Re: Postscript in IDL ..

[Reimar Bauer <r.bauer(at)fz-juelich.de>]

Dear R.A. 


"R.Aspey" wrote:
> 
> I am looking at using IDL to publish some pictures in a
> TeX document. Lets say I have data sets in either
> CSV or tab delimited.

You may use our read_data_file,

http://www.fz-juelich.de/icg/icg1/idl_icglib/idl_source/idl_html/dbase/download/read_data_file.tar.gz

This routine reads directly a whole datafile into a structure. 
You have only to select the filename.

Restriction:
data is a tabular without text 


For licensing please have a look at

http://www.fz-juelich.de/icg/icg1/idl_icglib/idl_lib_intro.html

> 
> Can I produce postscript oe EPS files directly and
> if so does anyone have a srcipt they could send me
> with most of the stuff in to save me having to read manuals..

Yes! 
To get a very good output as EPS or PS or on Screen we have 
developed a plot environment 
I have written a publication with lots of examples to explain this in
more detail.

http://www.fz-juelich.de/zb/text/publikation/juel3786.html


PRO example
   
    D=read_data_file('file.txt')
 
    x=(d.data[0,*])[*]
    y1=(d.data[1,*])[*]
 
    plotprepare,plot

    plot.stamp=0
    plot.psflag=2
    plot.psfile='example'
 
    plotinit,plot
    plotxy,plot,x=x,y=y1
    plotend,plot
 END             

With the plot.psflag you can switch between different output devices

for example
0 is output on screen
1 is PS
2 is EPS
and some others

the plotxy handles the thickness of lines, charsize and symbols, 
page layout and positions for all different outputs.

So you get on each device a very good result.

The package includes XY, error bars, probability, 2D, XY_2D, Maps and 3D
at the moment.

> 
> What is the default data file format used for ascii import using IDL?

there is no default, but it's alway good not mixing text and numbers
in a table.

> 
> A few things but I dont really want to spend my life
> learning things I may only use once every now and then

How old are you ?

> 
> Any comments would be very much appreciated.
> 
> regards
> R.A.
> raspey@liv.ac.uk

cia
Reimar

-- 
Reimar Bauer 

Institut fuer Stratosphaerische Chemie (ICG-1)
Forschungszentrum Juelich
email: R.Bauer@fz-juelich.de
http://www.fz-juelich.de/icg/icg1/
=============================================
a IDL library at ForschungsZentrum Jülich
http://www.fz-juelich.de/icg/icg1/idl_icglib/idl_lib_intro.html

http://www.fz-juelich.de/zb/text/publikation/juel3786.html