Dataplot Installation Instructions for MacOS Assuming MacPorts is Installed

Alan Heckert Statistical Engineering Division National Institute Of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-8980 (301) 975-2899 or FTS 879-2899 alan.heckert@nist.gov

Jim Filliben (deceased)

https://www.macports.org

As noted on the homepage.htm page, MacPorts requires that a current version of Xcode and the command line tools for Xcode be installed on your MacOS.

Note that MacPorts installs to the "/opt/local" directory. Using this separate location avoids interference with any software you may have installed to "/usr" or "/usr/local". Also, MacPorts requires that you have super user permission on your machine.

Assuming that you have MacPorts installed, you can install the following dependencies (some of these are optional).

• gfortran/gcc

  Since Dataplot is currently built from source, installing gcc and gfortran is required. To install gcc and gfortran, enter

  sudo port install gcc

  Installing gcc should also include gfortran.

  Note that different applications for MacPorts may require different version of the compiler. It is recommend that you enter the following commands

  ls /opt/local/bin/gcc*
  ls /opt/local/bin/gfortran*
  

  If either gcc or gfortran does not appear without an extension (e.g., you have "gfortan-13 but not "gfortran"), then enter the following command(s)

  sudo port select --set gcc gcc-13
  sudo port select --set gfortran gfortran-13
  

  The "-13" identifies the version of gcc/gfortran. We recommend using the highest version listed, although Dataplot should not be particularly sensitive to the specific version.

• X11

  Dataplot can use X11 for generating screen graphics when Dataplot is initiated from an X11 xterm window. To install X11 from MacPorts enter the commands

  sudo port install xorg xorg-libX11
  sudo port install xft2
  

  Although X11 is not strictly required, it is recommended that you install either X11 or Aquaterm.

• Aquaterm

  Dataplot uses the Aquaterm library to generate screen graphics for the command line version of Dataplot when it is run from a standard MacOS terminal window. To install Aquaterm from MacPorts, enter

  sudo port install aquaterm

  Although Aquaterm can be installed independently of MacPorts, we recommend installing the MacPorts version. The Aquaterm from github is currently (as of 2024/01) only supported for the Intel chipset. The MacPorts version is supported for both Intel and M1 chipsets.

  Although Aquaterm is not strictly required, it is recommended that you install either X11 or Aquaterm.

• GD

  The GD graphics library is used to generate plots in the jpeg, png, gif, bmp, wbmp, and tiff image formats. You can also read images in these formats. To install GD from MacPorts, enter

  sudo port install gd2

  This is an optional feature.

• cairo

  The Cairo graphics library can be used to generate plots in a number of different formats (X11, Postscript, PDF, SVG or jpeg/png/gif). To install Cairo from MacPorts, enter

  sudo port install cairo

  This is an optional feature.

• readline

  The readline library supports history recall with command line editing. To install readline from MacPorts, enter

  sudo port install readline

  Note that MacOS comes with a version of readline. However, Dataplot is not currently compatible with that version, so if you want to activate this feature you need to install the MacPorts version.

  This is an optional, but recommended, feature.

• libplot

  This is an older graphics library supported under Unix/Linux. Dataplot uses libplot to support some additional graphics formats not otherwise supported (netPBM bitmap, Adobe Illustrator, binary CGM, xfig). To install libplot from MacPorts, enter

  sudo port install xorg-libXaw plotutils +x11

  This is an optional feature. Unless you have a particular need for one of the above graphics drivers you can probably skip this.

• tcl/tk

  Dataplot implements its GUI using the Tcl/Tk scripting language.

  The ActiveState web site provides a MacOS specific version of Tcl/Tk that has a Mac look and feel. However, the Dataplot GUI does not work well with the ActiveState MacOS specific version, so the MacPorts version is recommended. To install the MacPorts version of tcl/tk, enter

  sudo port install tcl
  sudo port install tk
  

  If you are not interested in the GUI, you can skip this feature.

• ghostscript

  Ghostscript is a Postscript interpreter that can be used to convert Postscript output to other formats. Specifically, it can convert Dataplot Postscript output to PDF format.

  sudo port install ghostscript

  Ghostscript is independent of Dataplot. However, since Dataplot's primary graphics output format is Postscript it can be useful to have Ghostscript installed. Likewise, it may be convenient to install one of the Postscript/PDF viewers (e.g., evince or okular)

  sudo port install evince
  sudo port install okular
  

https://github.com/usnistgov/dataplot

Select the "Clone or Download" menu and then select the "Download ZIP" text. This will save the file

dataplot-master.zip

Move this file to a convenient location on your system and then enter

unzip dataplot-master.zip

cd src

To use the MacOS version of the Makefile, enter

cp Makefile.mac_macports Makefile

Check the following lines in the Makefile

1. The "PREFIX=$(DESTDIR)/opt/local" line. This will install Dataplot to the MacPorts directories. If you want to install to a different directory (e.g., /usr/local), modify this line to the preferred location.

2. The line "FEATURES = READLINE NCURSES GD TIFF CAIRO X11 PLOT AQUA_MACPORTS MACPORTS MACOSX_M1" specifies what dependencies you have installed.

   You should remove any features where you did not install the dependencies. If you did not install readline, remove READLINE and NCURSES. If you did not install GD, remove GD and TIFF. If you did not install CAIRO, remove CAIRO. If you did not install X11, remove X11. If you did not install libplot, remove PLOT. If you did not install Aquaterm, remove AQUA_MACPORTS.

   If your machine uses the Intel chipset, remove MACOSX_M1.

The INSTALL file provides additional detail (e.g., if you want to build a version that can handle larger data set sizes). However, in most cases you should not need to modify anything other than the PREFIX and FEATURES lines.

After making any needed modifications to the Makefile, enter

make

If the Makefile does not show any errors, then do

sudo make install

If you did not set the PREFIX line to a location that requires root permissions, then you can omit the "sudo".

dataplot
device 1 x11
call minitest.dp
exit

If you installed Aquaterm, open a MacOS terminal window and enter the following commands.

dataplot
device 1 aquaterm
call minitest.dp
exit

Even if you only intend to use the GUI version, I recommend testing the command line version first since the GUI version is in fact running the command line version.

Be sure that the directory containing the Dataplot executable is in your path. For example, if you have the executable in /opt/local/bin, you can add the following line to your .cshrc file (if you use the c-shell)

set path=(/opt/local/bin $path)

PATH=/opt/local/bin:$PATH; export PATH

xdataplot

• The "/opt/local/lib/dataplot/dplogf.tex" file contains a default startup file that will be executed when you initiate Dataplot. This is an ASCII file containing Dataplot commands that is useful for specifying your own defaults for Dataplot. After you become more familiar with Dataplot, you may want to view this file to see if you would like to modify it for your own preferences.

  If you would like to create your own custom file , then do the following

  cp /opt/local/lib/dataplot/dplogf.tex ~/dplogf.tex

  Then edit ~/dplogf.tex using any ASCII editor. If you have a dplogf.tex file in your home directory, this will override the system version.

  How much you would like to utilize dplogf.tex is a personal preference.

• The "/opt/local/lib/dataplot/frscript/xdpConfig" file is a configuration file for the GUI. In general, you will not need to edit this file. However, if you would like to create your own custom version, then
  cp /opt/local/lib/dataplot/frscript/xdpConfig ~/xdpConfig

  This is an ASCII file so edit ~/xdpConfig using your preferred ASCII editor. As with dplogf.tex, a copy of xdpConfig in your home directory will override the system version. See the comments in xdpConfig for guidance in editing this file.