[Tex/LaTex] Generating graphics for LaTeX with PyX

graphics

I have a script from others that uses PyX – Python graphics package to generate graphics for LaTex.

PyX is a Python package for the
creation of PostScript and PDF files.
It combines an abstraction of the
PostScript drawing model with a
TeX/LaTeX interface. Complex tasks
like 2d and 3d plots in
publication-ready quality are built
out of these primitives.

However its latest news is back at 2007. I was wondering if PyX is still active?
If it is one of the best ways to generate graphics for LaTex?

Thanks and regards!

Best Answer

One of the more versatile packages for creating all kinds of graphs is PGF/TikZ. There is extensive documentation for it available in the PDF manual (note that this is for the CVS version, not for the last release).

I doubt it's very useful for 3D graphics but a special syntax for data visualization (like here) is currently under development and will be shipped with the next version.

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[Tex/LaTex] What graphics packages are there for creating graphics in LaTeX documents

I've compiled this list. I don't have experience with most of these, but, if you do, please add more descriptive text to your package. If it does not appear, again, please add it. If you don't have the rep to edit, post it in a comment and @ messgage myself or the last editor. Also, if you feel that a certain element should not be in the list, remove it and leave a note in your edit explaining why it was removed.

The big ones:

#1 PGF/TikZ. The standard. As Dima said, it's "powerful, flexible, easy to use, and stunning". TikZ provides a high-level user interface. PGF provides lower-level macros.
#2 PStricks. Probably the second most used package.
#3 The default packages. More used than the others, but not by reason of being more powerful. These are mostly useful for including external images (e.g. graphicx) or combined with other packages (e.g. xcolor is used by PGF/TikZ).

Other graphics packages and programmes typically included in TeX distributions include:

pgfplots a package for creating 2D and 3D plots of mathematical functions and numerical data, using the PGF graphics framework. Supports but does not need external tools and addresses a wide range of data visualizations with high quality.
Xy-pic - Best suited to graphs and diagrams, but capabilities for other formats.
ePiX - Best for mathematical figures, creates PSTricks, tikz, or eepic macros.
MetaPost - Similar to MetaFont, outputs PostScript files. Used by Knuth. Allows direct inclusion in a LaTeX file via the emp, gmp and mpgraphics package. MetaPost is now integrated in LuaTeX via the mplib library. Using LuaTeX, you can include your metapost figures directly in the TeX/LaTeX file with the luamplib package, without using any external software.
MetaFun - An extension to MetaPost.
Mfpic - A set of (La)TeX macros providing an interface to MetaPost (or METAFONT).

Independent GUI wrappers and tools which create images suitable for inclusion in LaTeX documents include:

LaTeXPiX - Windows GUI, exports PGF LaTeX code
TPX - Another Windows GUI, more flexible outputs than LaTeXPiX
Xfig - X-Window drawing tool, saves in its own .fig file, but outputs many formats (Including PS).
Asymptote - A vector graphics language. Can embed LaTeX within the image. Outputs graphics for your document, not code, although code may be compiled as part of document compilation, with shell escape enabled. It can generate both 2D and 3D figures. 3D figures can be included in a PDF file in the PRC format which allows them to be manipulated when viewed in Adobe Reader.
Inkscape - A very powerful and well-supported SVG editor. Can be used to export TikZ code.
Ipe - A powerful vector graphics editor, with several snapping modes that make it especially suitable for variety of technical illustrations. Saves in its own .ipe file format, but outputs pdf and eps for inclusion in TeX documents. Uses LaTeX to typeset text, both labels and larger paragraphs. Supports layers and views, which make it possible to "build" illustrations incrementally in a presentation.
Knitr/Sweave - Tools that allow you to include R code directly into your LaTeX file. Sweave is the older utility and is part of base utils package in R. Knitr is a package that reimplements and extend the basic ideas in Sweave. They do much more than just generate graphics; they make inclusion of R generated graphics into a LaTeX document very easy.
KtikZ,QtikZ - A PGF/Tikz real-time compiler for GNU/Linux, based on Qt and designed to integrate into KDE it has a new version for Windows, but I haven't tested it yet). It can speed up the drawing time while at the same time allowing to code directly in TikZ code. It has a template option which allows to define user commands in an easy way as well as a menu with many common (and not so common) TikZ constructs.
GeoGebra - Award-winning free interactive geometry tool. As such it is also a vector graphics editor and a graph plotting software. Supports exporting to PSTricks, TikZ and Asymptote in addition to more traditional image formats. Available for major desktop and mobile platforms.

[Tex/LaTex] What GUI applications are there to assist in generating graphics for TeX

I think the best option for diagrams, circuits, etc. is Dia.

Dia is roughly inspired by the commercial Windows program 'Visio,' though more geared towards informal diagrams for casual use. It can be used to draw many different kinds of diagrams. It currently has special objects to help draw entity relationship diagrams, UML diagrams, flowcharts, network diagrams, and many other diagrams. It is also possible to add support for new shapes by writing simple XML files, using a subset of SVG to draw the shape.

It can export diagrams to a number of formats, including EPS, SVG, XFIG, WMF and PNG, as well as LaTeX formats such as PGF, PStricks and Metapost.

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[Tex/LaTex] What graphics packages are there for creating graphics in LaTeX documents

[Tex/LaTex] What GUI applications are there to assist in generating graphics for TeX

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