NCPLOT: Line Charts

Concept for line charts

For linear charts, the values of data series are plotted on an axis. The symbolization of the data series is independent of the data value.

In NCPLOT a line chart has only one X and one Y axis. If you need a second Y-axis for another physical size, you have to put two line diagrams on top of each other. A second line chart with the same X-axis on the same diagram area must be defined. Any number of line charts can be superimposed.

The axes can be positioned on all four sides of the diagram with different distances from it's drawing area. So you can create on the sheet "one" diagram with three Y-axes that, for example, shows the curves for water level, flow amount and salinity together.

Symbolization of data series

Data series can be symbolized as a line with or without markers, or only with markers. The curves of the diagram receive their colors along by color palettes. Both the line and marker icons are assigned a palette, to be able to design the marker color and line color of a data curve differently.

The start color can be determined by the user via its Index (position in palette). If not specified, the color assignment is started with the first palette color. When the end of the pallete is reached, the color palette is started from the beginning.

NCPLOT uses the pallet technology already established in the $PROGHOME/cfg area. For the assignment of colors to data curves, specially suitable palletes were provided there:

• P_NCPLOT_LC_28
• P_BAW_08_PPT

NCPLOT is suitable pre-set for the symbolization of data curves. However, the user has the option of overriding this default symbolization. You can also use your own color palettes. Various line charts, but also data series groups within line diagrams can be symbolized differently.

Naming of data series

Both the description of a data row group and the dataset definition offers possibilities to influence the name of the data curve. Text components for the curve legend can be stored there or explicitly switched off. The name of the data row description can be a leading component of the curve name. Also the dataset definition can contribute a text part.

If data selection is made by start-step-stride technique, the index string is always appended to the data string label in order of variable dimensions. The letter v indicates the dimension varying along the curve.

When selecting data using the DimSelect method, can additionally be determined individually for each dimension of the variable, whether information about them should flow into the legend text or not.

Create picture series

In the dataset definition the drawing in single representations can be requested for certain dimensions. Picture series can also be requested for several dimensions.

Example:
The time series of suspended load should be displayed in 3 different depths at 12 locations. Five different suspended sediment classes are of interest. For each place and each fraction a picture should be created. The diagram then shows the 3 curves of suspended sediment in the 3 depths. With a program call 60 image files are created.

Diagram definitions that result in only one image are referred to here as static. Diagram definitions that cause more than one image, on the other hand, as dynamic. Even within a line chart static as well as dynamic data sets can be visualized. A plot job that produces multiple image series is only edited, if the picture series have the same number of pictures.

Line chart types

Time series representation

Represents the value of a physical quantity over a time axis.
Example figures: time series

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