Feature Request: @Graph dataformat {swapxandy }

[Albert Kinderman]

Jeff:

I would appreciate a dataformat option of {swapxandy } to @Graph

I often make scatter diagrams (plots) from data that are imported
from a spreadsheet.  The data are exported from the spreadsheet to
text format and then inserted into the Data portion of a Graph. 
Often I discover that I want to switch the x and y variables. 
Currently, I have to go back to the spreadsheet, switch the
columns, re-export as text, and re-import the data into my lout
document.  [A personal problem: I have to dual boot between
Windows for the spreadsheet and FreeBSD for lout and the rest of
my computing.]  The only other option is to cut and paste the
first number for the second in every row (which could be over 100
rows).  That is more painful for me than re-importing the data.

I have looked at graphf and graphf.lpg where dataformat and its
options are defined.  I don't program in Postscript (or anything
else for that matter!), so I am not prepared to try to define a
new option myself. I realize it will be more difficult than xonly
or yonly, since the issue is not just where to put the marks on
the page, but computing the min, max, ticks, etc. for both axes
after you have swapped x and y.  My first thought is that all the
xmin, xmax, etc, whether computed by default or specified by the
user, should apply to the visual x axis, i.e., all x items would
apply to the original y's (now the x's).  My reasoning is that
after I have done the swap in my mind, I am thinking about the new
x's when I think about the ticks, etc.

Thanks for considering my request to add this to the end of the
list of things you might like to add to Lout.

Thanks again for all you have done.  We really appreciate all that
Lout can do.

Al
-- 
Albert Kinderman      Department of Management Science
       California State University, Northridge