gnuplot documentation

4 NEW FEATURES INTRODUCED IN VERSION gnuplot 4.3 4.2
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4 New features introduced in version 4.2
Gnuplot version 4.2 offers many new features introduced since the preceding official version 4.0. This
section lists major additions and gives a partial list of changes and minor new features. For a more
exhaustive list, see the NEWS file.
4.1 New plot styles
4.1.1 Histogram
Histograms, or bar charts, can be produced. See histograms (p. 45).
4.1.2 Label plots
In coordination with the new datastrings feature described below, gnuplot can draw a label at each
vertex of a curve. See labels (p. 48).
4.1.3 Image data
The image and rgbimage styles allow to plot 2D images (from ascii or binary files) and map them in
a 2D or 3D plot. See image (p. 47) and rgbimage (p. 50).
4.1.4 Filled curves
The plot style fillstyle has been augmented to allow to fill the area between two input curves with a
color or a pattern. See filledcurves (p. 43).
4.1.5 Vectors
Gnuplot can draw plots with vectors with a small arrowhead, requiring four or six columns of data for
2D or 3D, respectively. See vectors (p. 50).
4.2 Input from binary data files
Gnuplot can now read a generic binary input, including matrix binary and general binary (until now
gnuplot supported only its own binary matrix format). Several matrix file formats are autodetected
(gpbin, edf, avs). Binary data files are mainly useful for image and rgbimage drawings. See binary
(p. 66) and binary general filetype (p. 68).
4.3 New plot elements
4.3.1 RGB colors
Explicit RGB colors can be specified for all plot elements instead of specifying a predefined linetype.
See colorspec (p. 32).
4.3.2 Arbitrary rectangles
You can place rectangles with desired fill style and border anywhere in a 2D plot.
rectangle (p. 128).
See set object