Plotchart(3tk) 1.5 plotchart "Plotchart"
Plotchart - Simple plotting and charting package
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SYNOPSIS
DESCRIPTION
PLOT CREATION COMMANDS
PLOT METHODS
COORDINATE TRANSFORMATIONS
MISSING VALUES
OTHER OUTPUT FORMATS
SPECIAL EFFECTS
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
RESIZING
CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
ARRANGING MULTIPLE PLOTS IN A CANVAS
TODO - SOME PRIVATE NOTES
KEYWORDS
COPYRIGHT
package require Tcl ?8.4?
package require Tk ?8.4?
package require Plotchart ?1.5?
Plotchart is a Tcl-only package that focuses on the easy creation of
xy-plots, barcharts and other common types of graphical presentations.
The emphasis is on ease of use, rather than flexibility. The procedures
that create a plot use the entire canvas window, making the layout
of the plot completely automatic.
This results in the creation of an xy-plot in, say, ten lines of code:
|
package require Plotchart
canvas .c -background white -width 400 -height 200
pack .c -fill both
#
# Create the plot with its x- and y-axes
#
set s [::Plotchart::createXYPlot .c {0.0 100.0 10.0} {0.0 100.0 20.0}]
foreach {x y} {0.0 32.0 10.0 50.0 25.0 60.0 78.0 11.0 } {
$s plot series1 $x $y
}
$s title "Data series"
|
A drawback of the package might be that it does not do any data
management. So if the canvas that holds the plot is to be resized, the
whole plot must be redrawn.
The advantage, though, is that it offers a number of plot and chart
types:
-
XY-plots like the one shown above with any number of data series.
-
Stripcharts, a kind of XY-plots where the horizontal axis is adjusted
automatically. The result is a kind of sliding window on the data
series.
-
Polar plots, where the coordinates are polar instead of cartesian.
-
Histograms, for plotting statistical information.
-
Isometric plots, where the scale of the coordinates in the two
directions is always the same, i.e. a circle in world coordinates
appears as a circle on the screen.
You can zoom in and out, as well as pan with these plots (Note:
this works best if no axes are drawn, the zooming and panning routines
do not distinguish the axes), using the mouse buttons with the control
key and the arrow keys with the control key.
-
Piecharts, with automatic scaling to indicate the proportions.
-
Barcharts, with either vertical or horizontal bars, stacked bars or
bars side by side.
-
Timecharts, where bars indicate a time period and milestones or other
important moments in time are represented by triangles.
-
3D plots (both for displaying surfaces and 3D bars)
With version 1.5 a new command has been introduced: plotconfig, which
can be used to configure the plot options for particular types of plots
and charts (cf. CONFIGURATION OPTIONS)
You create the plot or chart with one single command and then fill the
plot with data:
- ::Plotchart::createXYPlot w xaxis yaxis
-
Create a new xy-plot (configuration type: xyplot).
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- list xaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the x-axis, in this order.
For an inverted axis, where the maximum appears on the left-hand side,
use: maximum, minimum and a negative stepsize.
- list yaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the y-axis, in this order.
For an inverted axis, where the maximum appears at the bottom,
use: maximum, minimum and a negative stepsize.
- ::Plotchart::createStripchart w xaxis yaxis
-
Create a new strip chart (configuration type: stripchart). The
only difference to a regular XY plot is
that the x-axis will be automatically adjusted when the x-coordinate
of a new point exceeds the maximum.
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- list xaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the x-axis, in this order.
Note that an inverted x-axis is not supported for this type of plot.
- list yaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the y-axis, in this order.
For an inverted axis, where the maximum appears at the bottom,
use: maximum, minimum and a negative stepsize.
- ::Plotchart::createTXPlot w timeaxis xaxis
-
Create a new time-x-plot (configuration type: txplot). The horizontal axis represents the date/time
of the data and the vertical axis the values themselves.
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- list timeaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing the minimum and maximum date/time to be
shown and the stepsize (in days) for the time-axis, in this order.
Note that an inverted time-axis is not supported.
- list xaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the
vertical axis, in this order.
For an inverted axis, where the maximum appears at the bottom,
use: maximum, minimum and a negative stepsize.
- ::Plotchart::createXLogYPlot w xaxis yaxis
-
Create a new xy-plot where the y-axis has a logarithmic scale (configuration type: xlogyplot).
The data should be given as for a linear scale, as the logarithmic transformation
is taken of internally.
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- list xaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the x-axis, in this order.
For an inverted axis, where the maximum appears on the left-hand side,
use: maximum, minimum and a negative stepsize.
- list yaxis (in)
-
A 2-element list containing minimum and maximum for the y-axis, in this order.
Note that an inverted logarithmic axis is not supported.
- ::Plotchart::createPolarPlot w radius_data
-
Create a new polar plot (configuration type: polarplot).
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- list radius_data (in)
-
A 2-element list containing maximum radius and stepsize for the radial
axis, in this order.
- ::Plotchart::createIsometricPlot w xaxis yaxis stepsize
-
Create a new isometric plot, where the vertical and the horizontal
coordinates are scaled so that a circle will truly appear as a circle (configuration type: isometric).
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- list xaxis (in)
-
A 2-element list containing minimum, and maximum for the x-axis, in this order.
- list yaxis (in)
-
A 2-element list containing minimum, and maximum for the y-axis, in this order.
- float|noaxes stepsize (in)
-
Either the stepsize used by both axes or the keyword noaxes to
signal the plot that it should use the full area of the widget, to not
draw any of the axes.
- ::Plotchart::createHistogram w xaxis yaxis
-
Create a new histogram (configuration type: histogram).
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- list xaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the x-axis, in this order.
- list yaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the y-axis, in this order.
- ::Plotchart::create3DPlot w xaxis yaxis zaxis
-
Create a new 3D plot.
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- list xaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the x-axis, in this order.
