8:53 p.m.
This is a follow-up to the discussion started by Frederik Schaff at
http://lists.wfu.edu/pipermail/gretl-users/2016-March/011701.html
Frederik was asking, among other things, if we could generalize the
mechanism available for the "gnuplot" command, whereby you can add
extra gnuplot commands within a special string enclosed by "{" and
"}" -- for example, to customize frequency plots.
While I can see the case for this, I was a bit reluctant on the
grounds that the "{ ... }" mechanism is very much an ad hoc thing
and kind of an "unruly" element within hansl syntax.
I think I now have a better alternative, more consistent with modern
hansl syntax and capabilities. It's not yet documented, because I
want to leave space for discussion and possible improvements, but
here's the current status:
The commands "gnuplot", "boxplot", "scatters" and
"freq" now have an
option --tweaks which requires as argument the name of an array of
strings. The strings in the array are inserted into the gnuplot
command file after the intial "boilerplate" lines but before the
"plot" command. Here's an illustration:
<hansl>
open data4-10
strings S = array(2)
S[1] = "set title 'My Preferred Title'"
S[2] = "set label 'Delaware' at 0.18,0.25"
gnuplot ENROLL CATHOL --tweaks=S --output=display
S[2] = "set yrange [0:0.5]"
freq ENROLL --silent --tweaks=S --plot=display
list X = CATHOL INCOME COLLEGE WHITE
S[1] = "set border 3"
S[2] = ""
scatters ENROLL ; X --tweaks=S --output=display
</hansl>
If we reckon this is worthwhile it could be generalized to all
commands that generate plots without too much difficulty. Note that
there's no need for the somewhat "fussy" syntax of wrapping in
braces and terminating gnuplot commands with semicolons.
Allin
9:11 p.m.
Am 23.03.2016 um 21:53 schrieb Allin Cottrell:
gnuplot ENROLL CATHOL --tweaks=S --output=display
..
freq ENROLL --silent --tweaks=S --plot=display
Slightly off-topic, but it "jumps in the eye" that getting the plot
displayed requires different options in 'gnuplot' and 'freq'. Could this
be harmonized?
thanks,
sven
11:39 p.m.
On Wed, 23 Mar 2016, Sven Schreiber wrote:
Am 23.03.2016 um 21:53 schrieb Allin Cottrell:
> gnuplot ENROLL CATHOL --tweaks=S --output=display
..
> freq ENROLL --silent --tweaks=S --plot=display
Slightly off-topic, but it "jumps in the eye" that getting the
plot displayed requires different options in 'gnuplot' and 'freq'.
Could this be harmonized?
In my opinion, No, though others may differ. "--output=display" is
appropriate for commands whose sole business is to produce a plot,
such as "gnuplot". For commands such as "freq" that produce textual
output -- and by default do not produce a plot at all when in
"batch" mode -- I think the option regarding where the plot (if any)
goes should not be labeled "--output"; it woud be "uniform" at the
cost of being confusing.
Allin
9:17 p.m.
My initial 2 thoughts:
1) I definitely like this better than the curly braces, but
2) How would this work with the plot ... end plot environment? Could that idea be
generalized to "boxplot", etc.? So either something like
<hansl>
boxplot
[various options, literals, etc.]
end boxplot
</hansl>
Or alternatively
<hansl>
plot
type=boxplot (freq, etc.) # I'd prefer something like this -- one environment instead
of several
[various options, literals, etc.]
end plot
</hansl>
Or do you see the --tweaks option taking the place of the plot environment?
PS
-----Original Message-----
From: gretl-users-bounces(a)lists.wfu.edu [mailto:gretl-users-
bounces(a)lists.wfu.edu] On Behalf Of Allin Cottrell
Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2016 4:53 PM
To: Gretl users
Subject: [Gretl-users] new plot --tweaks option
This is a follow-up to the discussion started by Frederik Schaff at
http://lists.wfu.edu/pipermail/gretl-users/2016-March/011701.html
Frederik was asking, among other things, if we could generalize the
mechanism available for the "gnuplot" command, whereby you can add extra
gnuplot commands within a special string enclosed by "{" and "}" --
for
example, to customize frequency plots.
While I can see the case for this, I was a bit reluctant on the grounds that the
"{ ... }" mechanism is very much an ad hoc thing and kind of an
"unruly"
element within hansl syntax.
I think I now have a better alternative, more consistent with modern hansl
syntax and capabilities. It's not yet documented, because I want to leave
space for discussion and possible improvements, but here's the current
status:
The commands "gnuplot", "boxplot", "scatters" and
"freq" now have an
option --tweaks which requires as argument the name of an array of strings.
The strings in the array are inserted into the gnuplot command file after the
intial "boilerplate" lines but before the "plot" command. Here's
an
illustration:
<hansl>
open data4-10
strings S = array(2)
S[1] = "set title 'My Preferred Title'"
S[2] = "set label 'Delaware' at 0.18,0.25"
gnuplot ENROLL CATHOL --tweaks=S --output=display
S[2] = "set yrange [0:0.5]"
freq ENROLL --silent --tweaks=S --plot=display
list X = CATHOL INCOME COLLEGE WHITE
S[1] = "set border 3"
S[2] = ""
scatters ENROLL ; X --tweaks=S --output=display </hansl>
If we reckon this is worthwhile it could be generalized to all commands that
generate plots without too much difficulty. Note that there's no need for the
somewhat "fussy" syntax of wrapping in braces and terminating gnuplot
commands with semicolons.
Allin
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3 comments
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participants (3)
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Allin Cottrell -
Summers, Peter -
Sven Schreiber