Pyepix 
           A Python Interface to the ePiX Library
           Version 5-0.8.9   (March 27, 2003)

Introduction
============

ePiX is a C library for high-level publication-quality plotting using LaTeX and
EEPIC. The Pyepix interface exposes the C interface to a Python interpreter.
The process is:

   * Write a Python script using the ePiX primitives
   * Run the script to generate an EEPIC file
   * Embed this EEPIC file in your LaTeX document

It's also possible to use LaTeX to generate EPS files from EEPIC files (use the
'elaps' script that comes with ePiX) for previewing or embedding in other 
applications.

NOTE:
   ****************************************************************
   * There are slight differences between ePiX and Pyepix. Please *
   * see the NOTES file to read about these differences.          *
   ****************************************************************

Requirements
============

  * Python 2.2 or later (earlier versions may work)
       http://www.python.org

  * ePiX 0.8.9 or later
       http://mathcs.holycross.edu/~ahwang/current/ePiX.html

You do not need LaTeX to use Pyepix, but there isn't much you can do with
EEPIC files other than embed them in LaTeX documents. You still need
LaTeX to generate EPS files.

Installation
============

1. Extract the archive and enter the directory:

      tar xzf pyepix-5-0.8.9.tar.gz
      cd pyepix-5-0.8.9

2. Edit setup.py to reflect your ePiX installation directory
   (library directory and include directory). 
   
   If you installed ePiX to the default /usr/local/include and 
   /usr/local/lib directories, you don't have to touch anything.

3. Build and install:

      su                (should be root to write in Python directory)
      python setup.py build install

   This step will ask you if you want to add support for the
   contrib package of ePiX. You should only enable this support if
   you built ePiX with contrib support (i.e., if you typed 'make contrib'
   when building ePiX).

   The installation step will:

     * Install the Pyepix package in the Python site-packages directory
       under the 'epix' subdirectory. For example:

          /usr/local/lib/python2.2/site-packages/epix

     * Install sample files in a 'pyepix' directory underneath the
       Python library directory, for example:

          /usr/local/lib/python2.2/pyepix

4. Ensure that the install script correctly set the permissions on
   all files. This is normally done as part of the installation process.

   If everything worked, you should be able to type (not as root!):

      python -c "import epix"

   and not get an error message.
    
Documentation
=============

There is no documentation for Pyepix (beyond this file and the NOTES file) as
it relies heavily on the documentation for ePiX itself, which can be found at:

    http://mathcs.holycross.edu/~ahwang/current/ePiX.html#Docs

Examples
========

To try some of the samples, go into the "samples" directory and
type "make".

To see how the process works on a single file:

1. Generate an EEPIC file:
     python samples/weierstrass.py > tmp.eepic

2. Embed this in a simple LaTeX file:
     elaps tmp.eepic

3. View the EPS file in your favorite viewer (I use ggv):
     ggv tmp.eps   (Gnome GhostView)
   or
     gv tmp.eps    (GhostView)
   or
     gs tmp.eps    (plain GhostScript viewer)
    
License
=======
Pyepix is distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
See http://www.fsf.org for more details.

Author
======

Andrew Sterian 
Padnos School of Engineering
Grand Valley State University

<steriana@claymore.engineer.gvsu.edu>
<http://claymore.engineer.gvsu.edu/~steriana>