- list yaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the y-axis, in this order.
- list zaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the z-axis, in this order.
- ::Plotchart::createPiechart w
-
Create a new piechart (configuration type: piechart).
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- ::Plotchart::createRadialchart w names scale style
-
Create a new radial chart (the data are drawn as a line connecting the
spokes of the diagram) (configuration type: radialchart).
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- list names (in)
-
Names for the spokes.
- float scale (in)
-
Scale value to determine the position of the data along the spokes.
- float style (in)
-
Style of the chart (optional). One of:
-
lines - the default: draw the data as independent polylines.
-
cumulative - draw the data as polylines where the data are
accumulated.
-
filled - draw the data as filled polygons where the data are
accumulated
- ::Plotchart::createBarchart w xlabels yaxis noseries
-
Create a new barchart with vertical bars (configuration type: vertbars). The horizontal axis will
display the labels contained in the argument xlabels. The number
of series given by noseries determines both the width of the
bars, and the way the series will be drawn.
If the keyword stacked was specified the series will be drawn
stacked on top of each other. Otherwise each series that is drawn will
be drawn shifted to the right.
The number of series determines the width of the bars, so that there is
space of that number of bars. If you use a floating-point number, like
2.2, instead of an integer, like 2, a small gap between the sets of bars
will be drawn - the width depends on the fractional part.
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- list xlabels (in)
-
List of labels for the x-axis. Its length also determines the number of
bars that will be plotted per series.
- list yaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the y-axis, in this order.
- int|stacked noseries (in)
-
The number of data series that will be plotted. This has to be an
integer number greater than zero (if stacked is not used).
- ::Plotchart::createHorizontalBarchart w xlabels yaxis noseries
-
Create a new barchart with horizontal bars (configuration type: horizbars). The vertical axis will
display the labels contained in the argument ylabels. The number
of series given by noseries determines both the width of the
bars, and the way the series will be drawn.
If the keyword stacked was specified the series will be drawn
stacked from left to right. Otherwise each series that is drawn will
be drawn shifted upward.
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- list ylabels (in)
-
List of labels for the y-axis. Its length also determines the number of
bars that will be plotted per series.
- list yaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the x-axis, in this order.
- int|stacked noseries (in)
-
The number of data series that will be plotted. This has to be an
integer number greater than zero (if stacked is not used).
- ::Plotchart::create3DBarchart w yaxis nobars
-
Create a new barchart with 3D vertical bars (configuration type: 3dbars). The horizontal axis will
display the labels per bar. The number of bars given by nobars
determines the position and the width of the bars. The colours can be
varied per bar. (This type of chart was inspired by the Wiki page on 3D
bars by Richard Suchenwirth.)
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- list yaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the y-axis, in this order.
- int nobars (in)
-
The number of bars that will be plotted.
- ::Plotchart::create3DRibbonChart w names yaxis zaxis
-
Create a new "ribbon chart" (configuration type: 3dribbon). This is
a chart where the data series are
represented as ribbons in a three-dimensional axis system. Along the
x-axis (which is "into" the screen) the names are plotted, each
representing a single series. The first plot command draws the furthest
series, the second draws the series in front of that and so on.
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- widget w (in)
-
Names of the series, plotted as labels along the x-axis
- list yaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the y-axis
(drawn horizontally!), in this order.
- list zaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the z-axis
(drawn vertically), in this order.
- int nobars (in)
-
The number of bars that will be plotted.
- ::Plotchart::createTimechart w time_begin time_end noitems
-
Create a new timechart (configuration type: timechart).
The time axis (= x-axis) goes from time_begin to time_end,
and the vertical spacing is determined by the number of items to plot.
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- string time_begin (in)
-
The start time given in a form that is recognised by the clock scan
command (e.g. "1 january 2004").
- string time_end (in)
-
The end time given in a form that is recognised by the clock scan
command (e.g. "1 january 2004").
- int noitems (in)
-
Expected/maximum number of items. This determines the vertical
spacing.
- ::Plotchart::createGanttchart w time_begin time_end noitems ?text_width?
-
Create a new Gantt chart (configuration type: ganttchart).
The time axis (= x-axis) goes from time_begin to time_end,
and the vertical spacing is determined by the number of items to plot.
Via the specific commands you can then add tasks and connections between
the tasks.
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- string time_begin (in)
-
The start time given in a form that is recognised by the clock scan
command (e.g. "1 january 2004").
- string time_end (in)
-
The end time given in a form that is recognised by the clock scan
command (e.g. "1 january 2004").
- int noitems (in)
-
Expected/maximum number of items. This determines the vertical
spacing.
- int text_width
-
Expected/maximum width of the descriptive text (roughly in characters,
for the actual space reserved for the text, it is assumed that a
character is about ten pixels wide). Defaults to 20.
- ::Plotchart::createRightAxis w yaxis
-
Create a plot command that will use a right axis instead of the left
axis (configuration type: inherited from the existing plot). The widget
(w) must already contain an ordinary plot, as the
horizontal axis and other properties are reused. To plot data using the
right axis, use this new command, to plot data using the left
axis, use the original plot command.
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the existing canvas widget to hold the plot.
- list yaxis (in)
-
A 3-element list containing minimum, maximum and stepsize for the y-axis, in this order.
Each of the creation commands explained in the last section returns
the name of a new object command that can be used to manipulate the
plot or chart. The subcommands available to a chart command depend on
the type of the chart.
General subcommands for all types of charts. $anyplot is the command
returned by the creation command:
- $anyplot title text
-
Specify the title of the whole chart.
- string text (in)
-
The text of the title to be drawn.
- $anyplot saveplot filename args
-
Draws the plot into a file, using PostScript.
- string filename (in)
-
Contain the path name of the file to write the plot to.
