Speaking for my one opinion (and not for MathSoft), I actually like the GUI
graphs. I find them useful for exploratory work, particularly when I get a
new data set and want a quick graphical look at the variables. I'll also
generally use the GUI for Trellis graphics, which I find a lot quicker than
having to write a panel function for something beyond the basics, or having
to remember exactly how to make the shingles for continuous data. That
said, as an old S hacker at heart if I'm doing any kind of analysis at the
command line I'll generally return to command-line graphics, both for the
convenience of not switching windows and also because I generally want to
keep a record of what I've done in the script file.
I rarely convert between command-line and GUI graphs; it's generally simpler
in the long run just to change the S code. (This is just a personal
preference, though -- the conversion routines are actually pretty stable in
S-PLUS 2000 Release 2, and I couldn't reproduce Pierre's particular problem
in this release.) Here's a hint for Pierre -- you can add annotations,
including text, to command-line graphs without converting to objects first,
so one solution might be to draw the barchart without the label, and add it
later using the annotation tool.
As for MathSoft's decision to devoting time and effort to the GUI ... I
wasn't around when that decision was made so I can't really comment there.
My personal opinion is that it was a good one; the GUI is, IMO, a useful
tool and better yet it's brought the S language to a range of statisticians
and data analysts who otherwise would never have seen it, and as a long-time
devotee of S that can only be a good thing.
# David
--
David M Smith <dsmith@splus.mathsoft.com>
S-PLUS Product Manager, MathSoft DAPD, Seattle WA
Tel: +1 (206) 283 8802 x360
Fax: +1 (206) 283 0347
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-s-news@wubios.wustl.edu
> [mailto:owner-s-news@wubios.wustl.edu]On Behalf Of Gunter, Bert
> Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2000 05:08
> To: 'Pierre Delfosse'; 's-news'
> Subject: RE: [S] Editing labels in trellis graphs
>
>
>
> > Should the use of editable graphics features be avoided for
> trellis graphs
> > or in general for graphs containing a large number of objects?
> > Should an increase in memory solve the problem?
> >
> >
> My limited experience with S-Plus editable = GUI graphics of
> ALL kinds is
> that they are buggy and should be avoided. Command line
> graphics is always
> more reliable and frequently easier once you get minimally
> comfortable with
> the S language. I greatly regret the time and effort that
> Mathsoft has spent
> on their complex, clumsy GUI and question whether it a
> worthwhile marketing
> effort for their particular customer base. However, that is
> just my one
> opinion.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Bert Gunter
> --------------------------------------------------------------
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