Using gnuplot from the command line

gnuplot is excellent for both quick 'n' dirty and lengthy plotting projects. Still, for truly quick work of just plottin' some column against some other column, I've always felt like gnuplot demands too many keystrokes:

[1000 rhys@tiresias 16]$ gnuplot

 G N U P L O T
 Version 4.2 patchlevel 6
 last modified Sep 2009
 System: Linux 2.6.32-30-generic

 Copyright (C) 1986 - 1993, 1998, 2004, 2007 - 2009
 Thomas Williams, Colin Kelley and many others

 Type `help` to access the on-line reference manual.
 The gnuplot FAQ is available from http://www.gnuplot.info/faq/

 Send bug reports and suggestions to 


Terminal type set to 'x11'
gnuplot> plot 'restart0.mean' using 2:17
gnuplot> exit

Of course, one can turn this process into a one-liner at the cost of quoting:

gnuplot -e "plot 'restart0.mean' using 2:17"

Call me picky, but the signal-to-noise ratio in that one-liner still feels too high.

After some quoting experimentation using printf's %q and %b format specifiers, the following little function definition

gplot () {
   local fileexpr=$(printf "'%q'" $1)
   shift
   local plotexpr=$(printf '%b' "plot ${fileexpr} $*")
   gnuplot -persist -raise -e "$plotexpr"
}

makes

gplot restart0.mean using 2:17

behave like the previous two examples. This function happily hides the file name quoting requirements and remains tab-completion-friendly.

Providing computed column values like gnuplot's using 1:$(cos($2)) on the command line still requires thought, but the straightforward tasks work thoughtlessly. Suggestions for improvements definitely welcome in the comments. One glaring bug is that passing a pipe expression as the file bombs.

Update 20110504: I've decided that I much prefer creating a gplot script containing

#!/bin/bash
file=$1
shift
gnuplot -persist -raise <(cat <<-GNUPLOTSCRIPT
plot '$file' $*
GNUPLOTSCRIPT
)

as it is much simpler to work through the quoting and far more extensible.

Update 20111031: Globbing, labelling, and a handful of other enhancements:

#!/bin/bash

# Fail on first error
set -e

# Create temporary files to hold gnuplot script
tmp1=`mktemp`
tmp2=`mktemp`
trap "rm -f $tmp1 $tmp2" EXIT

# Process (and then remove) command line options
# Build up any post-terminal processing in tmp2 for later use
autotitle=
title="`date +%r`: gplot $*"
terminal="set terminal x11 title '$title' enhanced persist"
cmd=plot
forexpr=
raise=
showhelp=
while getopts "3cf:ghils:re:t:x:y:z:F:SX:Y:Z:" opt
do
  case $opt in
    3) cmd=splot
       ;;
    c) autotitle=true
       ;;
    e) terminal='set term postscript eps enhanced color dashed rounded "Arial,14"'
       pause='' # Disable interactive on EPS output
       echo set output \"$OPTARG\" >> $tmp2
       ;;
    f) forexpr=" for [$OPTARG] "
       ;;
    g) echo "set grid" >> $tmp2
       ;;
    h) showhelp=0
       ;;
    i) pause='pause -1 "Plot interactive until Enter pressed.\nHit h in plot window for help.\n"'
       ;;
    l) echo "set logscale y" >> $tmp2
       ;;
    r) raise="-raise"
       ;;
    s) savescript="$OPTARG"
       ;;
    t) echo set title \"$OPTARG\" >> $tmp2
       ;;
    x) echo set xlabel \"$OPTARG\" >> $tmp2
       ;;
    y) echo set ylabel \"$OPTARG\" >> $tmp2
       ;;
    z) echo set zlabel \"$OPTARG\" >> $tmp2
       ;;
    F) pause="pause $OPTARG; replot; reread"
       ;;
    S) stdin=true
       ;;
    X) echo set xrange \[$OPTARG\] >> $tmp2
       ;;
    Y) echo set yrange \[$OPTARG\] >> $tmp2
       ;;
    Z) echo set zrange \[$OPTARG\] >> $tmp2
       ;;
  esac
done
shift $((OPTIND-1))

if [ x$showhelp != x ]; then
    cat <<-HERE
Usage: gplot [OPTION]... (FILE|EXTGLOB) GNUPLOTCMD...
Use gnuplot to plot one or more files directly from the command line.