- list args (in)
-
Optionally you can specify the option -format "some picture format" to
store the plot in a different file than a PostScript file. This,
however, relies on the Img package to do the actual job.
Note:
Because the window holding the plot must be fully visible before Img can
successfully grab it, it is raised first.
On some systems, for instance Linux with KDE, raising
a window is not done automatically, but instead you need to click on the
window in the task bar. Similar things happen on Windows XP.
There seems to be something wrong under some circumstances, so instead
of waiting for the visibility of the window, the procedure simply waits
two seconds. It is not ideal, but it seems to work better.
- $anyplot xtext text
-
Specify the title of the (horizontal) x-axis, for those plots that have
a straight x-axis.
- string text (in)
-
The text of the x-axis label to be drawn.
- $anyplot ytext text
-
Specify the title of the (horizontal) y-axis, for those plots that have
a straight y-axis.
- string text (in)
-
The text of the y-axis label to be drawn.
- $anyplot xconfig -option value ...
-
Set one or more configuration parameters for the x-axis.
The following options are supported:
- format fmt
-
The format for the numbers along the axis.
- ticklength length
-
The length of the tickmarks (in pixels).
- ticklines boolean
-
Whether to draw ticklines (true) or not (false).
- scale scale_data
-
New scale data for the axis, i.e. a 3-element list containing minimum,
maximum and stepsize for the axis, in this order.
Beware: Setting this option will clear all data from the plot.
- $anyplot yconfig -option value ...
-
Set one or more configuration parameters for the y-axis. This method
accepts the same options and values as the method xconfig.
- $anyplot background part colour_or_image dir
-
Set the background of a part of the plot
- string part
-
Which part of the plot: "axes" for the axes area and "plot" for the
inner part. The interpretation depends on the type of plot. Two further
possibilities are:
-
image, in which case a predefined image is loaded
into the background of the plot.
-
gradient, in which case the background is coloured in different
shades of the given colour. The "dir" argument specifies the direction
in which the colour gets whiter.
- string colour_or_image
-
Colour for that part or the name of the image if "part" is "image"
- string dir
-
The direction of the gradient. One of: top-down, bottom-up, left-right
or right-left.
- $anyplot xticklines colour
-
Draw vertical ticklines at each tick location
- string colour
-
Colour of the lines. Specifying an empty colour ("") removes them again.
Defaults to "black"
- $anyplot yticklines colour
-
Draw horizontal ticklines at each tick location
- string colour
-
Colour of the lines. Specifying an empty colour ("") removes them again
Defaults to "black"
- $anyplot legendconfig -option value ...
-
Set one or more options for the legend. The legend is drawn as a
rectangle with text and graphics inside.
- background colour
-
Set the colour of the background (the default colour is white).
Set to the empty string for a transparant legend.
- border colour
-
Set the colour of the border (the default colour is white). Set to the
empty string if you do not want a border.
- canvas c
-
Draw the legend in a different canvas widget. This gives you the freedom
to position the legend outside the actual plot.
- position corner
-
Set the position of the legend. May be one of: top-left, top-right,
bottom-left or bottom-right. (Default value is top-right.)
- $anyplot legend series text
-
Add an entry to the legend. The series determines which graphical
symbol is to be used. (As a side effect the legend is actually drawn.)
- string series
-
Name of the data series. This determines the colour of the line and the
symbol (if any) that will be drawn.
- string text
-
Text to be drawn next to the line/symbol.
- $anyplot balloon x y text dir
-
Add balloon text to the plot (except for 3D plots). The arrow will point
to the given x- and y-coordinates. For xy-graphs and such, the
coordinates are directly related to the axes; for vertical barcharts the
x-coordinate is measured as the number of bars minus 1 and similar for
horizontal barcharts.
- float x
-
X-coordinate of the point that the arrow of the balloon will point to.
- float y
-
Y-coordinate of the point that the arrow of the balloon will point to.
- string text
-
Text to be drawn in the balloon.
- string dir
-
Direction of the arrow, one of: north, north-east, east, south-east,
south, south-west, west or north-west.
- $anyplot balloonconfig args
-
Configure the balloon text for the plot. The new settings will be used
for the next balloon text.
- font fontname
-
Font to be used for the text
- justify left|center|right
-
Way to justify multiline text
- textcolour colour
-
Colour for the text (synonym: textcolor)
- background colour
-
Background colour for the balloon
- outline colour
-
Colour of the outline of the balloon
- margin value
-
Margin around the text (in pixels)
- rimwidth value
-
Width of the outline of the balloon (in pixels)
- arrowsize value
-
Length factor for the arrow (in pixels)
Note: The commands xconfig and yconfig are
currently implemented only for XY-plots
and only the option -format has any effect.
For xy plots, stripcharts, histograms and
time-x-plots:
- $xyplot plot series xcrd ycrd
-
Add a data point to the plot.
- string series (in)
-
Name of the data series the new point belongs to.
- float xcrd (in)
-
X-coordinate of the new point. (For time-x plots this must be valid
date/time that can be read with the clock scan command).
- float ycrd (in)
-
Y-coordinate of the new point.
Note on histograms:
For histograms the x-coordinate that is given is interpreted to be
the x-coordinate of the right side of the bar. The first
bar starts at the y-axis on the left. To completely fill the range
of the x-axis, you should draw a bar at the maximum x-coordinate.
For xy plots:
- $xyplot trend series xcrd ycrd
-
Draw or update a trend line using the data given sofar.
- string series (in)
-
Name of the data series the trend line belongs to.
- float xcrd (in)
-
X-coordinate of the new data point
- float ycrd (in)
-
Y-coordinate of the new data point
- $xyplot rchart series xcrd ycrd
-
Draw data in the same way as the plot method, but with two lines added
that indicate the expected range (+/- 3*standard deviation) of the data.
- string series (in)
-
Name of the data series the data point belongs to.
