Edugraphe: User's manual

Contents

Edugraphe © Joël Amblard - Distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License
Project home site : http://perso.wanadoo.fr/joel.amblard/edugraphe/


1. Overview

Basics.
Look at this first snapshot :

You can see : Under the mac OSX system , the screen menu bar contains the application's menus . Under other systems, the application's window contains the whole menu bar.

When you click on an object : For example, clicking on the curve C , you can see :

The dialog bar displays some of the selected object's properties. It is then easy to modify them. Sometimes, you can display additional informations.

Working with edugraphe.
The application is running under three main modes : create , select and delete . Usually :

There are twelve objects you can create.They belong to one of these six groups :

When you ask for creating an object, the dialog bar is visible. If a message is displayed in the bar, the application is waiting for one or more clicks. If one or more fieds are displayed, you must generally type informations for creating the desired object.

There are three other objects you can use :

Summary of the possibilities. You can with edugraphe :


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2. Objects' creation

2.1 Points

     Normal point

Click on the Point button in the tools bar. The dialog bar shows the message Point ... ? : you have to click at any empty place in the window. Then the dialog bar looks like :


Modify the coordinates in the first textfield. You validate the datas You create other points with new clicks in the window.

     Point on a curve or a line

Click on the Point on a curve button in the tools bar. The dialog bar shows the message Point on ... ? : you have to click on any curve or line.

See normal point for datas' validation.

     Intersection point

Click on the Intersection point button in the tools bar. The dialog bar shows the message Intersection with ... ? : you have to click on two objets which are lines or curves. The dialog bar looks like :


When the two objects intersect, the result is the intersection point which is nearest with the last click. The Ok button hide the bar.

     Mark on the axis

Click on the Mark button in the tools bar. The dialog bar shows the message Mark ... ? : you have to click on one of the axis. The dialog bar looks like :


You can see a segment perpendicular to the choosen axis. The default name of the point is the X-coordinate or the Y-coordinate, according with the choosen axis.
See point on a line or a curve for datas' validation and modifications.



Points samples :


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2.2 Lines

     Line

Click on the Line button in the tools bar. The dialog bar looks like :


A line is defined several ways.

     Tangent line to a curve

Click on the Tangent button in the tools bar. The dialog bar shows the message Tangent to ... ? . You have to click on :

You cannot create a tangent with a line . You must use a function's curve or a differential equation's solution .



Lines samples :


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2.3 Curves

     Function's curve

Click on the Curve button in the tools bar. The dialog bar looks like :


You have to type a mathematical expression in the first textfield. Yon can use Then you may : You validate the datas with a line's end in any textfield (the bar stays visible) or a click on the Ok button (the bar is hidden). You will be able to modify the datas when you select the curve.



Curves samples :


     Differential equation's solution

Click on the Euler button in the tools bar. The dialog bar looks like :


You have to type in the first textfield a mathematical expression with two possible variables : y (the function) and x (the function's variable). The application compute the value of the derivative with this expression. You can refer to Curves for valid mathematical expressions.

Then you may : Refer to Function's curve for datas' validation. You will be able to modify the datas when you select the solution.



Differential equations samples :


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2.4 Sequences

     Recurring sequence

Click on the Recurring sequence button in the tools bar. The dialog bar shows the message Recurring sequence ... ? : you have to click on a curve. The dialog bar looks like :


Then you may : You will be able to modify the datas when you select the sequence : click on the point who lies on the X-axis and whose X-coordinate is the initial value.

     Sequence defined with a function

Click on the Sequence button in the tools bar. The dialog bar looks like :


A sequence is defined several ways. Then you may : The application draw the first points of the sequence. You will be able to modify the datas when you select the sequence : click on one of these points.



Sequences samples :


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2.5  Equation f(x) = k

Click on the Equation button in the tools bar. The dialog bar shows the message Equation ... ? : you have to click on a curve . The dialog bar looks like :


Then you may : When you choose scanning or dichotomy , computation is stopped when f(a) - k and f(b) - k have the same sign.
When you choose newton , computation is stopped when a value is out of the interval [a , b]. If computation is achieved , the application draw the tangent to the curve for every obtained value.

The application draw a discontinued line from (a , k) to (b , k) : you can click on this line to select the equation and change datas.


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2.6  Domain under a curve

Click on the Domain button in the tools bar. The dialog bar shows the message Domain ... ? : you have to click on a curve. The dialog bar looks like :


Then you may : Results are rounded to 10-5.
If an undefined value is computed, a discontinued line on the X-axis is drawn : this line represents the domain.
The domain and the results are visible only if the Y-coordinates of the points lie between the minimal Y-value and the maximal Y-value of the window.
When the results are displayed, note the symbols used for every method : You will be able to modify the datas when you select the domain : click inside the domain or click on the discontinued line.