  -3             Perform 3D plotting using gnuplot's splot command.
  -c             Populate the key using autotitling.
  -e FILE        Save an Encapsulated Postscript (eps) called FILE.
  -f FOREXPR     Prepend a 'for [FOREXPR]' to the plotting command.
  -g             Show grid lines.
  -h             Show this help message.
  -i             Interactive plotting mode.  Hit 'h' on plot for help.
  -l             Use logarithmic scale for y axis.
  -s FILE        Save the generated gnuplot as a script called FILE.
  -r             Have the window manager raise the plot window.
  -t TITLE       Set TITLE as the plot's title.
  -x XLABEL      Specify XLABEL as the x axis label.
  -y YLABEL      Specify YLABEL as the y axis label.
  -z ZLABEL      Specify ZLABEL as the z axis label.
  -F FREQUENCY   Replot the inputs every FREQUENCY seconds.
  -S             Prior to plotting, read auxililary gunplot from stdin.
  -X XLOW:XHIGH  Specify an explicit x axis range instead of autoscaling.
  -Y YLOW:YHIGH  Specify an explicit y axis range instead of autoscaling.
  -Z ZLOW:ZHIGH  Specify an explicit z axis range instead of autoscaling.

Examples (see gnuplot documentation for complete GNUPLOTCMD details):

  gplot -i foo.dat using 1:2 with linespoints
  gplot -s foo.gp -X 0:1 -Y 0:2 foo.dat using 1:2 with linespoints
  gplot -e foo.eps foo.dat using 1:2 with linespoints
  gplot -3 restart\*.dat using 1:2:3

On error, the failing gnuplot script is shown.
HERE
    exit $showhelp
fi

# Set terminal
echo "$terminal" >> $tmp1

# Slurp any settings built up during getops processing
cat $tmp2 >> $tmp1

# Obtain file(s) to plot from first argument using extended globbing
# Deliberately allow globbing to occur in this assignment
shopt -s extglob
declare -a files=($1)
shift

# Tweak autotitle based on options and incoming argument details
if [ "$autotitle" ]; then
    # Use columnheader option iff only one file provided
    if [ ${#files[@]} -eq 1 -a $cmd != splot ]; then
        echo 'set key autotitle columnheader' >> $tmp1
    else
        echo 'set key autotitle' >> $tmp1
    fi
else
    echo 'set key noautotitle' >> $tmp1
fi

# Possibly slurp standard input for further options
# FIXME Not working for 'echo foo | gplot'
if [ "$stdin" ]; then
    cat <&1 >> $tmp1
fi

# Build gnuplot script to plot possibly multiple files
declare -i count=0
for file in "${files[@]}"
do
    count+=1
    if [ $count -eq 1 ]; then
        echo "$cmd" "$forexpr" \'$file\' $* \\ >> $tmp1
    else
        echo "   "  , "$forexpr" \'$file\' $* \\ >> $tmp1
    fi
done
echo '' >> $tmp1

# If requested, save the plotting commands as an executable script
if [ "$savescript" ]; then
    echo '#!/usr/bin/env gnuplot' > "$savescript"
    cat "$tmp1" >> "$savescript"
    chmod a+x "$savescript"
fi

# If requested, add a pause command to the end of the script. Notice this was
# not added to the $savescript as it would be annoying in that context.
if [ "$pause" ]; then
    echo "$pause" >> $tmp1
fi

# Generate the plot
# Display the script when an error occurs to aid debugging
gnuplot $raise $tmp1 || cat $tmp1