- float xcrd (in)
-
X-coordinate of the new data point
- float ycrd (in)
-
Y-coordinate of the new data point
- $xyplot interval series xcrd ymin ymax ?ycentr?
-
Add a vertical error interval to the plot. The interval is drawn from
ymin to ymax. If the ycentr argument is given, a symbol is drawn at that
position.
- string series (in)
-
Name of the data series the interval belongs to.
- float xcrd (in)
-
X-coordinate of the interval
- float ymin (in)
-
Minimum y-coordinate of the interval.
- float ymax (in)
-
Maximum y-coordinate of the interval.
- float ycentr (in)
-
Y-coordinate to draw the symbol at (optional)
- $xyplot vector series xcrd ycrd ucmp vcmp
-
Draw a vector in the plot. The vector can be given as either cartesian
coordinates or as length/angle, where the angle is in degrees and is
interpreted according to the mathematical convention or the nautical.
(See the vectorconfig subcommand)
- string series (in)
-
Name of the series the vector belongs to. Determines the appearance and
interpretation.
- float xcrd (in)
-
X-coordinate of the point where the arrow appears
- float ycrd (in)
-
Y-coordinate of the point where the arrow appears
- float ucmp (in)
-
X-component or the length of the vector
- float ycentr (in)
-
Y-component or the angle of the vector
- $xyplot vectorconfig series -option value ...
-
]
Set the vector drawing options for a particular series
- string series (in)
-
Name of the series the vector belongs to.
The options can be one of the following:
- colour
-
The colour of the arrow (default: black; synonym: color)
- scale value
-
The scale factor used to convert the length of the
arrow into a number of pixels (default: 1.0)
- centred onoff
-
Logical value indicating that the xy-coordinates
are to be used as the start of the arrow or as the centre (default: 0;
synonym: centered)
- type keyword
-
Interpretation of the vector components. Can be "cartesian"
(default), in which case the x- and y-components are expected, "polar"
(the angle 0 coincides with the positive x-axis, 90 coincides with the
positive y-axis) or "nautical" (0 is "north" and 90 is "east").
- $xyplot dot series xcrd ycrd value
-
Draw a dot in the plot. The size and colour is determined by the value
and by the options set for the series it belongs to.
(See the dotconfig subcommand)
- string series (in)
-
Name of the series the dot belongs to. Determines size and colour
- float xcrd (in)
-
X-coordinate of the point where the arrow appears
- float ycrd (in)
-
Y-coordinate of the point where the arrow appears
- float value (in)
-
Value determining size and colour
- $xyplot dotconfig series -option value ...
-
]
Set the dot drawing options for a particular series
- string series (in)
-
Name of the series the dot belongs to.
The options can be one of the following:
- colour
-
The colour of the dot if no scaling is used or the value exceeds the
last limit of the classes.
- scale value
-
The scale factor used to convert the value into the radius of the dot
in pixels (default: 1.0)
- radius value
-
The default radius of the dots, used if there is no scaling by value
(in pixels; default: 3)
- scalebyvalue onoff
-
Determines whether the dots all have the same size or a size depending
on the given value (default: on).
- outline onoff
-
Draw a black circle around the dot or not (default: on)
- classes list
-
Set the limits and the corresponding colours. For instance:
|
$xyplot series1 -classes {0 blue 1 green} -colour red
|
will cause a blue dot to be drawn for values smaller than 0, a green dot
for values larger/equal 0 but lower than 1 and a red dot for values
larger/equal 1.
If there is no list of classes for the particular series, the dots are
scaled by the value.
You can combine the colouring by value and the scaling by value by
setting a list of classes and setting the scalebyvalue option on.
- $xyplot contourlines xcrd ycrd values ?classes?
-
Draw contour lines for the values given on the grid. The grid is defined
by the xcrd and ycrd arguments (they give the x- and y-coordinates of
the grid cell corners). The values are given at these corners. The
classes determine which contour lines are drawn. If a value on one of
the corners is missing, the contour lines in that cell will not be
drawn.
- list xcrd (in)
-
List of lists, each value is an x-coordinate for a grid cell corner
- list ycrd (in)
-
List of lists, each value is an y-coordinate for a grid cell corner
- list values (in)
-
List of lists, each value is the value at a grid cell corner
- list classes (in)
-
List of class values or a list of lists of two elements (each inner list
the class value and the colour to be used). If empty or missing, the
classes are determined automatically.
Note: The class values must enclose the whole range of values.
- $xyplot contourfill xcrd ycrd values ?classes?
-
Draw filled contours for the values given on the grid. (The use of this
method is identical to the "contourlines" method).
- $xyplot contourbox xcrd ycrd values ?classes?
-
Draw the cells as filled quadrangles. The colour is determined from
the average of the values on all four corners.
- $xyplot colorMap colours
-
Set the colours to be used with the contour methods. The argument is
either a predefined colourmap (grey/gray, jet, hot or cool)
or a list of colours. When selecting the colours for actually drawing the
contours, the given colours will be interpolated (based on the HLS scheme).
- list colours (in)
-
List of colour names or colour values or one of the predefined maps:
-
grey or gray: gray colours from dark to light
-
jet: rainbow colours
-
hot: colours from yellow via red to darkred
-
cool: colours from cyan via blue to magenta
- $xyplot grid xcrd ycrd
-
Draw the grid cells as lines connecting the (valid) grid points.
- list xcrd (in)
-
List of lists, each value is an x-coordinate for a grid cell corner
- list ycrd (in)
-
List of lists, each value is an y-coordinate for a grid cell corner
For polar plots:
- $polarplot plot series radius angle
-
Add a data point to the polar plot.
- string series (in)
-
Name of the data series the new point belongs to.
- float radius (in)
-
Radial coordinate of the new point.
- float angle (in)
-
Angular coordinate of the new point (in degrees).
For 3D plots:
- $plot3d plotfunc function
-
Plot a function defined over two variables x and y.
