# Documentation for the "Asymptote" output extension for "GiNaC"

Next: , Up: (dir)

## Documentation for the Asymptote output extension for GiNaC

This manual is for AsyForGinac (version 0.1), a library adding simple Asymptote output facilities to the GiNaC library.

Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on all copies. Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a permission notice identical to this one.

Next: , Previous: Top, Up: Top

### 1.1 General problems

The main problems providing an graphic output for GiNaC (@dfn{GiNaC} Is Not A CAS) objects in Asymptote consists in the various outputfeatures that can be provided. Asymptote has really high developed graphical output facilities combined with a high level programming language, so a lot of things to set and choose. The main idea is to provide the best fitting output format for every object you want to draw, but still leave features changeable. Therefore it is not really senseful to wrap all Asymptote features in C++ methods. The experienced user will know the Asymptote commands and add some features by typing them directly to the output stream, while the less experienced user would probably be happy with some main features to choose, only typing a normal C function call. On the other hand some features have to be given in the drawing command of the object itself, i.e. it is not possible to add them independently from the provided output. So where is the border?

The next task to solve is to distinguish different objects and possible kinds of drawing. It should be possible to draw most of the objects in a common way and concomitant provide an opportunity to add specific drawing methods for your objects, if the normal output is not satisfying. By doing so, the user interface for drawing should stay unchanged.

### 1.2 The approach

This approach is mostly concerned about a simple, easy to handle function call for all programmers dealing with it.

One main feature is the class class asy::options, which is the interface to adjust your graphic to your one wishes. There is only this one class class asy::options, which has no derived classes. That makes it very simple for users. Internal the methods used for drawing are adjusted by a classes derived from class asy::fnctset.

At the moment the drawing extensions are in a first state of developement. The recent version is a stand-alone version, it is not possible to adjust your drawing method to the kind of GiNaC object. But I am looking forward to include this package to the GiNaC package and add the different drawing functions as virtual functions to the GiNaC::basic class. Then one can overwrite them for every class derived from GiNaC::basic.

## 2 How to use the extensions

### 2.1 The output facilities

At the moment it is only possible to draw explicitly given functions. To make use simply, there are streammanipulators defined. The list below shows all available manipulators.

All (except draw_label) have the same appearence. So, I prepend a general description first.

asy::draw_dummy(GiNaC::ex& obj, GiNaC::ex param, GiNaC::lst borders,
options *opt = new options, bool optimize=true)

Here obj is the object you want to draw, param are the are the expressions in your object you want use as parameter and borders are the intervall borders for drawing your parameters. If you have only one parameter, just pass it as parameter. If there are more, pack them in a GiNaC::lst, like lst(param1[,param2]) for example. The borders have to be a list as well, structured as lst(min,max), where min is a list of the minima and max the list of maxima of all parameters, e.g. min should be lst(min_param1, min_param2). If there is only one parameter, you can write the borders without wrapping min and max in a list. opt contains all drawing settings. The class asy::options will be discussed later See The drawing options. optimize is of no use at the moment. In further versions it can be used to allow or deny changes in the user defined drawing options by the drawing function itself, in case of a provided ideal drawing setting for special objects.

Caution: Note that draw_dummy is not a implemented function. It has to be replaced by one of the following function names.

So, let's see which different drawing functions we have:

draw_param(ex& obj, ex param, lst borders
[, options *opt, bool optimize])

draw_param draws parameter curves in 2D or 3D. obj has to be a GiNaC::lst, containing the koordinates depending on the parameter, e.g. lst(x(t),y(t)[,z(t)]). The borders can be given as lst(tmin,tmax), where t is your parameter, both borders have to be real numbers or evaluable to real numbers.

draw_2D(ex& obj, ex param, lst borders
[, options *opt, bool optimize])

draw_2D draws functions mapping from \bfR^1 \rightarrow \bfR^1 , e.g. y=f(x), where f(x) is given as the obj and x as param. The intervall in which the function should be drawn is defined by borders, given similar to the borders in draw_param as lst(xmin,xmax). For opt see the section about drawing options See The drawing options.

draw_surface(ex& obj, ex param, lst borders
[, options *opt, bool optimize])

draw_surface draws the surface of a function mapping from \bfR^2 \rightarrow \bfR^1 , e.g. z=f(x,y), where f(x,y) is given as the obj and x, y as param, like lst(xparam,yparam).

The area, in which the function should be drawn has to be given through borders, like lst(lst(xmin,ymin),lst(xmax,ymax)).

For opt see the section about drawing options See The drawing options.

draw_palette(ex& obj, ex param, lst borders
[, options *opt, bool optimize])

draw_palette draws a colored plane, indicating the function values of a function mapping from \bfR^2 \rightarrow \bfR^1 , e.g. z=f(x,y), where f(x,y) is given as the obj and x, y as param, like lst(xparam,yparam).

