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  <td><br><h2>Gallery of data displays</h2></td>
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  <small>
  <a href="../doc/Welcome.html"><img src="../doc/ploticus.gif" border=0></a><br>
  <a href="../doc/Welcome.html">Welcome</a> &nbsp; &nbsp;
  <a href="../gallery/index.html">Gallery</a> &nbsp; &nbsp;
  <a href="../doc/Contents.html">Handbook</a> 
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.TH Gallery_of_data_displays PL "11-JAN-2002   PL ploticus.sourceforge.net"

.ig >>
Welcome to the 
<a href="../doc/Welcome.html">ploticus</a> 
gallery!
Located here are dozens of graphical data 
displays produced using
<a href="../doc/Welcome.html">ploticus</a> data display software.
It is a mixture of simplistic and involved examples,
intended both as an introduction/tutorial for getting
started, and as a reference/test suite.
Unless otherwise stated, all data are fictional.
<p>
You can 
<a href="gall.using.html">download examples individually and try them</a>.
You can download the entire collection of examples by visiting the 
<a href="../doc/Download.html">download page</a> and downloading the "complete node".
You can view 
<a href="../thumbpng/Viewall.html">tons of thumbnail examples in PNG</a> or
<a href="../thumbnails/Viewall.html">pseudo-GIF</a>; there is also an
<a href="Listall.html">alphabetical index of all ploticus examples</a>.
<p>
<h2><br><a href="gall.real.html"><br><img src="gif/world0sm.gif">Real-world examples</a></h2>

<h2><br><a href="gall.ct.html"><br><img src="gif/scales.gif">
Clinical trials examples</a></h2>

<h2><br><a href="gall.sa.html"><br><img src="sa0.gif">Scaling and Axes</a></h2>
The preliminaries to plotting data.

<h2><br><a href="gall.lineplot.html"><br><img src="lineplot0.gif">Line Plots</a></h2>
Lineplots are used to show values that change from left to right.
Often the change is over time along the X (horizontal) axis.
Use <a href="../doc/lineplot.html">proc lineplot</a>.

<h2><br><a href="gall.lineplot.html#lpfilled"><br><img src="lpfilled0.gif">Filled Line Plots</a></h2>
A line plot variant is to fill the area under the curve,
in order to highlight a particular region, to 
show a difference between curves, or for stylistic reasons.
Use <a href="../doc/lineplot.html">proc lineplot</a> with the <b>fill</b> option.

<h2><br><a href="gall.rangesweep.html"><br><img src="rangesweep0.gif">Range Sweeps</a></h2>
Range sweeps may be used to depict ranges that change from left to right.
Often the change is over time along the X (horizontal) axis.
Use <a href="../doc/rangesweep.html">proc rangesweep</a>.

<h2><br><a href="gall.pie.html"><br><img src="pie0.gif">Pie Graphs</a></h2>
Pie graphs may be used to depict proportions that make up a whole, such as
budget categories, or survey breakdowns.
Use <a href="../doc/pie.html">proc pie</a>.

<h2><br><a href="gall.bars.html"><br><img src="bars0.gif">Bar Graphs (vertical)</a></h2>
Bar graphs (histograms) may be used to show comparisons, distributions, or category
tabulations.  They are also sometimes used to show values that
change over time.
Use <a href="../doc/bars.html">proc bars</a>.

<h2><br><a href="gall.hbars.html"><br><img src="hbars0.gif">Bar Graphs (horizontal)</a></h2>
Horizontal bars are useful for compactness or 
where time values are being compared.
Use <a href="../doc/bars.html">proc bars</a> with
the <b>horizontalbars</b> option.

<h2><br><a href="gall.hbars.html#timeline"><br><img src="timeline0.gif">Time Lines</a></h2>
Timelines are used to display events and durations with respect to time.
The result may be in the form of a timetable, project progress chart, etc.
Use <a href="../doc/bars.html">proc bars</a> with the 
<b>horizontalbars</b> and <b>segmentfields</b> attributes.

<h2><br><a href="gall.hbars.html#proportion"><br><img src="propbars0.gif">Bar Proportions</a></h2>
Bars may be used to show proportions.  (A pie graph might also be used).
Use <a href="../doc/bars.html">proc bars</a> with the 
<b>stackfields</b> option.


<h2><br><a href="gall.scat.html"><br><img src="scatterplot0.gif">Scatter Plots (2-D)</a></h2>
Scatter plots display data points in one or two dimensions.  Every data
point is plotted with a mark, symbol, or label.
2-D scatterplots are often used to show correlation (or lack thereof) 
between two variables.
Use <a href="../doc/scatterplot.html">proc scatterplot</a>.