The resolution is determined by the set grid sizes (see the method
gridsize for more information).
- string function (in)
-
Name of the procedure that calculates the z-value for the given x and
y coordinates. The procedure has to accept two float arguments (x is
first argument, y is second) and return a floating-point value.
- $plot3d plotfuncont function contours
-
Plot a function defined over two variables x and y using
the contour levels in contours to colour the surface.
The resolution is determined by the set grid sizes (see the method
gridsize for more information).
- string function (in)
-
Name of the procedure that calculates the z-value for the given x and
y coordinates. The procedure has to accept two float arguments (x is
first argument, y is second) and return a floating-point value.
- list contours (in)
-
List of values in ascending order that represent the contour levels
(the boundaries between the colours in the contour map).
- $plot3d gridsize nxcells nycells
-
Set the grid size in the two directions. Together they determine how
many polygons will be drawn for a function plot.
- int nxcells (in)
-
Number of grid cells in x direction. Has to be an integer number
greater than zero.
- int nycells (in)
-
Number of grid cells in y direction. Has to be an integer number
greater than zero.
- $plot3d plotdata data
-
Plot a matrix of data.
- list data (in)
-
The data to be plotted. The data has to be provided as a nested list
with 2 levels. The outer list contains rows, drawn in y-direction, and
each row is a list whose elements are drawn in x-direction, for the
columns. Example:
|
set data {
{1.0 2.0 3.0}
{4.0 5.0 6.0}
}
|
- $plot3d colours fill border
-
Configure the colours to use for polygon borders and inner area.
- color fill (in)
-
The colour to use for filling the polygons.
- color border (in)
-
The colour to use for the border of the polygons.
For xy plots, stripcharts and polar plots:
- $xyplot dataconfig series -option value ...
-
Set the value for one or more options regarding the drawing of data of
a specific series.
- string series (in)
-
Name of the data series whose configuration we are changing.
The following options are allowed:
- colour c
-
- color c
-
The colour to be used when drawing the data series.
- type enum
-
The drawing mode chosen for the series.
This can be one of line, symbol, or both.
- symbol enum
-
What kind of symbol to draw. The value of this option is ignored when
the drawing mode line was chosen. This can be one of
plus, cross, circle, up (triangle
pointing up), down (triangle pointing down), dot
(filled circle), upfilled or downfilled (filled
triangles).
- filled enum
-
Whether to fill the area above or below the data line or not. Can be one
of: no, up or down (SPECIAL EFFECTS)
- fillcolour colour
-
Colour to use when filling the area associated with the data line.
For piecharts:
- $pie plot data
-
Fill a piechart.
- list data (in)
-
A list of pairs (labels and values). The values determine the relative
size of the circle segments. The labels are drawn beside the circle.
- $pie colours colour1 colour2 ...
-
Set the colours to be used.
- color colour1 (in)
-
The first colour.
- color colour2 (in)
-
The second colour, and so on.
For radial charts:
- $radial plot data colour thickness
-
Draw a new line in the radial chart
- list data (in)
-
A list of data (one for each spoke). The values determine the distance
from the centre of the line connecting the spokes.
- color colour (in)
-
The colour for the line.
- int thickness (in)
-
An optional argument for the thickness of the line.
- $pie colours colour1 colour2 ...
-
Set the colours to be used.
- color colour1 (in)
-
The first colour.
- color colour2 (in)
-
The second colour, and so on.
For vertical barcharts:
- $barchart plot series ydata colour
-
Add a data series to a barchart.
- string series (in)
-
Name of the series the values belong to.
- list ydata (in)
-
A list of values, one for each x-axis label.
- color colour (in)
-
The colour of the bars.
For horizontal barcharts:
- $barchart plot series xdata colour
-
Add a data series to a barchart.
- string series (in)
-
Name of the series the values belong to.
- list xdata (in)
-
A list of values, one for each y-axis label.
- color colour (in)
-
The colour of the bars.
For 3D barcharts:
- $barchart plot label yvalue colour
-
Add the next bar to the barchart.
- string label (in)
-
The label to be shown below the column.
- float yvalue (in)
-
The value that determines the height of the column
- color colour (in)
-
The colour of the column.
- $barchart config -option value ...
-
Set one or more configuration parameters. The following options are
supported:
- usebackground boolean
-
Whether to draw walls to the left and to the back of the columns or not
- useticklines boolean
-
Whether to draw ticklines on the walls or not
- showvalues boolean
-
Whether to show the values or not
- labelfont newfont
-
Name of the font to use for labels
- labelcolour colour
-
Colour for the labels
- valuefont newfont
-
Name of the font to use for the values
- valuecolour colour
-
Colour for the values
For 3D ribbon charts:
- $ribbon line xypairs colour
-
Plot the given xy-pairs as a ribbon in the chart
- list xypairs (in)
-
The pairs of x/y values to be drawn (the series is drawn as a whole)
- color colour (in)
-
The colour of the ribbon.
- $ribbon area xypairs colour
-
Plot the given xy-pairs as a ribbon with a filled area in front. The
effect is that of a box with the data as its upper surface.
- list xypairs (in)
-
The pairs of x/y values to be drawn (the series is drawn as a whole)
- color colour (in)
-
The colour of the ribbon/area.
For timecharts:
- $timechart period text time_begin time_end colour
-
Add a time period to the chart.
- string text (in)
-
The text describing the period.
- string time_begin (in)
-
Start time of the period.
- string time_end (in)
-
Stop time of the period.
- color colour (in)
-
The colour of the bar (defaults to black).
- $timechart milestone text time colour
-
Add a milestone (represented as an point-down triangle) to the
chart.
- string text (in)
-
The text describing the milestone.
- string time (in)
-
Time at which the milestone must be positioned.
- color colour (in)
-
The colour of the triangle (defaults to black).