The area, in which the function should be drawn has to be given through borders, like lst(lst(xmin,ymin),lst(xmax,ymax)).

For opt see the section about drawing options See The drawing options.

draw_label(const GiNaC::ex& obj, std::string options="",
std::string picturename="currentpicture")
draw_label(const GiNaC::ex& obj, options *opt)

draw_label is only a wrapper for the Asymptote function label(...). The LaTeX output from GiNaC is used to produce the label text. Over the string options the optional parameters of the label function of Asymptote can be added, except picture, which has to be given separately in the string picturename.

If you use the second kind of manipulator with the asy::options pointer opt, all settings for picture will be used from the asy::options object. As label options the options given with setoptlabel(std::string opt) will be used.

Next: , Previous: The output facilities, Up: How to use the extensions

### 2.2 The drawing options

This section describes all options that can be set over class asy::options, how they work, in wich cases of drawing they are used and what the default settings are.

Often you can set strings of options, these strings are an aggregation of options you can use in Asymptote. So if you have problems with this options please check the Asymptote manual for the possible options and the right order.

import
If you produce an *.asy file for Asymptote, containing your object, usually some special Asymptote packages have to be imported. The necessary packages are imported automatically by default. However, it might happen, that you draw several objects in one file or you have already imported the necessary packages by your one. To suppress the import, or to enable it again, use void import(bool set=true). To check, if the import will be done use bool isimport().
picture
Asymptote output is printed on so called pictures. The standard picture is currentpicture. To change this void setpicture(std::string picturename, bool create=true) is provided. You should use false for the create parameter, if your picture is already declared in your .asy output file. To check, if a new picture will be declared use bool isnewpicture(). To force a new picture or disable the creation call void newpicture(bool set=true). For setting the picture options (size, keepAspect) use void setpicturesize(float xsize, float ysize=0) and void setpicturekeepaspect(bool keepaspect=true). After setting this things, they will be applied. But you still can disable the settings by calling void picturesettings(bool set=true) with parameter false. To check if the settings are applied use bool ispicturesettings(). To get the settings use std::string getnamepicture(), bool getkeepaspectpicture() and GiNaC::lst getsizepicture().

By default the picturesettings will be done and your picture is resized to 300x300 pxl with keepAspect. No new picture will be declared by default.

newfile
The newfile option only adds a little comment header to your file. For access to this feature the methods void newfile(bool set=true) and are provided. By default the header will be drawn.
internalpen
To alter color and linestyle of your picture you can change your pen. There are two options: First, you can use an already declared pen. Therefore use void setpen(std::string name) and give the name of your existing pen. Second it is possible to define your pen through the class options. Therefore call void setpen(std::string name, std::string options), or void setoptpen(std::string options). To check if a pen will be defined call bool isinternalpen(), to change it call void internalpen(bool set=true).

By default the penname is currentpen and no internalpen will be defined.

Note that only the drawn object and the label will be affected by these settings, the axis or anything else. For changing things there write to the options of these things, respectively. Note that color settings (see color) are overwritten if

color
If you don't create your special pen for drawing the object (see internalpen), it is also possible to change only the color. The color has to be set in RGB color space. Three different methods to set it are available:

void setcolor(unsigned short red, unsigned short green,
unsigned short blue)
void setcolor(unsigned short color[3])
void setcolor(GiNaC::lst c)

The use is self-explaining. To check wether you have set own color settings use bool iscolor(). To enable or disable your color settings call color(bool set=true).

By default the color settings are disabled and the color is set to black (i.e. in case you only enable the settings, black will appear).

Note if you activate an internal pen and use the color settings parallel, the colorsettings will override the pen color.

axis
By default axis are drawn with the options "RightTicks,Arrow" and the names "\$x\$", "\$y\$" and "\$z\$". To change the settings use the functions

void setnamexaxis(std::string name)
void setoptxaxis(std::string opt)

with x replaced by y or z, as the case may be. In the 2D case only the x and y axis will be used. z has no impact then.

To disable or enable axis drawing use void axis(bool set=true). To check if axis will be drawn call bool isaxis().

