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From: aileen@gsfc.nasa.gov ( )
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: plotting/data analysis packages - info needed
Message-ID: <aileen.670703732@heawk1>
Date: 3 Apr 91 18:35:32 GMT
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I am currently developing a real-time data collection and analysis
system for a scientific project at NASA.  The data collection and
analysis is commanded from a custom developed user interface that
is run on a Sun SPARC station under UNIX and the X-window system
with C as the development language.

My requirements are:

	1. Receive data collected from the real-time system over
      an ethernet (TCP/IP) network.

	2. Perform histogram binning functions on the data
      given a specified binning criteria from the user.

   3. Display data in histogram format (counts along the y-axis,
      channel along the x-axis).

	4. Perform limited data analysis on the data being displayed
      (included curve fitting, smoothing, range definitions for
      data to be displayed, zooming capabilities etc).

	5. Provide hardcopy results of displayed plots.

Basic requirments are that it run under X and provide postscript
support for printing.

Rather than develop the display and analysis functions myself, 
I have been investigating third-party packages designed with 
that in mind.  The packages I have looked at so far are:

	1. IDL

	2. Mongo

	3. PGPLOT

all of which have limitations.  Mongo supports limited graphics
routines written in FORTRAN but callable from C.  It does not
have any data analysis capabilities.  PGPLOT has both but the documentation
is weak and it has a kludgy X interface at best.  Neither have printing
capabilities.  IDL seems to have much of what I need but does not provide
a library of callable functions.  This implies extra processing overhead, since
it is an interpretive package, that may severly limit system performance.  

Is anyone using or does anyone know of a package that will perform these
type of operations and was designed to run under X?   I would appreciate
any information that you may be able to lend in this arena.  I have very
little familiarity with graphics interfaces and am rather stuck at the
moment.