Top Linux Visualization Tools: Gnuplot, Octave, Scilab, MayaVi, Maxima

Gnuplot

Gnuplot is a long‑standing command‑line driven plotting program (first released in 1986) that can generate both 2‑D and 3‑D graphics. It runs on many platforms (Unix, Windows, macOS) and supports a wide range of output formats such as PostScript and PNG. Gnuplot can operate in batch mode using scripts, and its basic commands include plot for 2‑D graphs, splot for 3‑D projections, and pm3d for palette‑mapped surfaces.

set samples 25
set isosamples 26
set title "Test 3D gnuplot"
set contour base
set hidden3d offset 1
splot [-12:12.01] [-12:12.01] sin(sqrt(x**2+y**2))/sqrt(x**2+y**2)

The script above produces a simple 3‑D surface with contour lines and hidden‑line removal. Gnuplot can also plot data from a file using a script such as:

set title "Sample data plot"
plot 'data.dat' using 1:2 t 'data points', \
     "data.dat" using 1:2 t "lines" with lines

GNU Octave

GNU Octave is a high‑level language primarily designed for numerical computations and serves as a free alternative to MATLAB. It provides an extensive mathematical library, supports C/C++ extensions, and uses Gnuplot as its default graphics backend, inheriting all of Gnuplot’s plotting capabilities.

Octave scripts can create multi‑plot windows with multiplot and subwindow commands. Example:

>> multiplot(2,2)
>> subwindow(1,1)
>> t=0:0.1:6.0
>> plot(t, cos(t))
>> subwindow(1,2)
>> plot(t, sin(t))
>> subwindow(2,1)
>> plot(t, tan(t))
>> subwindow(2,2)
>> plot(t, tanh(t))

Scilab

Scilab is an open‑source scientific software package that provides a powerful interpreter and a large library of mathematical functions. It supports 2‑D/3‑D plotting, signal processing, and can be extended with modules written in C or Fortran. The environment is similar to MATLAB and runs on most Unix‑like systems and Windows.

Example of a simple 3‑D histogram: -->hist3d(5*(rand(5,5)); The rand(5,5) call creates a 5×5 matrix of random numbers, which is then visualized with hist3d.

MayaVi

MayaVi is a Python‑based scientific data‑visualization tool that wraps the Visualization Toolkit (VTK). It provides a Tkinter GUI and is especially suited for computational fluid dynamics, but it can be used for any scientific 3‑D visualization. MayaVi scripts can be imported as Python modules.

Maxima

Maxima is a computer algebra system derived from the historic MACSYMA project. It offers symbolic and numerical computation, including calculus, linear algebra, and differential equation solving. Being Lisp‑based, Maxima can also execute Lisp code directly.

Typical usage examples: example(desolve) and pattern‑matching functions such as map and apply for expression manipulation.

Conclusion and Outlook

The article surveyed several open‑source Linux visualization tools—Gnuplot, GNU Octave, Scilab, MayaVi, and Maxima—highlighting their licenses, strengths, and typical application domains. For rich scientific visualizations, MayaVi (VTK) is recommended; for numerical computing with built‑in plotting, Octave or Scilab are strong choices; for symbolic computation, Maxima excels; and for lightweight plotting, Gnuplot remains a solid option. Additional tools such as Gri, PGPLOT, SciGraphica, plotutils, NCAR Graphics, ImLib3D, or the Open Dynamics Engine (ODE) can be considered for specialized needs.