Best program to make graphics for LaTeX?

[JasonJo]

Best program to make graphics for LaTeX??

I need to make some decent looking graphics for a LaTeX document. I want to make near textbook style graphics if possible. I mean pictures of surfaces, tangent vectors, intervals, cantor sets, directed graphs, etc.

I have heard of two programs, IPE and Xfig (Winfig for Windows). I have tried Xfig, and it is just another drawing program, it is really tough to use for a beginner. Is there any graphics program specifically for math authors?

Thanks guys!

 

[baywax]

I need to make some decent looking graphics for a LaTeX document. I want to make near textbook style graphics if possible. I mean pictures of surfaces, tangent vectors, intervals, cantor sets, directed graphs, etc.

I have heard of two programs, IPE and Xfig (Winfig for Windows). I have tried Xfig, and it is just another drawing program, it is really tough to use for a beginner. Is there any graphics program specifically for math authors?

Thanks guys!

Here's a list of providers and other...

http://www.math.yorku.ca/SCS/StatResource.html#DataVis

Another huge list...

http://www.maa.org/editorial/mathgames/mathgames_08_01_05.html

Some advice...

http://amath.colorado.edu/documentation/LaTeX/reference/figures.html

Something called "Metapost Languages" in this review

LaTeX Graphics Companion, The, 2nd Edition

http://www.informit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0321508920

You too can google!

 

[robphy]

You can try to export graphics from Maple or Mathematica.
Some other ideas:
http://www.math.ubc.ca/~cass/graphics/manual/
http://asymptote.sourceforge.net/gallery/
http://www.scipy.org/Topical_Software#head-b98ffdb309ccce4e4504a25ea75b5c806e4897b6
http://vpython.org/