Domains samples :


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2.7 Text

Choose the Text option in the Objects menu : type a text line in the dialog bar's textfield. You may underline your text or add a frame with the beside combobox.

It's easy to include formulas : the application try to parse the text which lies between two antislash as a mathematical expression.

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2.8  Object's name and color

Click on the Appearance button in the tools bar which display the Appearance dialog. New properties of the selected object are now available.
Here is a snapshot of this window when a normal point is selected :


Then you may : You validate the datas with a line's end in the textfield or a click on the Apply button. The Ok button validate the datas and hide the dialog.

Every object has a foreground color. Only points and domains have a background color. You can see the foreground and the background radiobuttons only if a point or a domain is selected.

Whenever the text button is selected, the label is an ordinary string.
Whenever the formula button is selected, the application try to parse the text as a mathematical expression. See Curves for valid expressions.
Furthermore you can use :

When a label is created, its possible to change the label's color. Press on Shift, click on the label and choose a color in the Appearance dialog.

The label's location in the main window is relative to an anchor point which depends of the labeled object and of the last click : usually, the label is near the last click.
You can move the anchor point : press on Shift and click on the labeled object.

Finally, clicking on a label, you select the object it refers to.

Abstract

Labels samples :


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3. Changes

3.1 Changing objects' properties

Select an object : the dialog bar is displayed and you can modify the registered datas.
Click on the  button in the tools bar : the Appearance dialog is displayed and you can modify the label or the color of the selected object.
See Objets' creation for more informations.

3.2 Moving objects

Only can be moved To move an object , press the mouse on this object and drag the mouse. You can see the changes in the main window and in the dialog bar.
Labels are moved relatively to an anchor point. To move the anchor point on the labeled object, press Shift and click on this object.

 3.3 Settings

You can show or hide the axis and the grids with the approriate option of the Edit menu.
You can also move the whole graph : press the mouse on one of the axis and drag the mouse.

In order to change the settings, click on the  button in the tools bar : the Settings dialog is displayed. Here is a snapshot :


Then you may :

Please, note the two ways the application validate coordinates and units :

Use one of the tree Zoom buttons in the tools bar for quick and easy changes :
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4. Saving the graph

You can save your job under various formats. Choose a format with the Save as option in the File menu.

4.1 tsm format

This format is specific to edugraphe and allows you to reuse the graphs you created. The Save option in the File menu use this default format.

The application create a new text file on your disk. You can read and modify the file (be careful). Take a look at the first lines of a .tsm file :

line 1    : tsm created by edugraphe 1.1 on Mon Mar 07 11:10:49 CET 2005 charset : UTF-8
Comments line as every line whose the first character is a colon .

line 2    fenetre(606,398,-5.7,7.4,-1.7,7.2,0.1,0.1,1.5,1.5,0.01,true,false,Lucida Sans,12,1.31,1.26,156,156,156,210,210,210)
Configure the main window :

line 3    ajouter(barre)
Command : the tools bar is accessible.

line 4    barre(point,pointoncurve,intersection,mark, space,line,tangent,space,curve,euler, space,recsequence,gensequence,equation, space,domain, space,select,delete,zoom,zoomp,zoomm, tab,prefs,aspect,help)
Configure the tools bar from left to right. Every tools bar's button has a (transparent?) command . If the command space is read a small space is added before the next button. If the command tab is read, the next button is pushed to the rightmost place.

line 5    ajouter(dialogue)
Command : the dialog bar is accessible.

line 6    point(-4,4,true,false,0,[A],false,255,0,0,255,208,137)
A new normal point is created : Writing in a .tsm file may be dangerous (it's at your risk!). Save your changes using unicode ("UTF-8") charset.

4.2 png and eps graphics formats

The application create a new image file on your disk.
The  Photo option in the File menu allows you to select and save only a rectangular box in the main window.
You will be able to reuse the images in any latex or html document. E.g. illustrations in this document are made using edugraphe and the png format .

Furthermore you can insert a eps file in any LaTeX document with desired dimensions :
Sample : You have to include your job with exactly 1cm for the X-axis' unit.

4.3 html format

With this option you directly create an applet in a new web page : you can view the page and the graph using your navigator.
You can also edit and modify the file : for example, it is easy to change the tools bar configuration. The commands' separator is the colon character. Don't remove them and remember that no comments are allowed.
See the tsm format section for more informations.

When the web page is created, you get a new worksheet : simply write your comments or questions before or after the two applet's tags.

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5. Menus

Most options in the menus are known. For completion, you can use following options.
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