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<h1 class="chapter"> 8. Plotting </h1>

<table class="menu" border="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td align="left" valign="top"><a href="#SEC32">8.1 Introduction to Plotting</a></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align="left" valign="top">
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top"><a href="#SEC33">8.2 Plotting Formats</a></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align="left" valign="top">
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top"><a href="#SEC34">8.3 Functions and Variables for Plotting</a></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align="left" valign="top">
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top"><a href="#SEC35">8.4 Plotting Options</a></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align="left" valign="top">
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top"><a href="#SEC36">8.5 Gnuplot Options</a></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align="left" valign="top">
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top"><a href="#SEC37">8.6 Gnuplot_pipes Format Functions</a></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align="left" valign="top">
</td></tr>
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<p><a name="Item_003a-Introduction-to-Plotting"></a>
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<h2 class="section"> 8.1 Introduction to Plotting </h2>

<p>Maxima uses an external plotting package to make the plots (see the
section on Plotting formats). The plotting functions calculate a set of
points and pass them to the plotting package together with a set of
commands. That information can be passed to the external program either
through a pipe or by calling the program with the name of a file where
the data has been saved. The data file is given the name
<code>maxout.interface</code>, where <code>interface</code> is the name of the
plotting interface being used (gnuplot, xmaxima, mgnuplot or
gnuplot_pipes).
</p>
<p>The <code>maxout.interface</code> file, in the cases when it is used, is
created in the directory specified by the system variable
<var>maxima_tempdir</var>. That location can be changed; by assigning to that
variable a string that represents a valid directory where Maxima can
create new files.
</p>
<p>After a plot has been created, the file <code>maxout.interface</code> can be
executed again with the appropriate external program. If a Maxima plotting
command fails to show anything, that file can be inspected to look for
possible sources of problems.
</p>
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<h2 class="section"> 8.2 Plotting Formats </h2>

<p>There are currently two external plotting programs that Maxima use: Gnuplot
and Xmaxima. There are various different formats for those programs,
which can be selected with the option <code>plot_format</code> (see
the Plotting Options section).
</p>
<p>The plotting formats are the following:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<strong>gnuplot</strong> (default on Windows)

<p>Used to launch the external program gnuplot, which must be installed in
your system. All plotting commands and data are saved into the file
<code>maxout.gnuplot</code>.
</p>
</li><li>
<strong>gnuplot_pipes</strong> (default on non-Windows platforms)

<p>This format is not available in Windows platforms.
It is similar to the <code>gnuplot</code> format except that the commands are sent
to gnuplot through a pipe, while the data are saved into the file
<code>maxout.gnuplot_pipes</code>. A single gnuplot process is kept open
and subsequent plot commands will be sent to the same process, replacing
previous plots, unless the gnuplot pipe is closed with the function
<code>gnuplot_close()</code>. When this format is used, the function
<code>gnuplot_replot</code> can be used to modify a plot that has already
displayed on the screen (see <code>gnuplot_replot</code>).
</p>
<p>This format should only be used to plot to the
screen; for plotting to files it is better to use the <code>gnuplot</code>
format.
</p>
</li><li>
<strong>mgnuplot</strong>

<p>Mgnuplot is a Tk-based wrapper around gnuplot. It is included in the
Maxima distribution. Mgnuplot offers a rudimentary GUI for gnuplot,
but has fewer overall features than the plain gnuplot
interface. Mgnuplot requires an external gnuplot installation and, in
Unix systems, the Tcl/Tk system.
</p>
</li><li>
<strong>xmaxima</strong>

<p>Xmaxima is a Tcl/Tk graphical interface for Maxima that can also be used
to display plots created when Maxima is run from the console or from other
graphical interfaces. To use this format, the xmaxima program, which is
distributed together with Maxima, should be installed. If Maxima is
being run from xmaxima itself, this format will make the plot functions
send the data and commands through the same socket used for the
communication between Maxima and Xmaxima. When used from the console
or from other interface, the commands and data will be saved in the file
<code>maxout.xmaxima</code>, and the xmaxima program will be launched with the
name of the location of that file as argument.
</p>
<p>In previous versions this format used to be called <code>openmath</code>; that
old name will still be accepted as a synonym for <code>xmaxima</code>.
</p>
</li></ul>

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<h2 class="section"> 8.3 Functions and Variables for Plotting </h2>

