GnuplotEx.Dataset.Binary (gnuplot_ex v0.5.0)

Binary data formatting for gnuplot.

Provides functions to write data in gnuplot's binary format for faster transmission of large datasets. Uses temporary files which are cleaned up after rendering.

Gnuplot Binary Format

Gnuplot expects binary data as raw IEEE 754 doubles (64-bit floats) with native byte order:

plot 'data.bin' binary format='%double%double' using 1:2

Example

# Write binary data
{:ok, path, format} = Binary.write_temp([[1.0, 2.0], [3.0, 4.0]])
# path = "/tmp/gnuplot_xxx.bin"
# format = "%double%double"

# Clean up after use
Binary.cleanup([path])

Summary

Functions

cleanup(paths)

Clean up temporary binary files.

column_count(data)

Count the number of columns in the first row of data.

format_string(columns)

Generate gnuplot format string based on column count.

write_temp(data, opts \\ [])

Write data to a temporary file in binary format.

Functions

cleanup(paths)

@spec cleanup([String.t()]) :: :ok

Clean up temporary binary files.

Silently ignores files that don't exist or can't be deleted.

Example

Binary.cleanup(["/tmp/gnuplot_xxx.bin", "/tmp/gnuplot_yyy.bin"])

column_count(data)

@spec column_count(Enumerable.t()) :: non_neg_integer()

Count the number of columns in the first row of data.

Returns 0 for empty data.

Examples

iex> GnuplotEx.Dataset.Binary.column_count([[1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6]])
3

iex> GnuplotEx.Dataset.Binary.column_count([])
0

format_string(columns)

@spec format_string(non_neg_integer()) :: String.t()

Generate gnuplot format string based on column count.

Examples

iex> GnuplotEx.Dataset.Binary.format_string(2)
"%double%double"

iex> GnuplotEx.Dataset.Binary.format_string(3)
"%double%double%double"

write_temp(data, opts \\ [])

@spec write_temp(
  Enumerable.t(),
  keyword()
) :: {:ok, String.t(), String.t()} | {:error, term()}

Write data to a temporary file in binary format.

Returns {:ok, path, format_string} where:

path is the temp file path
format_string is the gnuplot format specifier (e.g., "%double%double")

Options

:prefix - Temp file prefix (default: "gnuplot_")

Example

{:ok, path, format} = Binary.write_temp([[1.0, 2.0], [3.0, 4.0]])