Id: NEWS.txt 302 2008-01-14 22:15:19Z bmcage

This file describes the changes introduced in each version of the
Gnuplot.py package.

Version ?.?

Version 1.8:

* hardcopy allows for terminal='svg' (using a patch from Spyros Blanas)

* Use with_ instead of with as that will be a python keyword in the
  future.

* Added an option "filename" to Data and GridData in PlotItems.py.
  This allows saving the data to a permanent, rather than temporary,
  file.  (Patch contributed by Matthew Fulmer.)

* Added a 'pdf' terminal definition (using a patch from Jim Kleckner).

* Added close() and __del__() methods to the Gnuplot class.  This
  might help with some cases of premature temporary file deletion.
  (Suggested by Jim Kleckner.)


Version 1.7:

* Relaxed license from GPL to LGPL.

* Significant reorganization of PlotItem.py:

  + Deleted the AnyFile classes from PlotItem: AnyFile, TempFile,
    ArrayFile, and TempArrayFile.  Those classes weren't pulling their
    weight.

  + Added a new _FileItem class to represent all forms of data that
    gnuplot treats as a file.

  + Added a new _TempFileItem class to represent PlotItems that are
    based on a temporary file.

  + Added a new _InlineFileItem class to represent PlotItems whose
    data is passed to gnuplot inline.

  + Changed PlotItems.File() and PlotItems.Data from classes into
    factory functions that produce instances of the classes mentioned
    above.

* Slightly changed the PlotItem interface to support the new derived
  classes:

  + Removed the basecommand argument to the constructor.  Instead
    added a get_base_command_string() method to retrieve that string.
    This function is not defined in PlotItem so it is added to the
    derived classes.  (This function is used by _FIFOFileItem as the
    hook where _FIFOWriters are created.

  + Added a new get_command_option_string() method which abstracts out
    the construction of the option part of the command() method.

* Added support for sending data to gnuplot via FIFOs (named pipes)
  via a new _FIFOFileItem class.  This mechanism removes the ambiguity
  about when temporary files should be deleted, therefore making it
  easier to use Gnuplot.py in script environments, etc.  This feature
  is only implemented under *nix because Python doesn't implement the
  required threading module and os.mkfifo() on other operating
  systems.  Added two new configuration options, support_fifo and
  prefer_fifo_data, to the gp_*.py files to switch the new feature on
  and off.

* Started adding support for running Gnuplot.py under Jython/Java.
  Added gp_java.py, which is a functioning low-level interface to
  gnuplot via java.lang.Process objects.  The rest might work, too, if
  you have JNumeric <http://jnumerical.sourceforge.net/> installed.
  (Gnuplot.py relies on the Numeric library; JNumeric is the Jython
  equivalent.)  If I find the time I might try to produce a version
  that doesn't require Numeric at all, under either Python or Jython.

* Removed the oldplot.py module: (1) I doubt anybody is still using
  it. (2) It seems to be broken anyway. (3) I don't have the energy to
  fix or maintain it.  Let me know if I'm wrong about point 1.

* Started a new FAQ.txt file and added an answer to the single most
  frequently asked question.


Version 1.6:

* Introduced a general mechanism to make it easy to support multiple
  gnuplot terminal types in the Gnuplot.hardcopy() function.  Added
  definitions for 'postscript', 'png', 'fig', and 'cgm'.  Other
  terminal types can now be added easily.

* Changed names of Exceptions to be more consistent with other
  modules: OptionException -> OptionError and DataException ->
  DataError.  Moved both to Errors.py and derive both from
  Errors.Error.

* Incorporated several changes for Mac OS suggested by Jon Moody.

* Added a gp_macosx.py file to support Mac OS X.  The only difference
  between this and gp_unix.py is the default terminal selection.

* Moved import statement in demo.py to global scope for Python 2.2.

* Removed claims that demo.py can be run before installing Gnuplot.py.


Version 1.5:

* Broke up the module a bit for better maintainability.  The most
  commonly-used facilities are still available through "import
  Gnuplot", but a few more specialized things have been moved to
  separate modules, in particular funcutils.py and PlotItems.py.
  __init__.py now just imports things from other modules.

* funcutils.tabulate_function() can be used to evaluate a function
  on a 1-D or 2-D grid of points (this replaces grid_function,
  which only worked with 2-D grids).

* Added two helper functions, funcutils.compute_Data and
  funcutils.compute_GridData, which compute a function's values on
  a set of points and package the results into a PlotItem.