<p><a name="Item_003a-contour_005fplot"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>contour_plot</b><i> (<var>expr</var>, <var>x_range</var>, <var>y_range</var>, <var>options</var>, ...)</i>
<a name="IDX250"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>It plots the contours (curves of equal value) of <var>expr</var>
over the region <var>x_range</var> by <var>y_range</var>.
Any additional arguments are treated the same as in <code>plot3d</code>.
</p>
<p>This function only works when the plot format is either <code>gnuplot</code>
or <code>gnuplot_pipes</code>. The additional package <code>implicit_plot</code> can
also be used to plot contours and it works for any format. See
<code>implicit_plot</code>.
</p>
<p>Examples:
</p>
<pre class="example">(%i1) contour_plot (x^2 + y^2, [x, -4, 4], [y, -4, 4])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/contour1.gif" alt="figures/contour1"></div>
</p>
<pre class="example">(%i1) F(x, y) := x^3 + y^2;
                                   3    2
(%o1)                  F(x, y) := x  + y
(%i2) contour_plot (F, [u, -4, 4], [v, -4, 4])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/contour2.gif" alt="figures/contour2"></div>
</p>
<p>You can add any options accepted by <code>plot3d</code>; for instance, the
option <code>legend</code> with a value of false, to remove the
legend. Gnuplot chooses, by default, 3 contours to show. to increase the
number of levels, it is necessary to specify a custom gnuplot preamble:
</p>
<pre class="example">(%i1) contour_plot (u^3 + v^2, [u, -4, 4], [v, -4, 4],
(%i2) [legend,false], [gnuplot_preamble,&quot;set cntrparam levels 12&quot;])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/contour3.gif" alt="figures/contour3"></div>
</p>
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</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-get_005fplot_005foption"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>get_plot_option</b><i> (<var>keyword</var>, <var>index</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX251"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Returns a value of the option with name <var>keyword</var>, stored in the
global variable <code>plot_options</code>. A value of 1 for the index will
return the keyword itself; a value of 2 turn returns the first parameter
following the keyword, and so on.
</p>
<p>See also <code>plot_options</code>, <code>set_plot_option</code> and the section on
Plotting Options.
</p>
</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-make_005ftransform"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>make_transform</b><i> ([<var>var1</var>, <var>var2</var>, <var>var3</var>], <var>fx</var>, <var>fy</var>, <var>fz</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX252"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Returns a function suitable to be used in the option <code>transform_xy</code>
of plot3d. The three variables <var>var1</var>, <var>var2</var>, <var>var3</var> are
three dummy variable names, which represent the 3 variables given by the
plot3d command (first the two independent variables and then the
function that depends on those two variables). The three functions
<var>fx</var>, <var>fy</var>, <var>fz</var> must depend only on those 3 variables, and
will give the corresponding x, y and z coordinates that should be
plotted. There are two transformations defined by default:
<code>polar_to_xy</code> and <code>spherical_to_xyz</code>; see the documentation
for those two transformations.
</p>
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</p>
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</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-polar_005fto_005fxy"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>System function:</u> <b>polar_to_xy</b>
<a name="IDX253"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>It can be given as value for the <code>transform_xy</code> option of
plot3d. Its effect will be to interpret the two independent variables in
plot3d as the distance from the z axis and the azimuthal angle (polar
coordinates), and transform them into x and y coordinates.
</p>
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</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-plot2d"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>plot2d</b><i> (<var>plot</var>, <var>x_range</var>, ..., <var>options</var>, ...)</i>
<a name="IDX254"></a>
</dt>
<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>plot2d</b><i> ([<var>plot_1</var>, ..., <var>plot_n</var>], ..., <var>options</var>, ...)</i>
<a name="IDX255"></a>
</dt>
<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>plot2d</b><i> ([<var>plot_1</var>, ..., <var>plot_n</var>], <var>x_range</var>,..., <var>options</var>, ...)</i>
<a name="IDX256"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Where <var>plot</var>, <var>plot_1</var>, ..., <var>plot_n</var> can be either
expressions, function names or a list with
the any of the forms: <code>[discrete, [<var>x1</var>, ..., <var>xn</var>],
[<var>y1</var>, ..., <var>yn</var>]]</code>, <code>[discrete, [[<var>x1</var>, <var>y1</var>],
..., [<var>xn</var>, ..., <var>yn</var>]]</code> or <code>[parametric, <var>x_expr</var>,
<var>y_expr</var>, <var>t_range</var>]</code>.
</p>
<p>Displays a plot of one or more expressions as a function of one
variable or parameter.
</p>
<p><code>plot2d</code> displays one or several plots in two dimensions. When
expressions or function name are used to define the plots,
they should all depend on only one variable <var>var</var> and the use of
<var>x_range</var> will be mandatory, to provide the name of the variable and
its minimum and maximum values; the syntax for <var>x_range</var> is:
<code>[<var>variable</var>, <var>min</var>, <var>max</var>]</code>.
</p>
<p>A plot can also be defined in the discrete or parametric forms. The
discrete form is used to plot a set of points with given coordinates. A
discrete plot is defined by a list starting with the keyword
<var>discrete</var>, followed by one or two lists of values. If two lists are
given, they must have the same length; the first list will be
interpreted as the x coordinates of the points to be plotted and the
second list as the y coordinates. If only one list is given after the
<var>discrete</var> keyword, each element on the list should also be a list
with two values that correspond to the x and y coordinates of a point.
</p>
<p>A parametric plot is defined by a list starting with the keyword
<var>parametric</var>, followed by two expressions or function names and a
range for the parameter. The range for the parameter must be a list with
the name of the parameter followed by its minimum and maximum values:
<code>[<var>param</var>, <var>min</var>, <var>max</var>]</code>. The plot will show the path
traced out by the point with coordinates given by the two expressions or
functions, as <var>param</var> increases from <var>min</var> to <var>max</var>.
</p>
<p>A range for the vertical axis is an optional argument with the form:
<code>[y, <var>min</var>, <var>max</var>]</code> (the keyword <var>y</var> is always used for
the vertical axis). If that option is used, the plot will show that
exact vertical range, independently of the values reached by the plot.
If the vertical range is not specified, it will be set up according to
the minimum and maximum values of the second coordinate of the plot
points.
</p>
<p>All other options should also be lists, starting with a keyword and
followed by one or more values. See <code>plot_options</code>.
</p>
<p>If there are several plots to be plotted, a legend will be
written to identiy each of the expressions. The labels that should be
used in that legend can be given with the option <var>legend</var>. If that
option is not used, Maxima will create labels from the expressions or
function names.
</p>
<p><strong>Examples:</strong>
</p>
<p>Plot of a common function:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) plot2d (sin(x), [x, -%pi, %pi])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting2.gif" alt="figures/plotting2"></div>
</p>
<p>If the functions grows too fast, it might be necessary to limit the
values in the vertical axis using the y option:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) plot2d (sec(x), [x, -2, 2], [y, -20, 20])$
plot2d: some values were clipped.
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting3.gif" alt="figures/plotting3"></div>
</p>
<p>The aspect of the plot might be different depending on the plotting
program used. For instance, when the plot box is disable, Xmaxima will
plot the axes using arrows:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) plot2d ( x^2-1, [x, -3, 3], [y, -2, 10], [box, false],
           [plot_format, xmaxima])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting1.gif" alt="figures/plotting1"></div>
</p>