In the 3D case you can also set the box your axis should go along. This is done by


void setaxisbox(GiNaC::lst box)
void setaxisbox(GiNaC::lst min, GiNaC::lst max)

, where box should be lst(min,max), min=lst(xmin,ymin,zmin) and max=lst(xmax,ymax,zmax). Elsewise the axisbox is orientated at the clipregion or the function itsself. Especially the last variant may lead to an unaesthetic picture. Therefore it is recommended to set either the clipregion or the axisbox. The axisbox is assumed to be unset when it is an empty list (default). To check this call bool isaxisbox().
clipping
To show just a part of the drawn graph it is possible to clip it. This works in 2D and 3D. It will be especially useful, if you draw a 2D function with a pole. This might elsewise not be drawn proper. The clipregion is set by

void setclipregion(GiNaC::lst region)
void setclipregion(GiNaC::lst min, GiNaC::lst max)

, where region should be lst(min,max), min=lst(xmin,ymin[,zmin]) and max=lst(xmax,ymax[,zmax]).

By default clipping is disabled. It is automatically enabled when you call one of the setclipregion(...) functions. To disable/enable it elsewise use void clip(bool set=true). To check the clip status call bool isclip().

Note that clipping is skipped when the clipregion is not given in the proper format.

scale
The axis of your function can be scaled Linear or Log, for logarithmic. Scaling is disabled by default. To enable it call void setscale(std::string scale) with a string like Log,Linear,Log' for a 3D plot and something similar to Log,Log' for a 2D plot.

Note that these options are never checked until you try to run your output file with Asymptote. So handle them carefully.

Note that scaling only changes the axis. It has no impact on the graph itself.

Additional you can set the scale status by void scale(bool set=true) and check it with bool isscale(). If you just enable scaling without setting the options, it will only produce a comment line in the .asy file, saying scaling failed.

label
To add a label to your graph you can set the text by void settxtlabel(std::string label) and the options for this label by void setoptlabel(std::string opt). By default no label is drawn, by setting a label name you enable the label automatically. Otherwise it is possible to change the label status by void label(bool set=true) and check it by bool islabel(). About how to position you label and for other options, please look the Asymptote documentation for Label.
perspective
This option is only useful for a 3D plot. Asymptote allows you to set your viewpoint in the threedimensional space. The Asymptote perspective(...) function is wrapped and can be accessed over


void setperspective(GiNaC::lst &perspective)
void setperspective(double x, double y, double z)
void setperspective(double p[3])


, where always the new viewpoint is required as parameter. By setting the viewpoint the viewpoint change is activated automatically. By default it is disabled. To enable/disable it you can also use void perspective(bool set=true). And to check if it is enabled use bool isperspective().

Previous: The drawing options, Up: How to use the extensions

### 2.3 Code examples

The use of AsyForGiNaC becomes clear by some code snippets. For detailed examples please have a look to the example files, provided in the distribution package (subfolder example).

Next: , Up: Code examples

#### 2.3.1 A very simple example

This example draws us a circle (given as parameter representation) using the standard settings.

First we need to include the appropriate header files

#include <ginac/asydraw.h>  //header to include AsyForGiNaC
#include <ginac/ginac.h>    //header to include GiNaC
#include <iostream>         //basic I/O operators
#include <fstream>          //file stream operators

Then we define the function and all other needed things as GiNaC::ex:
ex t = symbol("t");
ex f = lst(sin(t),cos(t));

and define our ofstream file
ofstream ofstd("./output/param2D_std.asy");

Now only one function call produces us the .asy file:
ofstd << asy::draw_param(f,t,lst(0,2*Pi));

Easy? Yes, but I have to admit not always sufficient for a really good result (look the other examples in the subfolder example). But that could improve by including the package to GiNaC and make the drawing functions dependend on the objects.

Next: , Previous: A very simple example, Up: Code examples

#### 2.3.2 A simple examples

Let us extend our very simple example See A very simple example a little bit by adjusting some drawing options. Here are only the additional code snippets listed.

In the end a quarter of the cycle should appear, labeled and also changed in color and penstyle.

First of all we need to declare an asy::options structure:

asy::options opt;

opt.setpen("mypen","rgb(150,10,150)+longdashdotted+linewidth(5)");
opt.setclipregion(lst(0,0),lst(1.5,1.5));
opt.setnamexaxis("$x(t)$");
opt.setoptxaxis("BottomTop,LeftTicks");
opt.setnameyaxis("$y(t)$");
opt.setoptyaxis("LeftRight,RightTicks");
opt.settxtlabel("Quarter a circle");
opt.setoptlabel("(20,100),rgb(red)");

And finally we call our draw function, now with &opt as third parameter:
ofman << asy::draw_param(f,t,lst(0,2*Pi),&opt);

ofman is here our file output stream.