<h2><br><a href="gall.scat.html#1D"><br><img src="scatterplot0a.gif">Scatter Plots (1-D)</a></h2>
1-D scatterplots show the distribution of one variable.
Lines, symbols, characters or text may be used to mark points.
Use <a href="../doc/scatterplot.html">proc scatterplot</a>.


<h2><br><a href="gall.rangebar.html"><br><img src="rangebar0.gif">Range Bars (box plots)</a></h2>
Range bars (box plots)
compactly show the distribution and range of a set of values.
The median (50th percentile) is shown by a dot, the box covers the interquartile
range (25th through 75th percentiles), and the tails show the minima/maxima or the
5th and 95th percentiles.  
Use <a href="../doc/rangebar.html">proc rangebar</a>
which can compute the medians, quartiles, etc. as well
as render the bars.


<h2><br><a href="gall.errbar.html"><br><img src="errbar0.gif">Error Bars</a></h2>
Error bars show the amount of margin of error for a value.  This usually is
+/- the standard deviation.  If the amount of error has been calculated in
advance, use <a href="../doc/bars.html">proc bars</a>.  If you want
<b>ploticus</b> to compute the mean and standard deviation, use
<a href="../doc/rangebar.html">proc rangebar</a> with the <b>meanmode</b> option.


<h2><br><a href="gall.curvefit.html"><br><img src="curvefit0.gif">Curve Fitting</a></h2>
Curve fitting may be useful to illustrate 
trends in noisy data, or to show where data points lie with
respect to average.
<a href="../doc/curvefit.html">proc curvefit</a> can generate 
moving average and bspline curves.


<h2><br><a href="gall.legend.html"><br><img src="legend0.gif">Legends</a></h2>
When different symbols, colored bars, colored lines, etc. are
used for comparison, a legend is usually necessary to describe 
what the various colors or symbols mean or what they correspond to.
While not the most "sexy" element of a plot, it is often absolutely
necessary.  Use the <b>legendlabel</b> attribute of each plotting
proc, then use <a href="../doc/legend.html">proc legend</a> to render the legend.

<h2><br><a href="gall.annot.html"><br><img src="annot0.gif">Annotation</a></h2>
Annotation may be used to denote specific points or regions on a plot
that have some importance, or for any text placement.
Use <a href="../doc/annotate.html">proc annotate</a>.

<h2><br><a href="../doc/clickmap.html"><br><img src="clickmap0.gif">Click map support</a></h2>
Clickmaps (image maps) allow the user to click with the mouse
on an object or region in a graph as a hyperlink to a new web page.


<h2>A Note to Debian Users</h2>

Historically, the ploticus binary has been pl (not ploticus).  This 
name is already used by another package in Debian, so the main binary
has been renamed to ploticus.  As I understand policy, addition
of support for .gif, would consign the package to non-free.  As .png
is an adequate, if not perfect, substitute, I have chosen not to enable
any gif support.

<p>As pltab is being deprecated, I see no point in packaging it into the
mainline Debian package.  If you need pltab support, email me directly,
and I will prepare a ploticus-pltab package for you.  This package will
never be officially released; it is intended only as a transitional tool
for people who have used pltab in the past, and have data that would
be awkward to switch to html format immediately.

<p>You may find an occasional reference to plpng, which was an auxiliary
program that is sometimes distributed with ploticus, depending on version
and compilation options.
Debian users do not need plpng.  Simply use ploticus -png ... .

<p>
I have tried to change references to pl to ploticus, and expunge
references to pltab, plpng, or plpngtab.  Obviously, if these references
are of a historical nature, refer to a package for another operating
system, or are in an feedback email, it would be improper for changes
to be made.  If any remaining references to pl remain, simply read them
as ploticus!  This makes the Debian docuentation slightly different from
the documentation available at ploticus.sourceforge.net.  In event of
any problems with this documentation, please use the Debian Bug Tracking 
System or contact me directly first, so that I can resolve any problems
inadvertantly introduced.
<p>
James W. Penny  <jpenny@debian.org>

.>>

.ig >>
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<td align=right>
<a href="Welcome.html">
<img src="../doc/ploticus.gif" border=0></a><br><small>data display engine &nbsp; <br>
<a href="../doc/Copyright.html">Copyright Steve Grubb</a>
<br>
<br>
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<img src="../gallery/all.gif">
</center>
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