<p>A plot with a logarithmic scale:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) plot2d (exp(3*s), [s, -2, 2], [logy])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting4.gif" alt="figures/plotting4"></div>
</p>
<p>Plotting functions by name:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) F(x) := x^2 $
(%i2) :lisp (defun |$g| (x) (m* x x x))
$g
(%i2) H(x) := if x &lt; 0 then x^4 - 1 else 1 - x^5 $
(%i3) plot2d ([F, G, H], [u, -1, 1], [y, -1.5, 1.5])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting5.gif" alt="figures/plotting5"></div>
</p>
<p>A plot of the butterfly curve, defined parametrically:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) r: (exp(cos(t))-2*cos(4*t)-sin(t/12)^5)$
(%i2) plot2d([parametric, r*sin(t), r*cos(t), [t, -8*%pi, 8*%pi],
         [nticks, 2000]])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting6.gif" alt="figures/plotting6"></div>
</p>
<p>A &quot;circle&quot; with two turns, when plotted with only 7 points:
</p>
<pre class="example">(%i1) plot2d ([parametric, cos(t), sin(t), [t, -2*%pi, 2*%pi],
           [nticks, 8]])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting7.gif" alt="figures/plotting7"></div>
</p>
<p>Plot of a common function together with the parametric representation of
a circle. The size of the plot has been adjusted with the x and y
options, to make the circle look round and not deformed as an ellipse.
These values work well for the Postscript terminal used to produce this
plot; you might have to adjust the values for your screen.
</p>
<pre class="example">(%i1) plot2d([[parametric, cos(t), sin(t) ,[t,0,2*%pi],
       [nticks, 80]], abs(x)], [x,-2,2], [y, -1.5, 1.5])$
plot2d: some values were clipped.
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting8.gif" alt="figures/plotting8"></div>
</p>
<p>A plot of a discrete set of points, defining x and y coordinates separately:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) plot2d ( [ discrete, [10, 20, 30, 40, 50],
               [.6, .9, 1.1, 1.3, 1.4]] )$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting9.gif" alt="figures/plotting9"></div>
</p>
<p>The same points shown in the previous example, defining each point
separately and without any lines joining the points:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) plot2d([discrete, [[10, .6], [20, .9], [30, 1.1], [40, 1.3],
                   [50, 1.4]]], [style, points])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting10.gif" alt="figures/plotting10"></div>
</p>
<p>In this example, a table with three columns is saved in a file
&quot;data.txt&quot; which is then read and the second and third column are
plotted on the two axes:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) with_stdout (&quot;data.txt&quot;,
         for x:0 thru 10 do print (x, x^2, x^3))$
(%i2) data: transpose ( read_matrix (&quot;data.txt&quot;))$
(%i3) plot2d ([discrete, data[2], data[3]],
        [style,points], [point_type,diamond], [color,red])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting11.gif" alt="figures/plotting11"></div>
</p>
<p>A plot of experimental data points together with the theoretical
function that predicts the data:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) xy: [[10, .6], [20, .9], [30, 1.1], [40, 1.3], [50, 1.4]]$
(%i2) plot2d([[discrete, xy], 2*%pi*sqrt(l/980)], [l,0,50],
   [style, points, lines], [color, red, blue],
   [point_type, asterisk], [legend, &quot;experiment&quot;, &quot;theory&quot;],
   [xlabel, &quot;pendulum's length (cm)&quot;], [ylabel, &quot;period (s)&quot;])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting12.gif" alt="figures/plotting12"></div>
</p>
<p>See also the section about Plotting Options.
</p>
<div class=categorybox>


