JavaPlot
--------

A pure Java wrapper for gnuplot application.


This library can be used as a way to create gnuplot plots on the fly through
pure Java commands.  In contrast with other common gnuplot java libraries, this
library uses java structures to store the various plot parameters, including
data-sets. Moreover, is flexible enough to give special parameters to gnuplot,
even if the library does not support it (yet). Moreover, it uses Java's
Exceptions to inform the user if something went wrong.

Java 1.5 (or better) is needed for this library. The reason is the extensive
usage of various 1.5 technologies, such as Generics and auto-boxing, to help
manipulation of plot data. It has been tested with gnuplot 4.2. Older versions
might or might not work.

This library has been checked in Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. It should work on
any other system, if you fine tune the special parameters needed.


Usage
-----

A JavaPlot demo usage can be found under "demo/dist" directory. To use it type:
cd demo/dist ; java -jar demo.jar

Source of this demo can be found in "demo/src/demo.java" file.
If you want to see javadoc, you can have a look under "dist/javadoc" directory.

In order to use JavaPlot in your application, first you have to include
JavaPlot.jar library in your classpath, found under "dist/JavaPlot.jar"
Then the easiest way to start creating plots, is to create a new instance of
JavaPlot object. Have a look at "demo/src/demo.java". Here you can find
various ways to use this library.


Advanced Usage
--------------

If you want to go deeper into the library, it is important to understand
"PropertiesHolder" class, which is the base properties holder of this library.
This class is able to store pairs of values (such as key-value pairs). Use the
set() and unset() method of this class to add parameters which will be used when
creating the gnuplot program. 

There are some things that are not supported yet. This is for example the splot-
family commands. Still, using methods like getPreInit() and getPostInit() you
might be able to simulate them.

If you want to use SVG output in Java, you need a library to handle SVG files.
Such a library is SVGSalamander provided with this package under directory
"xtra". There is a bug in this library, though, which ignores color values. Thus
all colors in SVG graphs are black.


Feedback
--------

Any problems, suggestions, corrections, ideas e.t.c. are strongly welcome. Note
that this library is still alpha quality, in the sense that the library API is
not fixed yet and it will change in the next version. The reason that it is
downloadable, is because I believe that it is already very useful and more or
less complete already (and of course I need some feedback).

To contact me, write to: panayotis (a) panayotis.com

Thank you for trying this software.