- $timechart vertline text time
-
Add a vertical line (to indicate the start of the month for instance)
to the chart.
- string text (in)
-
The text appearing at the top (an abbreviation of the
date/time for instance).
- string time (in)
-
Time at which the line must be positioned.
For Gantt charts:
- $ganttchart task text time_begin time_end completed
-
Add a task with its period and level of completion to the chart. Returns
a list of canvas items that can be used for further manipulations, like
connecting two tasks.
- string text (in)
-
The text describing the task.
- string time_begin (in)
-
Start time of the task.
- string time_end (in)
-
Stop time of the task.
- float completed (in)
-
The percentage of the task that is completed.
- $ganttchart milestone text time colour
-
Add a milestone (represented as an point-down triangle) to the
chart.
- string text (in)
-
The text describing the milestone.
- string time (in)
-
Time at which the milestone must be positioned.
- color colour (in)
-
The colour of the triangle (defaults to black).
- $ganttchart vertline text time
-
Add a vertical line (to indicate the start of the month for instance)
to the chart.
- string text (in)
-
The text appearing at the top (an abbreviation of the
date/time for instance).
- string time (in)
-
Time at which the line must be positioned.
- $ganttchart connect from to
-
Add an arrow that connects the from task with the to task.
- list from (in)
-
The list of items returned by the "task" command that represents the
task from which the arrow starts.
- string text (in)
-
The text summarising the tasks
- list args (in)
-
One or more tasks (the lists returned by the "task" command). They are
shifted down to make room for the summary.
- list to (in)
-
The list of items returned by the "task" command that represents the
task at which the arrow ends.
- $ganttchart summary text args
-
Add a summary item that spans all the tasks listed. The graphical
representation is a thick bar running from the leftmost task to the
rightmost.
Use this command before connecting the tasks, as the arrow would not be
shifted down!
- string text (in)
-
The text summarising the tasks
- list args (in)
-
One or more tasks (the lists returned by the "task" command). They are
shifted down to make room for the summary.
- $ganttchart color keyword newcolor
-
Set the colour of a part of the Gantt chart. These colours hold for all
items of that type.
- string keyword (in)
-
The keyword indicates which part of the Gantt chart to change:
-
description - the colour of the descriptive text
-
completed - the colour of the filled bar representing the completed part
of a task
-
left - the colour for the part that is not yet completed
-
odd - the background colour for the odd entries
-
even - the background colour for the even entries
-
summary - the colour for the summary text
-
summarybar - the colour for the bar for a summary
- string newcolor (in)
-
The new colour for the chosen items.
- $ganttchart font keyword newfont
-
Set the font of a part of the Gantt chart. These fonts hold for all
items of that type.
- string keyword (in)
-
The keyword indicates which part of the Gantt chart to change:
-
description - the font used for descriptive text
-
summary - the font used for summaries
-
scale - the font used for the time scale
- string newfont (in)
-
The new font for the chosen items.
For isometric plots (to be extended):
- $isoplot plot rectangle x1 y1 x2 y2 colour
-
Plot the outlines of a rectangle.
- float x1 (in)
-
Minimum x coordinate of the rectangle to be drawn.
- float y1 (in)
-
Minimum y coordinate of the rectangle.
- float x2 (in)
-
Maximum x coordinate of the rectangle to be drawn.
- float y2 (in)
-
Maximum y coordinate of the rectangle.
- color colour (in)
-
The colour of the rectangle.
- $isoplot plot filled-rectangle x1 y1 x2 y2 colour
-
Plot a rectangle filled with the given colour.
- float x1 (in)
-
Minimum x coordinate of the rectangle to be drawn.
- float y1 (in)
-
Minimum y coordinate of the rectangle.
- float x2 (in)
-
Maximum x coordinate of the rectangle to be drawn.
- float y2 (in)
-
Maximum y coordinate of the rectangle.
- color colour (in)
-
The colour of the rectangle.
- $isoplot plot circle xc yc radius colour
-
Plot the outline of a circle.
- float xc (in)
-
X coordinate of the circle's centre.
- float yc (in)
-
Y coordinate of the circle's centre.
- color colour (in)
-
The colour of the circle.
- $isoplot plot filled-circle xc yc radius colour
-
Plot a circle filled with the given colour.
- float xc (in)
-
X coordinate of the circle's centre.
- float yc (in)
-
Y coordinate of the circle's centre.
- color colour (in)
-
The colour of the circle.
There are a number of public procedures that may be useful in specific
situations: Pro memorie.
Besides the commands that deal with the plots and charts directly,
there are a number of commands that can be used to convert world
coordinates to pixels and vice versa.
These include:
- ::Plotchart::viewPort w pxmin pymin pxmax pymax
-
Set the viewport for window w. Should be used in cooperation
with ::Plotchart::worldCoordinates.
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the window (canvas widget) in question.
- float pxmin (in)
-
Left-most pixel coordinate.
- float pymin (in)
-
Top-most pixel coordinate (remember: the vertical pixel coordinate
starts with 0 at the top!).
- float pxmax (in)
-
Right-most pixel coordinate.
- float pymax (in)
-
Bottom-most pixel coordinate.
- ::Plotchart::worldCoordinates w xmin ymin xmax ymax
-
Set the extreme world coordinates for window w. The world
coordinates need not be in ascending order (i.e. xmin can be larger
than xmax, so that a reversal of the x-axis is achieved).
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the window (canvas widget) in question.
- float xmin (in)
-
X-coordinate to be mapped to left side of viewport.
- float ymin (in)
-
Y-coordinate to be mapped to bottom of viewport.
- float xmax (in)
-
X-coordinate to be mapped to right side of viewport.
- float ymax (in)
-
Y-coordinate to be mapped to top side of viewport.
