only 2 line types? (Re: Multiple plots: oddities (bugs?), missing features in Xmaxima and wxMaxima)

Hi, All:
It seems that draw2d only supports 2 line types:

? line_type;
? `line_type' indicates how lines are displayed; possible values are `solid' and `dots'.

However it appears that gnuplot (which is the underlying plotting engine) supports at least 4 (maybe more): solid, dashed, dotted, and 
dot-dashed lines (see http://t16web.lanl.gov/Kawano/gnuplot/misc4-e.html for example). Those 4 types seem to be supported by common plotting tools.

Assuming that the documentation is right about this, is there a workaround to get draw2d to provide dashed, dot-dashed and any other line type supported by gnuplot?

To the untrained eye it would seem that passing on to gnuplot any supported line type would not be more challenging than doing so for the two which are currently being supported.

BTW, in case you are wondering why not just use colors... the problem with colors is that certain publications have color restrictions or impose substantial fees for this service, and anyhow, one cannot be certain that all end-readers will have color at his/her disposal (may be reading a b/w photocopy or b/w printout). So, in a complex plot in which separating lines is critical it is preferable to use both color and line types. For this purpose, only two line types may be insufficient.

Best,

Virgil

----- Original Message -----
> From: Mario Rodriguez <biomates at telefonica.net>
> To: maxima at math.utexas.edu
> Cc: 
> Sent: Monday, September 19, 2011 11:35 PM
> Subject: Re: [Maxima] Multiple plots: oddities (bugs?), missing features in Xmaxima and wxMaxima
> 
> On 09/19/2011 10:09 AM, Virgil L wrote:
>>  As for the wrapper functions to simplify data entry, thanks for your tips. 
> I may give them a try. Still, it would be preferable to have one 
> "official" wrapper, for the purpose of collaboration. Perhaps at some 
> point we can start a little project of creating a wrapper that translates 
> plot2d-like calls to draw2d calls whenever possible.
> 
> In this case, let me know if you need some help.