Joe, The best has always been to compile gnuplot from scratch. It is very easy to do, barring any missing libraries. But typically those are easy to install or build as well. Search www.gnuplot.info for instructions.
That way gnuplot will be compiled to better match your system. Plus if you find any bugs you can report them and update gnuplot quickly. gnuplot is not a library, it is a freestanding executable and what you originally saw was Octave attempting to open a pipe to gnuplot. At a command line, type "gnuplot" and see if you can plot from there. If you can't, then certainly building from scratch is the best first attempt. Dan Joe Strout wrote: > Newbie here again -- slightly better informed, since I've searched the > Trac items, and now found the "General FAQ" section of the Readme.html > that comes with Octave.app. However, I still can't get plotting to > work. Here's a quick recap of what I've tried: > > 1. Naively launched Octave.app right after installing it, tried to plot, > and it failed with basically "no gnuplot". > > 2. Installed gnuplot (after searching THEIR Trac system to learn why a > simple configure/make dance doesn't work on 10.4). Relaunched > Octave.app, tried to plot, got this: > > octave-3.2.3:4> plot(x,t) > > gnuplot> set terminal aqua enhanced title "Figure 1" size 560 420 > ^ > line 0: unknown or ambiguous terminal type; type just 'set > terminal' for a list > > line 0: No terminal defined > > octave-3.2.3:5> > gnuplot> plot "-" binary format='%float64' record=3 using ($1):($2) axes > x1y1 title "" with lines linestyle 1 ; > ^ > line 0: use 'set term' to set terminal type first > > 3. Found the pointer to the General FAQ, which claims (incorrectly, in > my case) that if the "gnuplot" command works then it should work with > Octave. So I deleted my installation of gnuplot, and then followed > suggestion a, to install Gnuplot.app right next to Octave.app. > Restarted octave, and tried: > > octave-3.2.3:1> x = [-pi:0.1:pi]; > octave-3.2.3:2> plot (x, sin (x)) > octave-3.2.3:3> > > ...which generates no error, but no plot either. (Incidentally, if I > double-click Gnuplot.app myself, and enter "plot sin(x)/x" into the > terminal window that appears, it also does nothing there.) > > 4. Went back to the Requirements section of the Readme.html, which claims: > > Since Octave.app version 3.2.0 there i sno need to install Gnuplot > anymore because Octave.app comes with its first own graphical backend > cf. General FAQ about 'How can I switch between different graphical > backends?'). > > But there is no such question in the General FAQ, and I'm still clueless > as to how to switch between different graphical backends. > > I'd really like to make a plot with Octave! Can anyone give me a clue? > > Thanks, > - Joe > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Throughout its 18-year history, RSA Conference consistently attracts the > world's best and brightest in the field, creating opportunities for Conference > attendees to learn about information security's most important issues through > interactions with peers, luminaries and emerging and established companies. > http://p.sf.net/sfu/rsaconf-dev2dev > _______________________________________________ > Octave-dev mailing list > Octave-dev@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/octave-dev > -- Dan Sebald email: daniel(DOT)sebald(AT)ieee(DOT)org URL: http://www(DOT)dansebald(DOT)com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Planet: dedicated and managed hosting, cloud storage, colocation Stay online with enterprise data centers and the best network in the business Choose flexible plans and management services without long-term contracts Personal 24x7 support from experience hosting pros just a phone call away. http://p.sf.net/sfu/theplanet-com _______________________________________________ Octave-dev mailing list Octave-dev@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/octave-dev