- ::Plotchart::world3DCoordinates w xmin ymin zmin xmax ymax zmax
-
Set the extreme three-dimensional world coordinates for window
w. The world coordinates need not be in ascending order (i.e. xmin
can be larger than xmax, so that a reversal of the x-axis is
achieved).
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the window (canvas widget) in question.
- float xmin (in)
-
X-coordinate to be mapped to front side of the 3D viewport.
- float ymin (in)
-
Y-coordinate to be mapped to left side of the viewport.
- float zmin (in)
-
Z-coordinate to be mapped to bottom of viewport.
- float xmax (in)
-
X-coordinate to be mapped to back side of viewport.
- float ymax (in)
-
Y-coordinate to be mapped to right side of viewport.
- float zmax (in)
-
Z-coordinate to be mapped to top side of viewport.
- ::Plotchart::coordsToPixel w x y
-
Return a list of pixel coordinates valid for the given window.
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the window (canvas widget) in question.
- float x (in)
-
X-coordinate to be mapped.
- float y (in)
-
Y-coordinate to be mapped.
- ::Plotchart::coords3DToPixel w x y z
-
Return a list of pixel coordinates valid for the given window.
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the window (canvas widget) in question.
- float x (in)
-
X-coordinate to be mapped.
- float y (in)
-
Y-coordinate to be mapped.
- float y (in)
-
Z-coordinate to be mapped.
- ::Plotchart::polarCoordinates w radmax
-
Set the extreme polar coordinates for window w. The angle always
runs from 0 to 360 degrees and the radius starts at 0. Hence you only
need to give the maximum radius.
Note: If the viewport is not square, this procedure will not
adjust the extremes, so that would result in an elliptical plot. The
creation routine for a polar plot always determines a square viewport.
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the window (canvas widget) in question.
- float radmax (in)
-
Maximum radius.
- ::Plotchart::polarToPixel w rad phi
-
Wrapper for a call to ::Plotchart::coordsToPixel, which assumes
the world coordinates and viewport are set appropriately. Converts
polar coordinates to pixel coordinates.
Note: To be useful it should be accompanied by a matching
::Plotchart::worldCoordinates procedure. This is automatically
taken care of in the creation routine for polar plots.
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the window (canvas widget) in question.
- float rad (in)
-
Radius of the point.
- float phi (in)
-
Angle to the positive x-axis.
- ::Plotchart::pixelToCoords w x y
-
Return a list of world coordinates valid for the given window.
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the window (canvas widget) in question.
- float x (in)
-
X-pixel to be mapped.
- float y (in)
-
Y-pixel to be mapped.
- ::Plotchart::pixelToIndex w x y
-
Return the index of the pie segment containing the pixel coordinates
(x,y)
- widget w (in)
-
Name of the window (canvas widget) in question, holding a piechart.
- float x (in)
-
X-pixel to be mapped.
- float y (in)
-
Y-pixel to be mapped.
Furthermore there is a routine to determine "pretty" numbers for use
with an axis:
- ::Plotchart::determineScale xmin xmax inverted
-
Determine "pretty" numbers from the given range and return a list
containing the minimum, maximum and stepsize that can be used for a
(linear) axis.
- float xmin (in)
-
Rough minimum value for the scaling
- float xmax (in)
-
Rough maximum value for the scaling.
- boolean inverted (in)
-
Optional argument: if 1, then the returned list produces an
inverted axis. Defaults to 0 (the axis will be from minimum to maximum)
Often data that need to be plotted contain gaps - in a series of
measurement data, they can occur because the equipment failed, a sample
was not collected correctly or for many other reasons. The
Plotchart handles these gaps by assuming that one or both
coordinates of such data points are an empty string:
|
#
# Create the plot with its x- and y-axes
#
set s [::Plotchart::createXYPlot .c {0.0 100.0 10.0} {0.0 100.0 20.0}]
foreach {x y} {0.0 32.0 10.0 {} 25.0 60.0 78.0 11.0 } {
$s plot series1 $x $y
}
|
The effect varies according to the type of plot:
-
For xy-plots, radial plots and strip charts the missing data point
causes a gap in the line through the points.
-
For barchats, missing values are treated as if a value of zero was
given.
-
For time charts and Gantt charts missing values cause errors - there is
no use for them there.
Besides output to the canvas on screen, the module is capable, via
canvas postscript, of producing PostScript files. One may wonder
whether it is possible to extend this set of output formats and the
answer is "yes". This section tries to sum up the aspects of using this
module for another sort of output.
One way you can create output files in a different format, is by
examining the contents of the canvas after everything has been drawn and
render that contents in the right form. This is probably the easiest
way, as it involves nothing more than the re-creation of all the
elements in the plot that are already there.
The drawback of that method is that you need to have a display, which is
not always the case if you run a CGI server or something like that.
An alternative is to emulate the canvas command. For this to work, you
need to know which canvas subcommands are used and what for. Obviously,
the create subcommand is used to create the lines, texts and
other items. But also the raise and lower subcommands are
used, because with these the module can influence the drawing order -
important to simulate a clipping rectangle around the axes. (The routine
DrawMask is responsible for this - if the output format supports proper
clipping areas, then a redefinition of this routine might just solve
this).
Furthermore, the module uses the cget subcommand to find out the
sizes of the canvas. A more mundane aspect of this is that the module
currently assumes that the text is 14 pixels high and that 80 pixels in
width suffice for the axis' labels. No "hook" is provided to customise
this.
In summary:
-
Emulate the create subcommand to create all the items in the
correct format
-
Emulate the cget subcommand for the options -width and -height to
allow the correct calculation of the rectangle's position and size
-
Solve the problem of raising and lowering the items so
that they are properly clipped, for instance by redefining the
routine DrawMask.
