Dear Alan, I'm sorry for delay with reply. The problem is not in internal plplot interface speed. I issue is that python read ascii files much slower than yorick. The problem is seen on the large data set (say > 1Mb). However I observe that for binary files there is no such problems. Situation is opposite, reading binary data file in python is easy than with yorick. I will switch to python interface completely after this discovery.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! Valery Alan W. Irwin wrote: > On 2006-12-14 08:45-0800 Alan W. Irwin wrote: > > However, > > have you tried some speed comparisons for the standard examples? The > > array preparation in those examples is done with Numeric which should be > > much (at least an order of magnitude) faster than ordinary Python array > > processing. > > This relative speed topic engaged my curiosity so here is the actual > comparison between the speed of the C interface, the Yorick interface, and > the Python interface for example 8 (which uses quite a few arrays). > Note, the same core PLplot library was used in each case so the speed > differences are not due to the actual plotting, but instead in the > preparation of the arrays and other data that are required for the plots. > > C: > > time ./x08c -dev psc -o test.ps > > real 0m0.487s > user 0m0.458s > sys 0m0.024s > > Yorick interface (yplot): > > time ../yplotl -batch x08.i -dev psc -o x08.ps > > real 0m0.529s > user 0m0.498s > sys 0m0.026s > > Python (with Numeric preparation of arrays that is done in xw08.py): > > time ./x08 -dev psc -o test.ps > > real 0m0.766s > user 0m0.584s > sys 0m0.041s > > So yPlot and C have a modest speed advantage over Python/Numeric for this > test case, but nothing spectacular. Thus, if you already like the Python > language for other reasons (like many scientists do), there is no need to > move to something else just to process numerical arrays. Note, > Python/Numeric was designed by those who were familiar with Yorick (which > was designed in the same institution, Lawrence Livermore Labs), and it > serves similar scientific high-level language needs. Thus, in many ways it > is a successor to Yorick, and, of course, Numeric has now itself been > succeeded by the similar NumPy. Note, I plan to switch our PLplot Python > examples from Numeric array processing to NumPy array processing as soon as > NumPy becomes widely available for the mainstream Linux distros. > > Even though I have personally switched from using yPlot (The Yorick > interface to PLplot) to Python/Numeric for my own research plots, I will > continue to try and minimally maintain yPlot for those who > continue to use it. Glad to hear yPlot is still working for you, Valery. > > Alan > __________________________ > Alan W. Irwin > > Astronomical research affiliation with Department of Physics and Astronomy, > University of Victoria (astrowww.phys.uvic.ca). > > Programming affiliations with the FreeEOS equation-of-state implementation > for stellar interiors (freeeos.sf.net); PLplot scientific plotting software > package (plplot.org); the Yorick front-end to PLplot (yplot.sf.net); the > Loads of Linux Links project (loll.sf.net); and the Linux Brochure Project > (lbproject.sf.net). > __________________________ > > Linux-powered Science > __________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Take Surveys. Earn Cash. Influence the Future of IT > Join SourceForge.net's Techsay panel and you'll get the chance to share > your opinions on IT & business topics through brief surveys - and earn cash > http://www.techsay.com/default.php?page=join.php&p=sourceforge&CID=DEVDEV > _______________________________________________ > Plplot-general mailing list > Plplot-general@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/plplot-general ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take Surveys. Earn Cash. Influence the Future of IT Join SourceForge.net's Techsay panel and you'll get the chance to share your opinions on IT & business topics through brief surveys - and earn cash http://www.techsay.com/default.php?page=join.php&p=sourceforge&CID=DEVDEV _______________________________________________ Plplot-general mailing list Plplot-general@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/plplot-general
