python plotting of tables

tabplot and tabhist are popular programs to plot tables, but suffer from yapp/pgplot and a limited way how plots can be constructed and compared (e.g. tabplot and tabplot2). The use of pyplot= keyword is a poor way to move to python.

python's matplotlib is far more powerful, but more complex to use. One could use NEMO's getparam library, but then it suffers from the simple state that getparam used. The proposal is to use a more dynamic user interface where objects (a scatter and/or line plot) are built up. This suggests we need a command line argument parser that supports this. Example:

tabplot.py --xcol 1 --ycol 2,3  1.tab  --xcol 1,2 --ycol 3,4  --color red,blue 2.tab --out fig1.py --savefig fig1.png

Perhaps it will be easier to start with a filename, then parse the options until another filename is found? this is also more natural for those that use NEMO

• savefig - optional

• out - optional

• xcol

• ycol

• dycol

• xcoord - like hlines

• ycoord - like vlines