<p>Categories:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="maxima_95.html#Category_003a-Plotting">Plotting</a>
</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-plot3d"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>plot3d</b><i> (<var>expr</var>, <var>x_range</var>, <var>y_range</var>, ..., <var>options</var>, ...)</i>
<a name="IDX257"></a>
</dt>
<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>plot3d</b><i> ([<var>expr_1</var>, ..., <var>expr_n</var>], <var>x_range</var>, <var>y_range</var>, ..., <var>options</var>, ...)</i>
<a name="IDX258"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Displays a plot of one or more surfaces defined as functions of two
variables or in parametric form.
</p>
<p>The functions to be plotted may be specified as expressions or function
names. 
The mouse can be used to rotate the plot looking at the surface
from different sides.
</p>
<p><strong>Examples:</strong>
</p>
<p>Plot of a common function:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) plot3d (2^(-u^2 + v^2), [u, -3, 3], [v, -2, 2])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting13.gif" alt="figures/plotting13"></div>
</p>
<p>Use of the z option to limit a function that goes to infinity (in this
case the function is minus infinity on the x and y axes); this also
shows how to plot with only lines and no shading:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) plot3d ( log ( x^2*y^2 ), [x, -2, 2], [y, -2, 2], [z, -8, 4],
         [palette, false], [color, magenta, blue])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting14.gif" alt="figures/plotting14"></div>
</p>
<p>The infinite values of z can also be avoided by choosing a grid that
does not fall on any asymptotes; this example also shows how to select
one of the predefined palettes, in this case the fourth one:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) plot3d(log(x^2*y^2), [x, -2, 2], [y, -2, 2], [grid, 29, 29],
      [palette, get_plot_option(palette,5)])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting15.gif" alt="figures/plotting15"></div>
</p>
<p>Two surfaces in the same plot, sharing the same domain; in gnuplot the
two surfaces will use the same palette:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) plot3d ( [2^(-x^2 + y^2), 4*sin(3*(x^2+y^2))/(x^2+y^2),
         [x, -3, 3], [y, -2, 2]])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting16.gif" alt="figures/plotting16"></div>
</p>
<p>The same two surfaces, but now with different domains; in xmaxima each
surface will use a different palette, chosen from the list defined by
the option palette:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) plot3d ( [[2^(-x^2 + y^2),[x,-2,2],[y,-2,2]],
         4*sin(3*(x^2+y^2))/(x^2+y^2), [x, -3, 3], [y, -2, 2]],
         [plot_format,xmaxima])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting17.gif" alt="figures/plotting17"></div>
</p>
<p>Plot of a Klein bottle, defined parametrically:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) e_1: 5*cos(x)*(cos(x/2)*cos(y)+sin(x/2)*sin(2*y)+3.0)-10.0$
(%i2) e_2: -5*sin(x)*(cos(x/2)*cos(y)+sin(x/2)*sin(2*y)+3.0)$
(%i3) e_3: 5*(-sin(x/2)*cos(y)+cos(x/2)*sin(2*y))$
(%i4) plot3d ([e_1, e_2, e_3], [x, -%pi, %pi],
        [y, -%pi, %pi], [grid, 40, 40])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting18.gif" alt="figures/plotting18"></div>
</p>
<p>Plot of a spherical harmonic, using of the predefined transformations,
<code>spherical_to_xyz</code>, to transform from spherical to rectangular
coordinates. See the documentation for <code>spherical_to_xyz</code>.
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) plot3d (sin(2*theta)*cos(phi), [theta,0,%pi], [phi,0,2*%pi],
        [transform_xy, spherical_to_xyz], [grid,30,60])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting19.gif" alt="figures/plotting19"></div>
</p>
<p>Use of the predefined function <code>polar_to_xy</code> to transform from
cylindrical to rectangular coordinates. See the documentation for
<code>polar_to_xy</code>. This example also shows how to eliminate the
bounding box and the legend.
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) plot3d(r^.33*cos(th/3), [r,0,1], [th,0,6*%pi], [grid,12,80],
       [transform_xy, polar_to_xy], [box, false], [legend,false])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting20.gif" alt="figures/plotting20"></div>
</p>
<p>Plot of a sphere using the transformation from spherical to rectangular
coordinates. In xmaxima the three axes are scaled in the same
proportion, maintaining the symmetric shape of the sphere. A palette with
different shades of a single color is used:
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) plot3d (5, [theta, 0, %pi], [phi, 0, 2*%pi],
 [transform_xy, spherical_to_xyz], [plot_format,xmaxima],
 [palette,[value,0.65,0.7,0.1,0.9]])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting21.gif" alt="figures/plotting21"></div>
</p>
<p>Definition of a function of two-variables using a matrix. Notice the
single quote in the definition of the function, to prevent plot3d from
failing when it realizes that the matrix will require integer indices.
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) M: matrix([1,2,3,4], [1,2,3,2], [1,2,3,4], [1,2,3,3])$
(%i2) f(x, y) := float('M [round(x), round(y)])$
(%i3) plot3d (f(x,y), [x, 1, 4], [y, 1, 4], [grid, 4, 4])$
apply: subscript must be an integer; found: round(x)
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting22.gif" alt="figures/plotting22"></div>
</p>
<p>By setting the elevation equal to zero, a surface can be seen as a map
in which each color represents a different level. The option
<code>colorbox</code> is used to show the correspondence among colors and
levels, and the mesh lines are disabled to make the colors easier to see.
</p><pre class="example">(%i1) plot3d (cos (-x^2 + y^3/4), [x, -4, 4], [y, -4, 4],
        [mesh_lines_color, false], [elevation, 0], [azimuth, 0],
        [colorbox, true], [grid, 150, 150])$
</pre>
<p><div class="image"><img src="./figures/plotting23.gif" alt="figures/plotting23"></div>
</p>
<p>See also the section about Plotting Options.
</p>
<div class=categorybox>


