Gnuplot

Multi-platform open source, command line, interactive data and function plotting utility, primarily intended for scientific, statistical and engineering graphics although it can be used for business plotting as well. It has considerable output device and format independence and as such supports a host of bitmap and vector graphics formats, markup, layout and page description languages such as TeX, HTML and PDF in addition to screen output for terminals, X11 and OS/2 PM windows.

Due to restrictive licensing conditions the package cannot be used as a graphical library and you cannot reuse the code in the package, merely distribute changes to it. However if you distribute the package as a whole seperate download, you can use it as a graphics kernel for your software and even embed the output of it inside your program's user interface.

In addition to all the usual functions as used in the UNIX like and MS Windows versions the OS/2 version in addition explicitly supports REXX scripting.

Despite the name gnuplot is not related to the Free Software Foundation in any way and actually predates the use of the GNU name by the FSF, the package is named after the Gnu (Wildebeest), an animal that is like a cross between a hind and cattle.

Alternate user interfaces

• JGNUPlot - Java front end for gnuplot

OS/2 text editors with gnuplot support

• jEdit - Java based editor - gnuplot syntax highlighting built in - Current.

Versions

• Last known OS/2 version: gnuplot 4.6.2 (2013-03-15)

Links & publications

• gnuplot homepage
• gnuplot download page - On SourceForge

License

• Open source software, released under the gnuplot license

Authors

• Thomas Williams
• Colin Kelley