VisIt's Ultra Wrapper

Allows plotting and manipulation of curves within VisIt using command syntax from the Ultra II curve plotting program. Not all of Ultra's commands are currently available from VisIt's wrapper. This document describes only the functionality currently available. For more detailed information on Ultra II, please consult http://wci.llnl.gov/pact/ultra.html.

 

Basics of the VisIt Ultra session

The Ultra wrapper is run from VisIt's CLI. When loaded, VisIt's CLI prompt turns into an 'Ultra' prompt U-> and only Ultra syntax commands are accepted.

Things to keep in mind:

Here are some basic commands to get started:

Start the Ultra session

>>> LoadUltra()

Start the Ultra session and execute a script

>>> LoadUltra("myscript")

Get help

U-> help

Load curve file

U-> rd file-name

See list of curves available for plotting

U-> menu

Select curves for plotting

U-> select 1:3
U-> select 1 3 7

See list of curves that are currently displayed

U-> lst

End the Ultra session

U-> end

Supported Ultra commands

The supported commands are presented here in the same groupings as used by the Ultra II manual.

I/O commands

These commands access disk files either for reading or writing.
rd Read curve data file.
Usage: rd file-name
 
save Save currently plotted curve and/or curves from the menu to the specified disk file.
Usage: save file-name curve-list

 

Math Operations which do not generate a new curve

These functions all take as arguments a list of curves (some take an additional argument - most often a number). The specified operation is performed on the curves without creating new ones; that is, they modify existing curves.
abs Take the absolute value of the y values of the curves.
Usage: abs curve-list
 
absx Take the absolute value of the x values of the curves.
Usage: absx curve-list
 
acos Take the cos-1 of the y values of the curves.
Usage: acos curve-list
 
acosx Take the cos-1 of the x values of the curves.
Usage: acosx curve-list
 
asin Take the sin-1 of the y values of the curves.
Usage: asin curve-list
 
asinx Take the sin-1 of the x values of the curves.
Usage: asinx curve-list
 
atan Take the tan-1 of the y values of the curves.
Usage: atan curve-list
 
atanx Take the tan-1 of the x values of the curves.
Usage: atanx curve-list
 
cos Take the cosine of the y values of the curves.
Usage: cos curve-list
 
cosh Take the hyperbolic cosine of the y values of the curves.
Usage: cosh curve-list
 
coshx Take the hyperbolic cosine of the x values of the curves.
Usage: coshx curve-list
 
cosx Take the cosine of the x values of the curves.
Usage: cosx curve-list
 
dx Shift the x values of the curves by a fixed value.
Usage: dx curve-list value
 
dy Shift the y values of the curves by a fixed value.
Usage: dy curve-list value
 
divx Divide the x values of the curves by a fixed value.
Usage: divx curve-list value
 
divy Divide the y values of the curves by a fixed value.
Usage: divy curve-list value
 
exp Take the exponential of the y values of the curves, i.e., y = ey.
Usage: exp curve-list
 
expx Take the exponential of the x values of the curves, i.e., x = ex.
Usage: expx curve-list
 
ln Take the natural logarithm of the y values of the curves.
Usage: ln curve-list
 
lnx Take the natural logarithm of the x values of the curves.
Usage: lnx curve-list
 
log10 Take the base 10 logarithm of the y values of the curves.
Usage: log10 curve-list
 
log10x Take the base 10 logarithm of the x values of the curves.
Usage: log10x curve-list
 
mx Scale the x values of the curves by a fixed value.
Usage: mx curve-list value
 
my Scale the y values of the curves by a fixed value.
Usage: my curve-list value
 
powa Raise a fixed value, a, to the power of the y values of the curves, i.e., y = ay.
Usage: powa curve-list a
 
powax Raise a fixed value, a, to the power of the x values of the curves, i.e., x = ax.
Usage: powax curve-list a
 
powr Raise the y values of the curves to a fixed power, i.e., y = ya.
Usage: powr curve-list a
 
powrx Raise the x values of the curves to a fixed power, i.e., x = xa.
Usage: powrx curve-list a
 