<p>Categories:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="maxima_95.html#Category_003a-Plotting">Plotting</a>
</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-plot_005foptions"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>System variable:</u> <b>plot_options</b>
<a name="IDX259"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Elements of this list state the default options for plotting.
If an option is present in a <code>plot2d</code> or <code>plot3d</code> call,
that value takes precedence over the default option.
Otherwise, the value in <code>plot_options</code> is used.
Default options are assigned by <code>set_plot_option</code>. There are other
local options specific to each plotting command, and not included in
this list of global options.
</p>
<p>Each element of <code>plot_options</code> is a list of two or more items.  The
first item is the name of the option, and the remainder comprises the
value or values assigned to the option.  In some cases, the assigned
value is a list, which may include several items.
</p>
<p>See also <code>set_plot_option</code>, <code>get_option</code> and the section on
Plotting Options.
</p>
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</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-set_005fplot_005foption"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>set_plot_option</b><i> (<var>option</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX260"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Accepts most of the options listed in the section Plotting Options, and
saves them into the global variable <code>plot_options</code>.
</p>
<p><code>set_plot_option</code> evaluates its argument and returns the complete
list <code>plot_options</code> (after modifying the option given).
</p>
<p>See also <code>plot_options</code>, <code>get_option</code> and the section on
Plotting Options.
</p>
<p>Example:
</p>
<p>Modification of the <code>grid</code> values.
</p>
<pre class="example">(%i1) set_plot_option ([grid, 30, 40]);
(%o1) [[t, - 3, 3], [grid, 30, 40], [transform_xy, false], 
[run_viewer, true], [axes, true], [plot_format, gnuplot_pipes], 
[color, blue, red, green, magenta, black, cyan], 
[point_type, bullet, circle, plus, times, asterisk, box, square, 
triangle, delta, wedge, nabla, diamond, lozenge], 
[palette, [hue, 0.25, 0.7, 0.8, 0.5], 
[hue, 0.65, 0.8, 0.9, 0.55], [hue, 0.55, 0.8, 0.9, 0.4], 
[hue, 0.95, 0.7, 0.8, 0.5]], [gnuplot_term, default], 
[gnuplot_out_file, false], [nticks, 29], [adapt_depth, 5], 
[gnuplot_preamble, ], [gnuplot_default_term_command, 
set term pop], [gnuplot_dumb_term_command, set term dumb 79 22], 
[gnuplot_ps_term_command, set size 1.5, 1.5;set term postscript \
eps enhanced color solid 24], [plot_realpart, false]]
</pre>
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</p>
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</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-spherical_005fto_005fxyz"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>System function:</u> <b>spherical_to_xyz</b>
<a name="IDX261"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>It can be given as value for the <code>transform_xy</code> option of
plot3d. Its effect will be to interpret the two independent variables
and the function in plot3d as the spherical coordinates of a point
(first, the angle with the z axis, then the angle of the xy projection
with the x axis and finally the distance from the origin) and transform
them into x, y and z coordinates.
</p>
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</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-Plotting-Options"></a>
</p><hr size="6">
<a name="Plotting-Options"></a>
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<h2 class="section"> 8.4 Plotting Options </h2>

<p>All options consist of a list starting with one of the keywords in this
section, followed by one or more values. Most of the options can be used
in any of the plotting commands (<var>plot2d</var>, <var>plot3d</var>, <var>contour_plot</var>,
<var>implicit_plot</var>) or in the function <var>set_plot_option</var>; the
exceptions will be specified in the following list.
</p>
<p><a name="Item_003a-adapth_005fdepth"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>adapth_depth</b><i> [adapth_depth, <var>integer</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX262"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The maximum number of splittings used by the adaptive plotting routine.
</p>
<p>Default value: 5
</p>
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</p>
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</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-axes"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>axes</b><i> [axes, <var>symbol</var>] </i>
<a name="IDX263"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Where <var>symbol</var> can be either <code>true</code>, <code>false</code>, <code>x</code> or
<code>y</code>.  If <code>false</code>, no axes will be shown; if equal to <code>x</code>
or <code>y</code> only the x or y axis will be shown, and if it is equal to
<code>true</code>, both axes will be shown. This option is used only by plot2d
and implicit_plot.
</p>
<p>Default value: true
</p>
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</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-azimut"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>azimut</b><i> [azimuth, <var>number</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX264"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>A plot3d plot can be thought of as starting with its x and y axis
in the horizontal and vertical axis, as in plot2d, and the z axis
coming out of the paper perpendicularly. The z axis is then rotated
around the x axis an angle equals to <code>elevation</code> and then the xy
plane is rotated around the new z axis an angle <code>azimuth</code>. This
option sets the value for the azimuth, in degrees.
</p>
<p>Default value: 30
</p>
<p>See also  <code>elevation</code>.
</p>
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</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>


<dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>box</b><i> [box, <var>symbol</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX265"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>If set to <code>true</code>, a bounding box will be drawn for the plot; if set
to <code>false</code>, no box will be drawn.
</p>
<p>Default value: <code>true</code>
</p>
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</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-color"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>color</b><i> [color, <var>color_1</var>, ..., <var>color_n</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX266"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>In plot2d and implicit_plot, it defines the color (or colors) for the
various curves. In plot3d, it defines the colors used for the mesh lines
of the surfaces, when no palette is being used; one side of the surface
will have color <var>color_1</var> and the other <var>color_2</var> (or the same
color if there is only one color).
</p>
<p>If there are more curves or surfaces than colors, the colors will be repeated in
sequence. When using gnuplot, the colors could be: blue, red, green,
magenta, black, cyan or black; in xmaxima the colors can be those or a
string starting with the character # and followed by six hexadecimal
digits: two for the red component, two for green component and two for
the blue component. If given the name of an unknown color, black will be
used instead.
</p> 
<p>Default value: blue, red, green, magenta, black, cyan
</p>
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</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-colorbox"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>colorbox</b><i> [colorbox, <var>symbol</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX267"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Where <var>symbol</var> can be either <code>true</code> or <code>false</code>. If
<code>true</code>, whenever plot3d uses a palette of different colors to
represent the different values of z, a box will be shown on the right,
indicating the colors used according to the scale of values of z. This
option does not work in xmaxima.
</p>
<p>Default value: <code>false</code>
</p>
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</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-elevation"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>elevation</b><i> [elevation, <var>number</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX268"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>A plot3d plot can be thought of as starting with its x and y axis
in the horizontal and vertical axis, as in plot2d, and the z axis
coming out of the paper perpendicularly. The z axis is then rotated
around the x axis an angle equals to <code>elevation</code> and then the xy
plane is rotated around the new z axis an angle <code>azimuth</code>. This
option sets the value for the elevation, in degrees.
</p>
<p>Default value: 60
</p>
<p>See also  <code>azimuth</code>.
</p>

