take a sufficient range of optional arguments and settings to allow these figures to be subsequently fine-tuned into a wide range of different styles, appropriate for inclusion in reports, talks or academic journals.

As well as being a graph-plotting package, PyXPlot also has facilities for fitting mathematical functions to data, for numerically solving simple systems of equations, and for converting datafiles between different formats. Its mathematical environment can interpolate datasets, integrate and differentiate them, and take Fourier transforms. PyXPlot’s ability to keep track of the physical units in which data are expressed, and to convert data between different units of measurement, mean that it can be used as a powerful desktop calculator.