Re: [ePiX-users] Error in histogram documentation

[Andrew D. Hwang]

On Tue, 2 Jan 2007, Marcus D. Hanwell wrote:

> I think there is an error in the documentation and it nearly made me give up
> on ePiX for plotting histograms. The documentation lists n (the number of
> bins) as being the third optional argument. This appears to have been changed
> (found the entry in the ChangeLog too) but the documentation has not been
> updated. It is now the first optional argument.
Hi Marcus,

I'll have a careful look at data plotting today, and will consider adding 
alternative plotting and axis labeling styles (log, trig, fractions, ...). 
At the very least I'll correct and expand the manual, but please feel free 
to pass along any additional suggestions for data plotting interface and 
features.

Non-Cartesian axis and (2-D) plotting styles were in the back of my mind 
years ago, and it's probably time to think about how things "ought" to 
work. At risk of introducing more global data, one obvious approach would 
attach a flag to the current drawing state (cartesian, polar, log-log, 
log-lin, etc.), and have the state controlled similarly to angular units, 
color, or line width. Since an input file corresponds fairly tightly to a 
single picture, global data in epix-1 doesn't bother me as much as it 
Should. In epix-2, plot style will be safely encapsulated in appropriate 
objects. I could do the same for epix-1, but that's not a small change, 
and leads to the next thought:

Several aspects of epix's internal behavior persist because they work, if 
clumsily. However, I'm now starting to consider the long-term benefits of 
rewriting basic chunks of ancient, kludgey code. If this happens, I'll 
move this thread to the devel list, and will revert "Version 1.1rc1" to 
"Version 1.0.22". :)

Thanks for raising these issues, and for reporting the manual errors!

Best,
Andy

Andrew D. Hwang                 address@hidden
Department of Math and CS       http://mathcs.holycross.edu/~ahwang
College of the Holy Cross       (508) 793-2458 (Office: 320 Swords)
Worcester, MA, 01610-2395       (508) 793-3530 (fax)