Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.

Dismiss

plotutils-2.2 released

3 views

Skip to first unread message

Robert S. Maier

unread,

Mar 24, 1999, 3:00:00 AM3/24/99

to info...@gnu.org

This is to announce the release of version 2.2 of the GNU plotting
utilities ("plotutils") package. This is a major release. It includes
release 2.0 of the underlying C/C++ library for exporting vector graphics,
GNU libplot.

The package can be installed on GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, and Unix systems.
For more information on its features, see its Web page,
http://www.gnu.org/software/plotutils/plotutils.html .
New features in release 2.2 include:

1. The ability to export pseudo-GIF and PNM files. (Pseudo-GIF compression
uses run-length encoding instead of LZW encoding, so it does not
transgress the patents on LZW.) The rasterization of graphic objects
uses the powerful X11 scan conversion code.

The ability to produce pseudo-GIFs should be useful in CGI scripting.
In fact, GNU libplot can now create animated GIFs.

2. A new command-line utility, `pic2plot', which can translate files in the
pic language, which is used for laying out box-and-arrow diagrams of the
sort common in technical reports, to any supported output format.
It uses the same parser that gpic (GNU pic) uses.

3. A new C++ library, `libplotter', which provides a C++ binding to the
functionality of libplot. It isn't merely a wrapper around libplot, but
a full-fledged class library. It defines a `Plotter' class that is
subclassed as PSPlotter, GIFPlotter, etc.

4. An expanded API (application programming interface) for libplot. It now
supports user-specified dashing and the drawing of quadratic and cubic
Bezier curves. Libplot's imaging model is now much closer to
Postscript's.

The source code for the package is available as a gzipped tar file,
2.8 megabytes in size. It's available on the main GNU ftp site,
as ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/plotutils/plotutils-2.2.tar.gz , and at many
GNU mirrors (see the list below; please try the mirrors first).

For the benefit of people using Red Hat or similar versions of GNU/Linux on
Intel systems, I've created a pair of unofficial RPM's for the package.
They're at:

ftp://platinum.math.arizona.edu/pub/plotutils-2.2-1.i386.rpm
ftp://platinum.math.arizona.edu/pub/plotutils-2.2-1.src.rpm

Enjoy the new features. Bug reports are always welcome; please send
them to bug-gn...@gnu.org. Suggestions for enhancements are welcome
as well.

Regards,

Robert

----------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Most GNU software is compressed using the GNU `gzip' compression program.
Source code is available on most sites distributing GNU software.
Executables for various systems and information about using gzip can be
found at the URL http://www.gzip.org.

For information on how to order GNU software on CD-ROM and
printed GNU manuals, see http://www.gnu.org/order/order.html
or e-mail a request to: g...@gnu.org

By ordering your GNU software from the FSF, you help us continue to
develop more free software. Media revenues are our primary source of
support. Donations to FSF are deductible on US tax returns.

The above software will soon be at these ftp sites as well.
Please try them before ftp.gnu.org as ftp.gnu.org is very busy!
A possibly more up-to-date list is at the URL
http://www.gnu.org/order/ftp.html

thanx -g...@gnu.org

Here are the mirrored ftp sites for the GNU Project, listed by country:

0 new messages