graphing large datasets
 

I've written a Perl script that outputs five columns of data with several thousand entries each. I need to produce a line graph that compares the trends of the data from these separate columns. So far, I've attempted to use the OpenOffice spreadsheet application for this purpose. Unfortunately, it seems to choke on the volume, either taking a very long time to generate the graph or (worse yet) crashing.

Would someone please recommend a robust graphing program for linux. I'd rather not regress to Excel. Thanks so much.

evolooshun
Kansas, USA

Check out RRDTool. I use it quite extensively and I'm very happy with it. There are a few Perl modules out there for RRDTool that should help you on your way.

\mb

I am myself using R (www.r-project.org). I has excellent publication-quality graphics and a huge number of statistical tools. However, it is in the first place a matrix-oriented programming language, so you have to learn a bit in order to feel yourself convenient with it. It is definitely worthwhile if you inted to do a lot of statistcs-related stuff. There is also excellent documentation (the best I have seen for OSS) and an active mailing list.

You may also try gnuplot. It is a bit old-fashioned but a robust plotting program. Does not do much statistics.

Best,

Ott

You can find a few more here

Thanks for all of your suggestions everyone. They have truly been a big help!