postmd(1)
NAME
postmd - matrix display program for PostScript printers
SYNOPSIS
postmd [-b num] [-c num] [-d dimen] [-g list] [-i list] [-
m num] [-n num] [-o list] [-p mode] [-w window] [-x num]
[-y num] [file...]
/usr/lib/lp/postscript/postmd
DESCRIPTION
The postmd filter reads a series of floating point numbers
from files, translates them into a PostScript gray scale
image, and writes the results on the standard output. In a
typical application, the numbers might be the elements of a
large matrix, written in row major order, while the printed
image could help locate patterns in the matrix. If no files
are specified, or if - is one of the input files, the stan-
dard input is read.
OPTIONS
The following options are supported:
-b num
Packs the bitmap in the output file using num byte
patterns. A value of 0 turns off all packing of the
output file. By default, num is 6.
-c num
Prints num copies of each page. By default, only one
copy is printed.
-d dimen
Sets the default matrix dimensions for all input files
to dimen. The dimen string can be given as rows or
rowsx columns. If columns is omitted it will be set to
rows. By default, postmd assumes each matrix is square
and sets the number of rows and columns to the square
root of the number of elements in each input file.
-g list
list is a comma- or space-separated string of
integers, each lying between 0 and 255 inclusive, that
assigns PostScript gray scales to the regions of the
real line selected by the -i option. 255 corresponds
to white, and 0, to black. The postmd filter assigns a
default gray scale that omits white (that is, 255)
and gets darker as the regions move from left to right
along the real line.
-i list
list is a comma-, space-, or slash(/)-separated string
of N floating point numbers that partition the real
line into 2N+1 regions. The list must be given in
increasing numerical order. The partitions are used
to map floating point numbers read from the input
files into gray scale integers that are either
assigned automatically by postmd or arbitrarily
selected using the -g option. The default interval
list is -1,0,1, which partions the real line into
seven regions.
-m num
Magnifies each logical page by the factor num. Pages
are scaled uniformly about the origin which, by
default, is located at the center of each page. The
default magnification is 1.0.
-n num
Prints num logical pages on each piece of paper, where
num can be any positive integer. By default, num is
set to 1.
-o list
Prints pages whose numbers are given in the comma
separated list. The list contains single numbers N and
ranges N1 - N2. A missing N1 means the lowest numbered
page, a missing N2 means the highest. The page range
is an expression of logical pages rather than physical
sheets of paper. For example, if you are printing two
logical pages to a sheet, and you specified a range of
4, then two sheets of paper would print, containing
four page layouts. If you specified a page range of
3-4, when requesting two logical pages to a sheet;
then only page 3 and page 4 layouts would print, and
they would appear on one physical sheet of paper.
-p mode
Prints files in either portrait or landscape mode.
Only the first character of mode is significant. The
default mode is portrait.
-w window
window is a comma- or space-separated list of four
positive integers that select the upper left and lower
right corners of a submatrix from each of the input
files. Row and column indices start at 1 in the upper
left corner and the numbers in the input files are
assumed to be written in row major order. By default,
the entire matrix is displayed.
-x num
Translates the origin num inches along the positive x
axis. The default coordinate system has the origin
fixed at the center of the page, with positive x to
the right and positive y up the page. Positive num
moves everything right. The default offset is 0
inches.
-y num
Translates the origin num inches along the positive y
axis. Positive num moves everything up the page. The
default offset is 0.
Only one matrix is displayed on each logical page, and each
of the input files must contain complete descriptions of
exactly one matrix. Matrix elements are floating point
numbers arranged in row major order in each input file.
White space, including newlines, is not used to determine
matrix dimensions. By default, postmd assumes each matrix is
square and sets the number of rows and columns to the square
root of the number of elements in the input file. Supplying
default dimensions on the command line with the -d option
overrides this default behavior, and in that case the dimen-
sions apply to all input files.
An optional header can be supplied with each input file and
is used to set the matrix dimensions, the partition of the
real line, the gray scale map, and a window into the
matrix. The header consists of keyword/value pairs, each on
a separate line. It begins on the first line of each input
file and ends with the first unrecognized string, which
should be the first matrix element. Values set in the header
take precedence, but apply only to the current input file.
Recognized header keywords are dimension, interval, grays-
cale, and window. The syntax of the value string that fol-
lows each keyword parallels what is accepted by the -d, -i,
-g, and -w options.
EXAMPLES
Example 1: Generating an interval list
For example, suppose file initially contains the 1000
numbers in a 20x50 matrix. Then you can produce exactly the
same output by completing three steps.
1. First, issue the following command line:
example% postmd -d20x50 -i"-100 100" -g0,128,254,128,0 file
2. Second, prepend the following header to file:
example% postmd -d20x50 -i"-100 100" -g0,128,254,128,0 file
3. Third, issue the following command line:
example% postmd file
The interval list partitions the real line into five regions
and the gray scale list maps numbers less than -100 or
greater than 100 into 0 (that is, black), numbers equal to
-100 or 100 into 128 (that is, 50 percent black), and
numbers between -100 and 100 into 254 (that is, almost
white).
FILES
/usr/lib/lp/postscript/forms.ps
/usr/lib/lp/postscript/ps.requests
EXIT STATUS
The following exit values are returned:
0 Successful completion.
non-zero
An error occurred.
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attri-
butes:
____________________________________________________________
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
| Availability | SUNWpsf |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
SEE ALSO
dpost(1), postdaisy(1), postdmd(1), postio(1), postprint(1),
postreverse(1), posttek(1), attributes(5)
NOTES
The largest matrix that can be adequately displayed is a
function of the interval and gray scale lists, the printer
resolution, and the paper size. A 600 by 600 matrix is an
optimistic upper bound for a two element interval list (that
is, five regions) using 8.5 by 11 inch paper on a 300 dpi
printer.
Using white (that is, 255) in a gray scale list is not
recommended and won't show up in the legend and bar graph
that postmd displays below each image.
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