Discussion Overview
The discussion revolves around methods for plotting data generated by C programming. Participants explore alternatives to writing data to files for plotting, particularly during debugging processes.
Discussion Character
- Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested
Main Points Raised
- One participant expresses frustration with the need to open files repeatedly while debugging and seeks better plotting methods.
- Another participant suggests using routines from Numerical Recipes 3rd Edition, specifically mentioning PSplot and PSpage, which can create graphs that open automatically in a pop-up window.
- A different participant proposes running gnuplot from the C program to generate graphs from data files, indicating this as a viable alternative.
- Another response reinforces the use of gnuplot, recommending the creation of a function in C that writes a temporary file and executes gnuplot on it.
Areas of Agreement / Disagreement
Participants present multiple approaches to plotting data, including using gnuplot and routines from a specific book, indicating that there is no consensus on a single best method.
Contextual Notes
Some methods rely on external software and may require additional setup, such as downloading GSview.exe for the Numerical Recipes approach or learning to run external programs from C.
Who May Find This Useful
Programmers using C who are looking for efficient ways to visualize data during development and debugging processes.