CHART v. 2.0.0
---------------

By Guido Gonzato  <guido@ibogfs.cineca.it>
Verona (Italy), January 5, 1998


What is chart?
---------------

This program is a utility I wrote for in-house use at the Settore di
Geofisica, University of Bologna (Italy). Here we produce lots of data
files, and first of all we want to know what they look like. There are
myriad of graphics packages around, but we needed something simple and
non-interactive. (Fancy making hundreds of data charts manually!)

Chart is the answer to that need. Originally written for Turbo C++ under
MS-DOS, it has been ported to gcc (Linux SVGALIB and X11) and DJGPP
(MS-DOS). It's intended to be an ancillary program - not a replacement! -
for gnuplot(1); first, you get an idea of your data using chart, then use
gnuplot to make better charts. Chart allows you to view charts of your data
under SVGALIB or X11, and save them as .pcx or .ps files.


Installing chart under Linux
-----------------------------

Binaries for Linux, statically linked against all necessary libraries but
*not* SVGALIB, are provided. To install the package:

- become root

- type `make install': this will install the programs in /usr/local/bin and
the manual pages in /usr/local/man/man1

- if your shell is bash, add the following line in /etc/profile or
$HOME/.bash_profile:

  export GRXFONT=/usr/local/chart-2.0.0

This is needed for chart to find its fonts. If you have csh, this should
work (not sure though, I don't use csh):

  setenv GRXFONT=/usr/local/chart-2.0.0


Installing chart under DOS
---------------------------

Simply put chart.exe and the .fnt files somewhere in your path (say,
c:\tools), then add the line:

SET GRXFONT=c:\tools

to your autoexec.bat. Then restart your pc.


Recompiling chart
------------------

You may want to modify or recompile this program. To do so you need two
libraries, grx22 and bcc2grx. These are, respectively, a graphic library for
DJGPP and Linux, and an interface to BGI (Borland's Turbo C++) graphics
routines. Using grx20 and bcc2grx it's easy to write portable programs that
run under Linux and MS-DOS, and to port programs originally written for
Turbo C++. These libraries are available on:

ftp.simtel.net:/pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/v2/v2tk/grx22.zip
ftp.simtel.net:/pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/v2/v2tk/bcc2grx.zip

To compile and install, become root and type `make', then `make install'.

My congratulations are due to the people who wrote grx22 and bcc2grx. Bravo!


Using chart
------------

There's a man page that explains how to use chart at its best; type `man
chart'. If you're not using a UNIX-like system, read chart.txt.


In memoriam
------------

I dedicate this program to Filippo Geremia (1968-1996), tragically killed in
a car accident. For all those who knew you it's very hard to accept that you
left us so early, Filippo. 
