Robot - a scientific graph plotting and data analysis tool
The program "robot" is available by anonymous ftp from
ftp.astro.psu.edu.
Main Features of Robot
- Graph plotting in various styles
- error bars, histogram,
symbols, lines, dashed lines etc. Linear or logarithmic axes.
- Data manipulation - arithmetic, functions, Fourier transforms, smoothing,
folding, sorting.
- Fitting to data using built in functions such as Gaussians,
polynomials, Lorentzians, and/or a user defined function.
- Annotation of graphs with text in various styles,
simple drawing tools.
- Interaction with Robot is via pull-down menus, buttons
etc. and/or a pseudo command line type interface.
- Commands are stored in log files for later play back, editing etc.
- Command files can also include basic programming constructs:
loops, if tests, user defined variables.
- Multi-color plots. Multiple plots per page. Multiple pages.
- Output in
PostScript
format.
Requirements
Robot is
XView
based (version 3). User interface portions of code are
written in 'C'. Data manipulation code is written in
Fortran. Hence the
public domain f2c package (available by ftp from
netlib.att.com
) or a
Fortran compiler is required.
Alternatively, pre-compiled binaries for
LINUX,
Sun's
and
DECstations
are also
available by anonymous ftp. Robot has also been compiled and run
on a DEC alpha with OSF/1.
The full distribution (source, documentation etc.) takes up about
2.3Mbytes of disc space and the executable consumes approximately 3.5
Mbytes of RAM or greater (depending on the size of the data files being
plotted).
Availability
By anonymous ftp from ftp.astro.psu.edu in
the directory pub/astrod.
The relevant files are:
robotx-.--.tar.gz - Full source, plotting library, example scripts,
documentation etc.
"-.--" is the version number, e.g. the file
may be robotx4.90.tar.gz
robot-beta.tar.gz - most recent but less tested version of the above.
robot.changes - history of changes
RobotManual.ps.gz - just the documentation.
robot.sun4.gz - binary built on a SPARCstation (SunOS4.1.3).
robot.solaris.gz - binary built on a SPARCstation (Solaris)
(This is not a static binary).
robot.dec.Z - binary built on a DECstation (Ultrix).
robot.linux.gz - binary built on an IBM PC clone (LINUX).
(compressed with gzip)
robot.osf.gz - binary built on a DEC Alpha (OSF/1) machine
N.B. This is not a static binary. Get XView from
ftp.cs.cmu.edu:/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/mjchan/pub/xview3.2-alpha-dist.tar.gz or
ftp.sdsc.edu:/pub/ccms/xview
Corbet, R.H.D., Larkin, C. & Nousek, J.A. Proceedings of "Astronomical
Data Analysis and Software Systems", Tucson, November, 1991. ASP
Conference Series, 1992, 25, 106. (ISBN 0-937707-44-9)
Robin Corbet | corbet@lheamail.gsfc.nasa.gov
Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics |
Code 662 |
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center |
Greenbelt, MD 20771 |
USA |