<div class=categorybox>


<p>Categories:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="maxima_95.html#Category_003a-Plotting">Plotting</a>
</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-grid"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>grid</b><i> [grid, <var>integer</var>, <var>integer</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX269"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Sets the number of grid points to use in the x- and y-directions
for three-dimensional plotting.
</p>
<p>Default value: 30, 30
</p>
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</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-legend"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>legend</b><i> [legend, <var>string_1</var>, ..., <var>string_n</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX270"></a>
</dt>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>legend</b><i> [legend, <var>false</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX271"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>It specifies the labels for the plots when various plots are shown. If
there are more plots than the number of labels given, they will be
repeated. If given the value <code>false</code>, no legends will be shown. By
default, the names of the expressions or functions will be used, or the
words discrete1, discrete2, ..., for discrete sets of points. This
option can not be set with <var>set_plot_option</var>.
</p>
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</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-logx"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>logx</b><i> [logx]</i>
<a name="IDX272"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Makes the horizontal axes to be scaled logarithmically. It can not be
used with <var>set_plot_option</var>.
</p>
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</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-logy"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>logy</b><i> [logy]</i>
<a name="IDX273"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Makes the vertical axes to be scaled logarithmically. It can not be used
with <var>set_plot_option</var>.
</p>
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</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-mesh_005flines_005fcolor"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>mesh_lines_color</b><i> [mesh_lines_color, <var>color</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX274"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>It sets the color used by plot3d to draw the mesh lines, when a palette is
being used. It accepts the same colors as for the option <code>color</code>
(see the list of allowed colors in <code>color</code>). It can also be given a
value <code>false</code> to eliminate completely the mesh lines.
</p>
<p>Default value: black
</p>
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</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-nticks"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>nticks</b><i> [nticks, <var>integer</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX275"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>When plotting functions with plot2d, it is gives the initial number of
points used by the adaptive plotting routine for plotting
functions. When plotting parametric functions with plot2d or plot3d,
it sets the number of points that will be shown for the plot.
</p>
<p>Default value: 29
</p>
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</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-palette"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>palette</b><i> [palette, [<var>palette_1</var>], ..., [<var>palette_n</var>]]</i>
<a name="IDX276"></a>
</dt>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>palette</b><i> [palette, <var>false</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX277"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>It can consist of one palette or a list of several palettes. Each
palette is a list with a keyword followed by four numbers. The first
three numbers, which must be between 0 and 1, define the hue, saturation
and value of a basic color to be assigned to the minimum value of z. The
keyword specifies which of the three attributes (hue, saturation or
value) will be increased according to the values of z. The last number
indicates the increase corresponding to the maximum value of z. That
last number can be bigger than 1 or negative; the corresponding values
of the modified attribute will be rounded modulo 1.
</p>
<p>Gnuplot only uses the first palette in the list; xmaxima will use the
palettes in the list sequentially, when several surfaces are plotted
together; if the number of palettes is exhausted, they will be repeated
sequentially.
</p>
<p>The color of the mesh lines will be given by the option
<code>mesh_lines_color</code>.  If <code>palette</code> is given the value
<code>false</code>, the surfaces will not be shaded but represented with a
mesh of curves only. In that case, the colors of the lines will be
determined by the option <code>color</code>.
</p>
<p>Default value: [hue, 0.25, 0.7, 0.8, 0.5], [hue, 0.65, 0.8, 0.9, 0.55], [hue, 0.55, 0.8, 0.9, 0.4], [hue, 0.95, 0.7, 0.8, 0.5]
</p>
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</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-plot_005fformat"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>plot_format</b><i> [plot_format, <var>format</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX278"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Where <var>format</var> is one of the following: gnuplot, xmaxima, mgnuplot or
gnuplot_pipes.
</p>
<p>It sets the format to be used for plotting.
</p>
<p>Default value: gnuplot, in Windows systems, or gnuplot_pipes in other systems.
</p>
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</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-plot_005freal_005fpart"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>plot_real_part</b><i> [plot_realpart, <var>symbol</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX279"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>When set to <code>true</code>, the functions to be plotted will be considered
as complex functions whose real value should be plotted; this is
equivalent to plotting <code>realpart(<var>function</var>)</code>. I set to
<code>false</code>, nothing will be plotted when the function does not give a
real value. For instance, when <code>x</code> is negative, <code>log(x)</code> gives
a complex value, with real value equal to <code>log(abs(x))</code>; if
<code>plot_real_part</code> were <code>true</code>, <code>log(-5)</code> would be plotted
as <code>log(5)</code>, while nothing would be plotted if
<code>plot_real_part</code> were <code>false</code>.
</p>
<p>Default value: <code>false</code>
</p>
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</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-point_005ftype"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>point_type</b><i> [point_type, <var>type_1</var>, ..., <var>type_n</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX280"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>In gnuplot, each set of points to be plotted with the style &quot;points&quot;
or &quot;linespoints&quot; will be represented with objects taken from this
list, in sequential order. If there are more sets of points than objects
in this list, they will be repeated sequentially.
The possible objects that can be used are: bullet, circle, plus, times,
asterisk, box, square,triangle, delta, wedge, nabla, diamond or lozenge
</p>
<p>Default value: bullet, circle, plus, times, asterisk, box, square,triangle, delta, wedge, nabla, diamond, lozenge
</p>
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</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-psfile"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>psfile</b><i> [psfile, <var>string</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX281"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Saves the plot into a Postscript file with name equal to <var>string</var>,