-
Take care of the currently fixed text size properties
As an example of some special effects you can achieve, here is the
code for a plot where the area below the data line varies in colour:
|
canvas .c -background white -width 400 -height 200
pack .c -fill both
set s [::Plotchart::createXYPlot .c {0.0 100.0 10.0} {0.0 100.0 20.0}]
$s background gradient green top-down
$s dataconfig series1 -filled up -fillcolour white
$s plot series1 0.0 20.0
$s plot series1 10.0 20.0
$s plot series1 30.0 50.0
$s plot series1 35.0 45.0
$s plot series1 45.0 25.0
$s plot series1 75.0 55.0
$s plot series1 100.0 55.0
$s plaintext 30.0 60.0 "Peak" south
|
The trick is to fill the background with a colour that changes from
green at the top to white at the bottom. Then the area above the data
line is filled with a white polygon. Thus the green shading varies with
the height of the line.
In this version there are a lot of things that still need to
be implemented:
-
More robust handling of incorrect calls (right now the procedures may
fail when called incorrectly):
-
The axis drawing routines can not handle inverse axes right now.
-
If the user provides an invalid date/time string, the routines simply
throw an error.
Plotchart has not been designed to create plots and charts
that keep track of the data that are put in. This means that if an
application needs to allow the user to resize the window holding the
plot or chart, it must take care to redraw the complete plot.
The code below is a simple example of how to do that:
|
package require Plotchart
grid [canvas .c -background white] -sticky news
grid columnconfigure . 0 -weight 1
grid rowconfigure . 0 -weight 1
bind .c <Configure> {doResize}
proc doPlot {} {
#
# Clean up the contents (see also the note below!)
#
.c delete all
#
# (Re)draw the bar chart
#
set p [::Plotchart::createBarchart .c {x y z} {0 100 10} 3]
$p plot R {10 30 40} red
$p plot G {30 40 60} green
}
proc doResize {} {
global redo
#
# To avoid redrawing the plot many times during resizing,
# cancel the callback, until the last one is left.
#
if { [info exists redo] } {
after cancel $redo
}
set redo [after 50 doPlot]
} |
Please note:
The code above will work fine for barcharts and many other types of
plots, but as Plotchart keeps some private information for
xy plots, more is needed in these cases. This actually requires a
command "destroyPlot" to take care of such details. A next version
of Plotchart will have that.
The command plotconfig can be used to set all manner of options. The
syntax is:
- ::Plotchart::plotconfig charttype component property value
-
Set a new value for the property of a component in a particular chart or
plot type or query its current value. Each argument is optional.
- string charttype (in)
-
The type of chart or plot (see the configuration type that is mentioned
for each create command). If not given or empty, a list of chart types
is returned. If it is given, the properties for that particular type are
used.
- string component (in)
-
The component of the plot/chart: leftaxis, rightaxis, background, margin
and so on. If not given or empty, a list of components is returned. If
it is given, the properties for that particular component will be set
for that particular type of chart.
- string property (in)
-
The property of the component of the plot/chart: textcolor, thickness of
the axis line, etc. If not given or empty, a list of properties is returned. If
it is given, that particular property for that particular component
will be set for that particular type of chart.
- string value (in)
-
The new value for the property. If empty, the current value is returned.
If the value is "default", the default value will be restored.
Note, that in some cases an empty value is useful. Use "none" in this
case - it can be useful for colours and for formats.
Below is a more detailed list of the components and properties:
-
Axes come in a wide variety:
-
leftaxis, rightaxis, topaxis, bottomaxis for the plots with a
rectangular shape.
-
xaxis, yaxis and zaxis are used for the 3D plots
-
axis, this represents the radial and tangential axes of a polar plot
All axes have the following properties:
-
color - the colour of the line and the tickmarks
-
thickness - the width of the line of the axis itself, not the tickmarks
-
ticklength - the length of the tickmarks in pixels. A positive value is
outward, a negative value is inward.
-
font - the font for the labels and the text at the axis
-
format - the format for rendering the (numerical) labels. For the time
axis it is the format for a date and time.
-
textcolor - the colour for the labels and the text.
-
The margin is important for the layout. Currently only the
rectangular plots allow the margins to be set: left, right, top and bottom.
The values are in pixels.
-
The text component is meant for any text appearing via the
plaintext subcommand. The properties are: textcolor, font and anchor
(positioning of the text relative to the given coordinates).
-
The background has two properties: outercolor, the colour outside
of the actual plot, and innercolor, the colour inside the plot. (Note:
only "outercolor" has now been implemented).
-
The legend has three properties: background, border and position.
See the legend subcommand for the meaning.
See the examples in plotdemos7.tcl for it use.
The command plotpack allows you to copy the contents of a plot
into another canvas widget. This canvas widget does not act as a
composite plot, but it can be saved as a PostScript file for instance:
Note: the command simply takes a snapshot of the plots/charts as they
are at that moment.
- ::Plotchart::plotpack w dir args
-
Copy the contents of the plots/charts into another widget, in a manner
similar to the pack geometry manager.
- widget w (in)
-
The name of the canvas widget to copy the plots/charts into
- string dir (in)
-
The direction of the arrangement - top, left, bottom or right
- list args (in)
-
List of plots/charts to be copied.
For example:
|
set p1 [createXYPlot ...]
set p2 [createBarchart ...]
... fill the plots ...
toplevel .t
pack [canvas .t.c2 -width ...]
#
# Copy the two plots above each other in the new canvas
#
plotpack .t.c2 top $p1 $p2
|
I have the following wishlist:
-
Isometric plots - allow new items to be implemented easily.
-
Add support for histograms where the independent axis is numerical.
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A general 3D viewer - emphasis on geometry, not a ray-tracer.
3D bars, 3D surfaces, bar charts, charts, coordinate transformations, coordinates, graphical presentation, isometric plots, pie charts, plotting, polar plots, strip charts, time charts, xy-plots
Copyright © 2007 Arjen Markus <arjenmarkus@users.sourceforge.net>