sin Take the sine of the y values of the curves.
Usage: sin curve-list
 
sinh Take the hyperbolic sine of the y values of the curves.
Usage: sinh curve-list
 
sinhx Take the hyperbolic sine of the x values of the curves.
Usage: sinhx curve-list
 
sinx Take the sine of the x values of the curves.
Usage: sinx curve-list
 
sqr Take the square of the y values of the curves.
Usage: sqr curve-list
 
sqrt Take the square root of the y values of the curves.
Usage: sqrt curve-list
 
sqrtx Take the square root of the x values of the curves.
Usage: sqrtx curve-list
 
sqrx Take the square of the x values of the curves.
Usage: sqrx curve-list
 
tan Take the tangent of the y values of the curves.
Usage: tan curve-list
 
tanh Take the hyperbolic tangent of the y values of the curves.
Usage: tanh curve-list
 
tanhx Take the hyperbolic tangent of the x values of the curves.
Usage: tanhx curve-list
 
tanx Take the tangent of the x values of the curves.
Usage: tanx curve-list
 
xmax Filter out points in curves whose x-values > limit.
Usage: xmax curve-list limit
 
xmin Filter out points in curves whose x-values < limit.
Usage: xmin curve-list limit
 
ymax Filter out points in curves whose y-values > limit.
Usage: ymax curve-list limit
 
ymin Filter out points in curves whose y-values < limit.
Usage: ymin curve-list limit

Math Operations which do generate a new curve

Most of these functions take as arguments a list of the curves. The specified operation is performed using the curves to create new ones. The original curves are not modified.
+ Take the sum of the curves, i.e., a + b + ... + n.
Usage: + curve-list
 
- Take the difference of the curves, i.e., a - b - ... - n.
Usage: - curve-list
 
* Take the product of the curves, i.e., a x b x ... x n.
Usage: * curve-list
 
/ Take the quotient of the curves, i.e., a / b / ... / n.
Usage: / curve-list

Environmental inquiry commands

These functions are provided to gain access to information about the state of the session.
help Return information about the specified command. If no argument is supplied, return a list of command categories.
Usage: help [command]
 
lst Return a list of the curves currently displayed.
Usage: lst
 
menu Return a list of the curves available for plotting.
Usage: menu

Environmental control commands

These functions allow you to manipulate the environment of the Ultra session on a global level.
end Exit Ultra session gracefully. Deletes all plotted curves from VisIt's viewer.
Usage: end
 
erase Erase all curves on the screen.
Usage: erase
 
quit Exit Ultra session gracefully. Deletes all plotted curves from VisIt's viewer.
Usage: quit

Plot control commands

These functions control the plotting characteristics of ULTRA II which affect all displayed curves.

command.
axis Set whether or not to draw axes on graphs.
Usage: axis on | off
Default: on
 
data-id Set whether or not to plot curve identifiers. This was formerly the marker
Usage: data-id on | off
Default: on
 
domain Set the domain for plotting. Typing de (for default) will let the curves determine the domain.
Usage: domain low-lim high-lim
 
Usage: domain de
Default: de
 
grid Set whether or not to draw grid lines on graphs.
Usage: grid on | off
Default: off
 
range Set the range for plotting. Typing de (for default) will let the curves determine the range.
Usage: range low-lim high-lim
 
Usage: range de
Default: de
 
x-log-scale Set log scale on or off for the x axis.
Usage: x-log-scale on | off
Default: off
 
y-log-scale Set log scale on or off for the y axis.
Usage: y-log-scale on | off
Default: off

Curve control commands

These functions control the individual curves that are currently being displayed. They range in type from controlling the appearance of the curve to deleting it.
del Delete the specified curves.
Usage: del curve-list
 
lnstyle Set the line styles of specified curves.
Usage: lnstyle curve-list solid | dotted | dashed | dotdashed
Default: solid
 
lnwidth Set the line widths of specified curves. A line width of 0 will always give the thinnest line which the host graphics system supports.
Usage: lnwidth curve-list width
Default: 0
 
select Select curves from the menu for plotting. The list must be space delimited. Ranges may be indicated with a colon. For example, 2:6 will generate 2 3 4 5 6.
Usage: select number-list