rather than showing it in the screen. By default, the file will be
created in the directory defined by the variable <var>maxima_tempdir</var>;
the value of that variable can be changed to save the file in a
different directory.
</p>
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</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-run_005fviewer"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>run_viewer</b><i> [run_viewer, <var>symbol</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX282"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Controls whether or not the appropriate viewer for the plot format
should be run.
</p>
<p>Default value: <code>true</code>
</p>
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</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-style"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>style</b><i> [style, <var>type_1</var>, ..., <var>type1_n</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX283"></a>
</dt>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>style</b><i> [style, [<var>style_1</var>], ..., [<var>style_n</var>]]</i>
<a name="IDX284"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The styles that will be used for the various functions or sets of data
in a 2d plot. The word <var>style</var> must be followed by one or more
styles. If there are more functions and data sets than the styles
given, the styles will be repeated. Each style can be either
<var>lines</var> for line segments, <var>points</var> for isolated points,
<var>linespoints</var> for segments and points, or <var>dots</var> for small
isolated dots. Gnuplot accepts also an <var>impulses</var> style.
</p>
<p>Each of the styles can be enclosed inside a list with some aditional
parameters. <var>lines</var> accepts one or two numbers: the width of the
line and an integer that identifies a color. The default color codes
are: 1: blue, 2: red, 3: magenta, 4: orange, 5: brown, 6: lime and 7:
aqua. If you use Gnuplot with a terminal different than X11,
those colors might be different; for example, if you use the option
[<var>gnuplot_term</var>,<var>ps</var>], color index 4 will correspond to black,
instead of orange.
</p>
<p><var>points</var> accepts one two or three parameters; the first parameter
is the radius of the points, the second parameter is an integer that
selects the color, using the same code used for <var>lines</var> and the
third parameter is currently used only by Gnuplot and it corresponds
to several objects instead of points. The default types of
objects are: 1: filled circles, 2: open circles, 3: plus signs, 4: x,
5: *, 6: filled squares, 7: open squares, 8: filled triangles, 9: open
triangles, 10: filled inverted triangles, 11: open inverted triangles,
12: filled lozenges and 13: open lozenges.
</p>
<p><var>linesdots</var> accepts up to four parameters: line width, points
radius, color and type of object to replace the points.
</p>
<p>Default value: <var>lines</var> (will plot all sets of points joined with
lines of thickness 1 and the first color given by the option <code>color</code>).
</p>
<p>See also <code>color</code> and <code>point_type</code>.
</p> 
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<p><a name="Item_003a-t"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>t</b><i> [t, <var>min</var>, <var>max</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX285"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Default range for parametric plots.
</p>
<p>Default value: -3, 3
</p>
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</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-transform_005fxy"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>transform_xy</b><i> [transform_xy, <var>symbol</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX286"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Where <var>symbol</var> is either <code>false</code> or the result obtained by
using the function <code>transform_xy</code>. If different from <code>false</code>,
it will be used to transform the 3 coordinates in plot3d.
</p>
<p>Default value: <code>false</code>
</p>
<p>See <code>make_transform</code>, <code>polar_to_xy</code> and
<code>spherical_to_xyz</code>.
</p>
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</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-x"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>x</b><i> [x, <var>min</var>, <var>max</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX287"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>When used as the first option in a 2d-plotting command (or any of the
first two in plot3d), it indicates that the first independent variable
is x and it sets its range. It can also be used again after the first
option (or after the second option in plot3d) to define the effective
horizontal domain that will be shown in the plot.
</p>
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</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-xlabel"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>xlabel</b><i> [xlabel, <var>string</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX288"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Specifies the <var>string</var> that will label the first axis; if this
option is not used, that label will be the name of the independent
variable, when plotting functions with plot2d or implicit_plot, or the
name of the first variable, when plotting surfaces with plot3d or
contours with contour_plot, or the first expression in the case of a
parametric plot. It can not be used with <var>set_plot_option</var>.
</p>
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</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-y"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>y</b><i> [y, <var>min</var>, <var>max</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX289"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>When used as one of the first two options in plot3d, it indicates that
one of the independent variables is y and it sets its range. Otherwise,
It defines the effective domain of the second variable that will be
shown in the plot.
</p>
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</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-ylabel"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>ylabel</b><i> [ylabel, <var>string</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX290"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Specifies the <var>string</var> that will label the second axis; if this
option is not used, that label will be &quot;y&quot;, when plotting functions
with plot2d or implicit_plot, or the name of the second variable, when
plotting surfaces with plot3d or contours with contour_plot, or the
second expression in the case of a parametric plot. It can not be used
with <var>set_plot_option</var>.
</p>
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</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-z"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>z</b><i> [z, <var>min</var>, <var>max</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX291"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Used in plot3d to set the effective range of values of z that will be
shown in the plot.
</p>
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</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-zlabel"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>zlabel</b><i> [zlabel, <var>string</var>]</i>
<a name="IDX292"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Specifies the <var>string</var> that will label the third axis, when using
plot3d. If this option is not used, that label will be &quot;z&quot;, when
plotting surfaces, or the third expression in the case of a parametric
plot. It can not be used with <var>set_plot_option</var> and it will be
ignored by plot2d and implicit_plot.
</p>
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</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-Gnuplot-Options"></a>
</p><hr size="6">
<a name="Gnuplot-Options"></a>
<a name="SEC36"></a>
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</tr></table>
<h2 class="section"> 8.5 Gnuplot Options </h2>

