Re: Latex interpreter for print output wiht the fltk graphics toolkit

[Jan-Peter Schümann]

Am 09.04.2016 um 21:20 schrieb Dr. Franko Greiner <address@hidden>:
> 
> Dear  Octave  people,
> I think you did a great job with the new working environment.  It makes 
> it much easier for freshman to start working with octave.
> There is just one problem. I can not recommend octave for use for
> reports etc, because the latex interpreter doesn't work for the
> print command. This is not a minor point. So my questions is, if you
> have plans to overcome this limitations.
> Best Regards
> F. Greiner
> 
> 
> -- 
> Dr. Franko Greiner
> AG Plasmadynamik
> Atom- und Plasmaphysik
> Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik   www.ieap.uni-kiel.de
> Christian-Albrechts-Universität
> Leibnizstraße 17
> 24098 Kiel
> phone +49 431 880 3821          fax   +49 431 880 3809
> 
> 
> 
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Hello Franko, 

I have faced the same issues. As workaround, I started to generate graphs in 
Octave to check my models and output. Then, I export the plotted data and use 
Gnuplot for fine LaTeX plots via the Tikz Terminal. In Gnuplot, I type: 

set term tikz size xcm, ycm
set output "filename.tex"
plot "file.txt“

In the preamble of the LaTeX master file, you will then need to include 
/usepackage(tikz)
and you can include your graph like

/begin(figure)
/begin(center)
/input(filename)
/caption(…)
/end(center)
/end(figure)

(sorry for awkward code, as LaTeX user you’ll understand the right syntax - 
Apple keyboard)

Maybe sounds like a difficult and obscure procedure, but in return I get full 
Gnuplot plotting control. I prefer that over octave plotting syntax. E. g., I 
did not manage to plot two curves on secondary y-axis using plotyy in octave. 
Gnuplot seems to be more flexible to me. 
Advantage: all text (axis labels and numbers, legend) exist in the .tex-file 
and will be typeset by pdftex or whatever you use. Seamlessly usable in reports 
and presentations, both with consistent typesetting. Mind the plot size, 
though. 

Beware of large data export from octave. Sometimes, measured data can get 
lengthy and this will also result in a heavy .tex-file (1MB is easy in my 
case). This will make the compilation of the LaTeX master file take long, 
especially if you use many of these graphs. If the resolution is not required, 
I have good experience using simple data reduction e. g. a = a(1:20:end) or so. 

Hope that helps,
Viele Grüße an die Förde
JPS