* GridFunc is no longer an independent class; it is now a factory
  function that returns a GridData.  GridFunc is deprecated in
  favor of funcutils.compute_GridData.

* Changed set_option to work from a table, so that it doesn't need to
  be overloaded so often.

* Made changes like those submitted by Matthew Martin
  <r47854@email.sps.mot.com> to allow the `smooth' option.

* Implemented test_persist for each platform to make it easier for
  users to determine whether the `-persist' option is supported.

* Added a prefer_persist option to serve as the default `persist'
  choice.

* Following a suggestion by Jannie Hofmeyr <jhsh@iafrica.com>, use
  "from os import popen" for Python 2.0 under Windows.  I don't use
  Windows, so let me know how this works.

* Added a setup.py file so that Gnuplot.py can be installed using
  Python distutils.

* Added support for the `axes' parameter of the `plot' command.

* Reworked the comment strings in an effort to make them work nicely
  with happydoc.


Version 1.4:

* Added support for the Macintosh, thanks to help from Tony Ingraldi.

* Split the platform-dependent code, including the configuration
  options, into separate modules: gp.py, gp_mac.py, and gp_win32.py.
  The GnuplotProcess class defined in those files is a lightweight
  interface to the gnuplot program that could also conceivably be
  useful to somebody.

* Allow access to all of the postscript printer driver options through
  the hardcopy() method.

* Fixed an import problem in test.py.


Version 1.3:

* Converted to package format.  The main file is now called
  __init__.py, so that it can be loaded by typing 'import Gnuplot'.

* Passing GridData a callable function was basically broken because of
  the kludgey way of overloading the argument.  Instead of trying to
  fix it, I moved that functionality to a new type of PlotItem
  called 'GridFunc'.

* Added a new keyword argument, 'ufunc', to grid_function and to
  GridFunc.  If that argument is nonzero, then the function is
  evaluated matrix-wise (in that case it must be composed only of
  ufunctions or ufunction-like routines).

* Fixed a 'typecode' problem with grid_function (typecode is
  apparently a positional, not a keyword, argument in the Numeric
  library).

* Separated the demonstration code into a separate file, demo.py, to
  shorten __init__.py a bit.


Version 1.2 (8 Aug 1999):

* Support for MS Windows, using the `pgnuplot.exe' program.
  Thanks go especially to Craig Schardt for help with this.

* Support for using binary files to send grid data to splot.
  This saves a lot of time and usually saves space compared with
  the old text files.  (Only works with recent versions of
  gnuplot.)

* Support for sending data to gnuplot as `inline data' (i.e., "plot
  '-'").  This method should be faster than the alternate method,
  temporary files.  (Only works with recent versions of gnuplot.)

* Allows PlotItem options to be modified after the PlotItem is
  constructed.

* Simplified the PlotItem inheritance hierarchy (Data and GridData are
  no longer derived from File).

* Added several configuration options (see top of Gnuplot.py).

* Separated function-based interface into a separate file
  (Gnuplot_plot.py).

* Added a test module, Gnuplot_test.py, which tests most of the
  features of Gnuplot.py.

* A README file, lots of documentation changes, etc.


Version 1.1a (9 Apr 1999):

This version just addresses a couple of minor portability issues.


Version 1.1 (31 Jan 1999):

* 3-D plots are now supported through the new 'splot' method:
  + To create a scatter plot, pass splot a 2-D array containing
    (x,y,z) triplets;
  + To create a grid plot, pass a 3-D array consisting of a 2-D array
    of (x,y,z) triplets; or
  + Use the new `GridData' PlotItem to plot gridded data (data
    tabulated on a rectangular grid).

* It is now easier to pass data to gnuplot.  The 'Data' PlotItem now
  accepts multiple arguments representing subsequent 'columns' of the
  dataset; e.g., what used to be written as

      g = Gnuplot.Gnuplot()
      x = numpy.arange(100)/10.0
      y = x**2
      # Create an array of (x,y) pairs:
      g.plot(Gnuplot.Data(numpy.transpose((x, y))))

  can now be shortened to

      # Plot y vs. x directly:
      g.plot(Gnuplot.Data(x, y))

  (both examples plot x squared vs. x).  Similarly, splot can be
  passed three arrays representing the values of x, y, and z.
  Note that the old interpretation is still used if a single
  argument is passed to `Data'.