<p>There are several plot options specific to gnuplot. All of them consist
of a keyword (the name of the option), followed by a string that should
be a valid gnuplot command, to be passed directly to gnuplot. In most
cases, there exist a corresponding plotting option that will produce a
similar result and whose use is more recommended than the gnuplot
specific option.
</p>
<p><a name="Item_003a-gnuplot_005fterm"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>gnuplot_term</b>
<a name="IDX293"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Sets the output terminal type for gnuplot.
</p><ul>
<li>
<strong>default</strong> (default value)

<p>Gnuplot output is displayed in a separate graphical window.
</p>
</li><li>
<strong>dumb</strong>

<p>Gnuplot output is displayed in the Maxima console by an &quot;ASCII art&quot; approximation to graphics.
</p>
</li><li>
<strong>ps</strong>

<p>Gnuplot generates commands in the PostScript page description language.
If the option <code>gnuplot_out_file</code> is set to <var>filename</var>, gnuplot
writes the PostScript commands to <var>filename</var>.  Otherwise, it is
saved as <code>maxplot.ps</code> file.
</p>
</li><li>
any other valid gnuplot term specification

<p>Gnuplot can generate output in many other graphical formats such
as png, jpeg, svg etc.  To create plot in all these formats the
<code>gnuplot_term</code> can be set to any supported gnuplot term name (symbol) 
or even full gnuplot term specification with any valid options (string).
For example <code>[gnuplot_term,png]</code> creates output in PNG (Portable
Network Graphics) format while <code>[gnuplot_term,&quot;png size 1000,1000&quot;]</code>
creates PNG of 1000x1000 pixels size. 
If the option <code>gnuplot_out_file</code> is set to <var>filename</var>, gnuplot 
writes the output to <var>filename</var>. Otherwise, it is saved as 
<code>maxplot.<var>term</var></code> file, where <var>term</var> is gnuplot 
terminal name.
</p></li></ul>

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</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-gnuplot_005fout_005ffile"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>gnuplot_out_file</b>
<a name="IDX294"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>When used in conjunction with the <code>gnuplot_term</code> option, it can be
used to save the plot in a file, in one of the graphic formats supported
by Gnuplot. If you want to create a Postscript file, you can use the
option <code>psfile</code> instead, which will also work in Openmath, and does
the same thing with just one option.
</p>
<pre class="example">[gnuplot_term, png], [gnuplot_out_file, &quot;graph3.png&quot;]
</pre>
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</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-gnuplot_005fpm3d"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>gnuplot_pm3d</b>
<a name="IDX295"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>With a value of <code>false</code>, it can be used to prevent the usage of
PM3D mode, which is enabled by default.
</p>
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</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-gnuplot_005fpreamble"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>gnuplot_preamble</b>
<a name="IDX296"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Inserts gnuplot commands before the plot is drawn. Any valid gnuplot
commands may be used. Multiple commands should be separated with a
semi-colon. The example shown produces a log scale plot. The default
value for <code>gnuplot_preamble</code> is the empty string <code>&quot;&quot;</code>.
</p>
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</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-gnuplot_005fcurve_005ftitles"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>gnuplot_curve_titles</b>
<a name="IDX297"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>This is an old option that has been replaced by <em>legend</em> described
above.
</p>
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</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-gnuplot_005fcurve_005fstyles"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>gnuplot_curve_styles</b>
<a name="IDX298"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>This is an obsolete option that has been replaced by <em>style</em>.
</p>
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</p>
</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-gnuplot_005fdefault_005fterm_005fcommand"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>gnuplot_default_term_command</b>
<a name="IDX299"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The gnuplot command to set the terminal type for the default
terminal. The default value is <code>set term pop</code>.
</p>
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</div>


</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-gnuplot_005fdumb_005fterm_005fcommand"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>gnuplot_dumb_term_command</b>
<a name="IDX300"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The gnuplot command to set the terminal type for the dumb terminal. The
default value is <code>&quot;set term dumb 79 22&quot;</code>, which makes the text
output 79 characters by 22 characters.
</p>
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</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-gnuplot_005fps_005fterm_005fcommand"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Plot option:</u> <b>gnuplot_ps_term_command</b>
<a name="IDX301"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The gnuplot command to set the terminal type for the PostScript
terminal. The default value is <code>&quot;set size 1.5, 1.5;set term
postscript eps enhanced color solid 24&quot;</code>, which sets the size to 1.5
times gnuplot's default, and the font size to 24, among other
things. See the gnuplot documentation for <code>set term postscript</code> for
more information.
</p>
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<p><a name="Item_003a-Gnuplot_005fpipes-Format-Functions"></a>
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<h2 class="section"> 8.6 Gnuplot_pipes Format Functions </h2>

<p><a name="Item_003a-gnuplot_005fstart"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>gnuplot_start</b><i> ()</i>
<a name="IDX302"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Opens the pipe to gnuplot used for plotting with the
<code>gnuplot_pipes</code> format. Is not necessary to manually open the
pipe before plotting.
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<p><a name="Item_003a-gnuplot_005fclose"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>gnuplot_close</b><i> ()</i>
<a name="IDX303"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Closes the pipe to gnuplot which is used with the <code>gnuplot_pipes</code>
format.
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<p><a name="Item_003a-gnuplot_005frestart"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>gnuplot_restart</b><i> ()</i>
<a name="IDX304"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Closes the pipe to gnuplot which is used with the <code>gnuplot_pipes</code>
format and opens a new pipe.
</p>
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</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-gnuplot_005freplot"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>gnuplot_replot</b><i> ()</i>
<a name="IDX305"></a>
</dt>
<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>gnuplot_replot</b><i> (<var>s</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX306"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Updates the gnuplot window. If <code>gnuplot_replot</code> is called with a
gnuplot command in a string <var>s</var>, then <code>s</code> is sent to gnuplot
before reploting the window.
</p>
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</dd></dl>

<p><a name="Item_003a-gnuplot_005freset"></a>
</p><dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> <b>gnuplot_reset</b><i> ()</i>
<a name="IDX307"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Resets the state of gnuplot used with the <code>gnuplot_pipes</code>
format. To update the gnuplot window call <code>gnuplot_replot</code> after
<code>gnuplot_reset</code>.
</p>
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