Previous: A simple example, Up: Code examples

#### 2.3.3 A not so simple 3D plot

To show some of the 3D options, let us do a 3D surface draw of the function 1+e^- (|x|+|y|)^2. The whole sourcecode can be find under example/surface.cpp. First we have to include the headers:

#include <ginac/asydraw.h>  //header to include AsyForGiNaC
#include <ginac/ginac.h>    //header to include GiNaC
#include <iostream>         //basic I/O operators
#include <fstream>          //file stream operators

and then define our GiNaC objects:
ex x = symbol("x");
ex y = symbol("y");
ex f = 1+exp(- pow(abs(x)+abs(y),2));

also the remaining code stays quite similar to the examples above: First we introduce the std::ofstream and our asy::options object:
ofstream ofman("./output/surface_man.asy");
asy::options opt;

and than we adjust our drawing options
opt.setcolor(lst(0,150,150));
opt.setaxisbox(lst(-2,-2,0),lst(2,2,5));
opt.setoptxaxis("RightTicks");
opt.setoptyaxis("RightTicks");
opt.setoptzaxis("RightTicks");
opt.settxtlabel("$1+e^{- (|x|+|y|)^2}$");
opt.setoptlabel("rgb(red)");
opt.setsteps(50,50);

At last: Let's draw it:
ofman << asy::draw_surface(f,lst(x,y),lst(lst(-1,1),lst(-1,1)),&opt);

Notice the way the parameters x and y are given and the borders.

Next: , Previous: How to use the extensions, Up: Top

## 3 For programmers

Next: , Up: For programmers

### 3.1 Structure overview

Figure 3.1: structural overview

As shown in Figure (see Figure 3.1) the structure decays in three main parts. The draw options component consist only of the class options, which should abide in this way, due to the consistant user interface.

The draw functions component includes an inheritance tree with the root fnctset. This root class fnctset provides the interface to several draw functions, which are discussed laterwards in the next subsection.

Here it is possible to add new classes, derived from fnctset directly or indirectly. This new classes can than be used in your own stream manipulator, or in already existing stream manipulators. The included drawing settings are mainly independed from the object which is drawn. And so they can be called for common use when drawing specific objects.

The stream manipulators implement the calculation of the object specific data. So until now it's possible to change things here, according to the type of object you want to draw. This is not a perfect solution and will be changed, if this package will be included to GiNaC. It is intended to make this calculations in some methods of GiNaC::basic and the derived classes. So specifialized drawing functions for each object are easier to implement and the job of the manipulator is more clearly separated from the calculation job.

Next: , Previous: Structure overview, Up: For programmers

### 3.2 fnctset

Figure 3.2: draw functions structure

Whenever drawing an object, an object of a class derived from fnctset should be used. The object provides the methods predraw(), draw() and postdraw(). This public methods call the protected methods, according to the given options. E.g., if options::drawaxis_==true, fnctset::drawaxis() will be called. To get a better understanding of this, contact the source code.

Previous: fnctset, Up: For programmers

### 3.3 Stream manipulators

All stream manipulators are derived from an instance of manipBase<>. To build your own stream manipulator you have to implement the same scheme. Derive your class directly or indirectly from maniBase<> (using base_draw as base class is most times useful) and implement it like this:

derived from base_draw

class my_draw : public base_draw {
public:
my_draw(GiNaC::ex& obj, GiNaC::ex param,
GiNaC::lst borders, options *opt = new options,
bool optimize=true)
:base_draw(obj,param,borders,opt,optimize) {}
public:
virtual std::ostream& fct(std::ostream& ost) const;
};


derived from manipBase<> instance

class my_draw : public manipBase<my_draw> {
public:
base_draw::base_draw(GiNaC::ex& obj /*[,my_type my_parameter]*/)
: manipBase<base_draw>(*this), obj_(obj)
/*[,my_parameter_(my_parameter)]*/ {}
protected:
const GiNaC::ex &obj_;
/*[my_type my_parameter_]*/
public:
virtual std::ostream& fct(std::ostream& ost) const {}
};


Using the manipulator will work by calling the constructor. This causes fct() to be called. So all your draw work should be done in fct(). For an example read the source of such an manipulator. This will help you to get a feeling for it and for the collaboration with the fnctset functions predraw(), draw() and postdraw().

Next: , Previous: For programmers, Up: Top

## 4 Future prospects

Next: , Up: Future prospects

### 4.1 Complete implementation to the GiNaC library

In the next version this approach should be included into the GiNaC library. Therefore the stream manipulator method fct() should only call the appropriate draw method implemented virtual in GiNaC::basic. This allows different draw functions for each class derived from GiNaC::basic, respectively.

To manage this, the current draw method code from fct() might be copied to the appropriate GiNaC::basic draw methods.

To make the Asymptote output really useful, the derived classes of GiNaC::basic should provide more specific output facilities. Also to allow implicit given functions to be drawn is really necessary. E.g. a circle given as r^2=x^2+y^2, and other simple geometrical objects. That might depend on an equation solver.