ANYPLT
Simple Graphics Interface

ANYPLT is a FORTRAN90 library which provides an interface between a FORTRAN90 program and a variety of graphics packages.

The idea is outdated now, but at the time, I was trying to make it possible to define a simple graphic interface routine that would allow me to run the same program on a variety of machines and environments without having to worry about the details of the particular graphics package that was available.

The interface consisted of a single subroutine, with a single argument, whose value indicated the graphics action desired. Any data required to carry out the indicated command was supplied indirectly, by setting certain variables in a COMMON block.

This idea was helpful for me for a time. Once I stopped needing to do graphics in so many environments, I quit developing the package, and it has started to suffer 'data rot'. Nonetheless, I keep it around in fond memory of the time when it was so helpful.

At one time or another, I had developed the following interfaces:

• ANYATT, a version which uses the high resolution mode of the AT&T PC6300. (400 pixels high, 640 wide). Characters and symbols are drawn.
• ANYBUG, merely a debugging tool, this package records all the calls to ANYPLT in a file. (Nominally 1 high by 1 wide).
• ANYCAL, a flavor of CALCOMP as implemented at the University of Pittsburgh, producing a plotfile which may then be output on a plotter. (Nominally 11 high by 8.5 wide).
• ANYCGM, CGM output, (Computer Graphics Metafile), as implemented in the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center's DRAWCGM package.
• ANYIBM, interactive IBM graphics (200 high, 640 wide)
• ANYMAC, Apple Macintosh graphics. Requires TOOLBX.PAR file. (342 high, 512 wide). FORTRAN can't seem to access the entire screen, however.
• ANYNCR, NCAR GKS graphics output to a CGM metafile. 'Meta-screen' is 1 high, 1 wide, but output size depends on output device.
• ANYNUL, a null device. This allowed you to compile a program with graphics calls, but without supplying any graphics library.
• ANYP10, output to interactive PLOT10 graphics (768 high, 1024 wide) A local modification to the package allows the program to open a PLOT10 file in which a copy of the graphics may be stored, to be viewed later by typing it out.
• ANYPS, output to a PostScript file.
• ANYTTY, output to a crude terminal plotting package, which uses '*' and blank to produce a plot. (24 pixels high, 80 wide).

Licensing:

The computer code and data files described and made available on this web page are distributed under the GNU LGPL license.

Languages:

ANYPLT is available in a FORTRAN90 version.

Related Data and Programs:

DISLIN, C programs which illustrate the use of DISLIN, a scientific graphics package.

PS_WRITE, a FORTRAN90 library which can be used to create PostScript image files.

TTYPLT, a FORTRAN77 library which creates simple typewriter graphics images of mathematical data.

The NUL Interface

The NUL interface was the easiest to design. The idea was that the NUL device was a fake device that did nothing, and the interface was a dummy routine with the right name that would keep the compiler happy. The purpose of the NUL device was to allow me to compile and load a graphics program when I didn't actually want any graphics. So the program could merrily call the ANYPLT routine all it wanted, but the graphics information was never sent anywhere.

• anynul.f90, the source code for the interface.
• anynul.sh, commands to compile the source code.
• anynul_test.sh, commands to compile and run the test code with the NUL interface.
• anynul_test.txt, the output file.

The BUG Interface

The BUG interface was the second easiest to design. The idea was that the BUG device was a fake device that simply recorded all the calls to the graphics interface routine by writing the data to a file. This would allow me to debug a malfunctioning program by intercepting the graphics calls.

• anybug.f90, the source code for the interface.
• anybug.sh, commands to compile the source code.
• anybug_test.sh, commands to compile and run the test code with the BUG interface.
• anybug_test.txt, the output file.
• anybug_test.bug, the BUG file.

The CGM Interface

The CGM interface was designed to interact with the DRAWCGM package, a graphics package developed at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, which could output graphics in CGM format, but also in PostScript or X Windows as well.

• anycgm.f90, the source code for the interface.
• anycgm.sh, commands to compile the source code.
• anycgm_test.sh, commands to compile and run the test code with the CGM interface.
• anycgm_test.txt, the output file.

The MAC Interface

The MAC interface was designed to interact with (a very early model) of the Macintosh computer, using the Absoft Fortran compiler, and an assembly language package called TOOLBOX.SUB, which I couldn't find if I wanted to now.

• anymac.f90, the source code for the interface.

The PS Interface

The PS interface was designed to output a PostScript image.

• anyps.f90, the source code for the interface.
• anyps.sh, commands to compile the source code.
• anyps_test.sh, commands to compile and run the test code with the PS interface.
• anyps_test.txt, the output file.

The TTY Interface

The TTY interface was designed to output ridiculously crude "teletype" or "typewrite" graphics.

• anytty.f90, the source code for the interface.
• anytty.sh, commands to compile the source code.
• anytty_test.sh, commands to compile and run the test code with the TTY interface.
• anytty_test.txt, the output file.

Examples and Tests:

• anyplt_test.f90, a sample problem.
• anyplt_test.txt, sample problem output.

You can go up one level to the FORTRAN90 source codes.