Topic: PGPLOT

Hi Jeff,

I've inherited some legacy code that uses PGPLOT. Alas, it looks like PGPLOT used to be available as a Simply Fortran package but it no longer seems to be. Might it be possible to have PGPLOT available as a package again?

These days there are certainly quite a few alternatives to PGPLOT out there, so if there's some reason why PGPLOT is now hard to support I'll certainly understand if you've got higher priorities. (That said, I confess I've always had a soft spot for PGPLOT).

Thanks,

Bob

  • jeff
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Re: PGPLOT

Bob,

I believe if you update your packages in the package manager (should happen automatically when you start it), it should now be available.  There was actually an oversight that didn't mark the package as available.

Jeff Armstrong
Approximatrix, LLC

Re: PGPLOT

Hi Jeff,

Thanks, the package is now marked as available in the SF Package Manager but I think there's a dependency missing (libpng.a). When I try to build the example program I get this:

c:/program files (x86)/simply fortran 2/mingw-w64/bin/../lib/gcc/x86_64-w64-mingw32/5.2.0/../../../../x86_64-w64-mingw32/bin/ld.exe: cannot find -lpng

I'd install the PNG library manually but it doesn't seem to be available as part of the PNG Package Manager.

Thanks again for your help with this!

Bob

4 Reply by abraham (edited by abraham 2015-11-11 14:17:21)

Re: PGPLOT

Hi Jeff,

I'm just getting back to this now... since I am in a bit of a rush my plan is to just build libpng.a myself and drop it into the package manager's directory space, but doing things by hand seems a wee bit icky given you've assembled such a nice build system. Is the package manager something that users ought to be contributing to? If so, is there some sort of documented interface? If so and it's just a matter of sending you a script or whatever to integrate into the package manager I'd be happy to try to do that if you'd find it helpful.

Bob

  • jeff
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Re: PGPLOT

Bob,

LibPNG should be available in the package manager, but there seems to be some issues with a "required compiler" field in the package manager.  I'll fix things today, and it should all install easily.

We don't have a method for users to contribute to the package manager.  Constructing packages is a relatively manual process.  For now, there isn't really any plan to allow user-contributed binaries.

Jeff Armstrong
Approximatrix, LLC
  • jeff
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Re: PGPLOT

Bob,

Try starting the package manager again and updating your packages.  You should see "libpng" listed now.

Jeff Armstrong
Approximatrix, LLC

Re: PGPLOT

Thanks Jeff, it all works great now. Once again I'm very grateful for your work getting these libraries built!

Re: PGPLOT

Hi Jeff - I'm coming back to Simply Fortran after a brief hiatus (when I need it, it's a total lifesaver... THANK YOU for providing it). I've run into a bit of a snag though... when I try to build the PGPLOT demo program with the latest version it compiles successfully and runs the first time I build the program, but then on subsequent builds when I try to run the executable I get a segfault. Sounds bizarre, I know.... in any case, I thought I'd better report it.

I'm running this on Windows 10 (Version 1903).

While you're thinking about PGPLOT, could I also make another request? The distribution includes a C version of the demo program (cpg\cpgdemo.c). Since linking into PGPLOT from C can be tricky, perhaps you could also include the build info needed to build the C demo too, in addition to the Fortran demo program?

Thanks again!

Bob

  • jeff
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Re: PGPLOT

Bob,

I'll have a look at the problem this week.  I'll try to include a C example project as well with a new package.

Jeff Armstrong
Approximatrix, LLC

Re: PGPLOT

Thanks, Jeff. It would be great to have this working but it's no rush if you're busy... I just coded up my little project using PLplot instead and found it a very acceptable substitute.

I wish I could find a Windows plotting package that supported persistent windows somehow (like the way pgplot's X11 display server works) but it's an imperfect Universe. Anyway, thanks again!

  • jeff
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Re: PGPLOT

Bob,

I know this issue might seem old at this point, but I should have a new PGPlot package up tomorrow.  The C wrapper is quite dated, and some modifications were necessary.  However, everything seems to be working this afternoon.

Jeff Armstrong
Approximatrix, LLC
  • jeff
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Re: PGPLOT

The new PGPlot package is now available, and a C demo project is included.  To link with a PGPlot C program, you only need to add a single library to the link flags, libcpgplot.a, which includes the C wrappers for all Fortran calls.  It should be working acceptably.

Jeff Armstrong
Approximatrix, LLC