• • Basic Use
  • Numerical Data
  • Experimental Data
  • Functions
  • Life with gnuplot
  • Plotting Styles

Introduction to gnuplot

GNUPLOT is a nice free software which displays various mathematical functions
and numerical data. There are many Web ites and documents those explain
how to make a plot of functions, so here I describe how to make a figure of
numerical data such as experimental data or results of numerical calculations.

This guide covers gnuplot basics and helps beginners understand how to plot data and functions step by step.

Gnuplot Basic Use – from start to the end

• Quit, Read, and Save
• Plot
• Change Parameters
• Shell
• Substitution, Function, Calculation

Use for a Numerical Calculation – Plots of Calculated Results

• Data File
• Plot (X,Y) Pairs
• Draw Several Lines
• Graph Title and Axis Names
• Change XY Range
• Put Graduations
• Done !

Use for Experimental Data – Plots of Experimental Data

• Data File
• Plot Data
• Make a Legend
• Draw a Calculated Line
• Change the Line Style
• Insert Axis Names
• Adjust the Range
• Put Graduations
• Generate a Postscript File

Plot Functions and the Least-Squares fitting to experimental data

• User-defined functions
• Value of the function
• Search for the parameters with a Least-Squares Method
• Output in the Postscript format

Life with gnuplot

• Make a Batch Process
• Draw Many Figures

Plotting styles

• Lines, Dots, and Symbols
• Bar-Graph
• Symbols with Error Bars
• Vectors
• Others