Do we really need to replace gnuplot?

[Shai Ayal]

After seening the very nice output produced by Kai's contourf
function, I am beginning to doubt whether we really need to replace
gnuplot with our own backend now that it can do arbitrary patches and
colors.

It seems to me that any backend we write will be based on OpenGL since
this is the de-facto standard in 3D rendering and is supported with
possible hardware accelaration on all platforms.

The main problems in gnuplot, which we can overcome if we use our own
backend are:
* lack of bi-directional communication, so we cannot get feedback from the user
* no "upgraed path" to supporting additional gui elements like buttons
and sliders

The main problems with an OpenGL backend, which are not a problem with gnuplot:
* I currently see now way to do off-screen rendering. This is a big
problem and will not allow batch plotting -- e.g. the octave manual is
generated using ofscreen rendering with gnuplot
* development time will be at leat one year

What are your thoughts?

Shai