[manual] add gnuplot files parametric-example-cut to repository?

[Mo-Gul]

Shall the gnuplot files

• pgf-parametric-example-cut.gnuplot
• pgf-parametric-example-cut.table

in the folder <doc\generic\pgf\version-for-luatex\en\plots> from

pgf/doc/generic/pgf/text-en/pgfmanual-en-tikz-plots.tex

Lines 370 to 378 in f5d0ffd

	\begin{key}{/tikz/xrange=\meta{start}|:|\meta{end}}
	Set the $x$-range. This makes sense only for parametric plots.
	%
	\begin{codeexample}[]
	\tikz \draw[scale=0.5,domain=-3.141:3.141,smooth,xrange=0:1]
	plot[parametric,id=parametric-example-cut] function{t*sin(t),t*cos(t)};
	\end{codeexample}
	%
	\end{key}

be added to the repository as well?

[hmenke]

Are there any problems if those files are missing? I though the data files were only needed if the plot used the external gnuplot program.

[Mo-Gul]

These files are created by gnuplot. And gnuplot is used in the above example to create the plot. (For details see sections 22.2 and 22.6 in the pgfmanual.)

To answer your question: No, there is no problem if you have gnuplot installed and working. But if not, then the .table file can used instead using \tikz \draw plot [...] file {<file name>.table};.

In this case I see two options to be consistent (again): Either add the above files, too, or delete all the others.

Another pro point is that these files are some kind of a test. Thus the .gnuplot files are tests that TikZ/PGF still does what it should and the .table files are tests that gnuplot still does what it should.

[hmenke]

Okay, I will add them then. I also noticed that some gnuplot files are overwritten when building the documentation. This might have to do with the gnuplot version change from 4.x to 5.x some time in the last years.

[Mo-Gul]

Thanks.

The gnuplot files should be overwritten each time you compile, i.e. when you compile with LuaLaTeX the files in doc/generic/pgf/version-for-luatex/en/plots will all be recreated. Of course the same holds for the other engines.

Thus, I don't know if/when the gnuplot files under doc/generic/pgf/text-en/plots are created/used. Maybe this is a leftover when it was allowed to right in higher folders than the main file? This would be a perfect explanation, because all the plot files in all the different folders are identical ...

[muzimuzhi]

Commit f7a24c5 only added file pgf-parametric-example-cut.table under path for driver dvipdfmx. See https://github.com/pgf-tikz/pgf/blob/master/doc/generic/pgf/version-for-dvipdfmx/en/plots/pgf-parametric-example-cut.table. For other drivers, especially luatex, this file is still missing.

Therefore texlua build.lua manual luatex will write following warning to log,

Package pgf Warning: Plot data file `plots/pgf-parametric-example-cut.table' not found. on input line 1.

and cause the corresponding drawing missing from the output PDF (pgfmanual v3.1.6a, page 348).

This can be fixed either by copying/linking that file to all drivers, or installing gnuplot and enabling shell-escape in CI.

[Mo-Gul]

Unfortunately a fix to this issue didn't make it into v3.1.7 ...

@muzimuzhi, do you have a clue how to extend the build script to also "install" gnuplot so the .gnuplot and .table files are generated on the fly? (This should be the long-term solution so also changes in gnuplot will be detected when the test-suite is working.)

If also Henri doesn't have a clue how to do this or doesn't find the time to implement it "soon" the temporary fix should be to (re)add the .table file(s).

[muzimuzhi]

Fixed in eee4a6a which is included from 3.1.7a, so I will close this.