mpip@ur-tut.UUCP (Robert Annechiarico) (02/14/88)
I few weeks ago I posted a question about doing SAS/Graph on a Mac. The
idea was that I did not merely want to use the Mac as a plotting terminal,
but wanted to capture the output in any of the several object formats that
seem to be out there, manipulate the results, and output the product to
the laser writer or to a pen plotter.
I've received some responses, and I'm anticipating some more information from
a couple of people who are looking into things. But, in the meantime I've
noticed a couple of other postings from people with similar questions, so I
figured I should post what I've heard so far.
If any of you can comment on any of the packages that I'll mention,
please do so.
I heard three categories of responses:
- Use VersaTerm Pro and TekPrint. VersaTerm Pro emulates the Tektronix
4105 and 4014 terminals. You can capture the resulting plots and
manipulate them with TekPrint, MacDraw, or MacPaint. The author of
TekPrint told me you can output the results to an HP 7475 pen plotter.
Some people spoke very highly of this combination. VersaTerm also
emulates a vt100, and supports xmodem and kermit.
The distributors are:
Peripherals Computers & Supplies, Inc.
2457 Perkiomen Avenue
Mt. Penn, PA 19606
USA
(215) 779-0522
- Use TextTerm + Graphics (this is a single program) for display and
plotting on a laser writer or on a Hewlett-Packard or Houston
Instruments pen plotter. Like VersaTerm, this apparently emulates
various Tektronix terminals (4014, 4105). The company's ad says you
can save the resulting graph and manipulate it with MacDraw, MacDraw,
PageMaker, etc. The company also sells a package named "Plot-It", which
allows you to create graphics with MacDraw, MacDraft, MacPaint, Excel,
Chart, Jazz, etc. and output the results to a Hewlett Packard or Houston
Instruments pen plotter. A couple of people spoke very highly of
Plot-It. I heard of the TextTerm + Graphics program when I called
the company; the ad claims support for vt100, and xmodem and kermit
protocols. The distributor is:
Mesa Graphics, Inc.
P. O. Box 600
Los Alamos, NM 87544
USA
(505) 672-1998
- Tom Cole of SAS, who heads their VMS development group, offered
a different solution using the SAS metagraphics facility. I've been
trying to contact him via usenet mail. I haven't succeeded; I guess
I'm going to end up trying the telephone. Tom, if you happen to
read this posting, I would be interested in that software that you
mentioned in your own posting.
As a side note, one person mentioned that we might be interested in
looking at plotter drivers like MacPLOT or MacPlots.
That's about what I've heard. If you have anything to add or correct -
or happen to know that one of the programs isn't what others say it is -
would you let me know? I'll post a summary of the responses.
By the way, I haven't used any of the products sold by the companies that
I mentioned above (except SAS...), and I have no connection with any of them.
Eric Carleen
University of Rochester Medical Center
(716)-275-5391
Bitnet: heartedc@uorhbv
UUCP: cornell!rochester!ur-tut!mpipcole@sas.UUCP (Tom Cole) (02/23/88)
Gosh, I hate to eat my words. Here's the deal on a SAS/Graph application. We (that is SAS Institute) will develope a Technical Report that will include a Mac diskette with the application on it. The Tech report will explain how it works, etc. It will be distributed by SAS, and will cost nearly nothing (less than $20, I believe), mostly to cover cost of publication and distribution. So Don't Send Me A Disk. If it's too late, I'll mail it back with what I have so far, but it won't be pretty. I'll post again as soon as the kit is ready (a few weeks at most, mostly for printing time) etc. However, if you have any requests for features or opinions about what file formats should be output, etc., please let me know Real Soon Now. I apologize if this has turned into a business deal on the net, it is our intention to provide this feature as cheaply as distribution will allow, and give equal access to all our customers (USENET and non-USENET). A secondary unrelated question, that is purely hypothetical. ;-) Is there any interest in a full front-end workstation implementation of the SAS/RLink protocol for Macs? By this I mean a Mac editor window, and nice Mac windows for SAS output, logs, and graphs? No local processing, but full Remote Submit, etc.? If you have SAS and don't understand what I am talking about, find someone who has PC SAS and ask about remote submit. We are discussing the possibility of such an project and I would be very interested in any responses to the idea. Tom Cole VAX/VMS Host Group SAS Institute Inc. PO Box 8000 Cary NC 27512-8000 (919) 467-8000 x7642 My opinions ARE those of my employer, but they just don't realize it yet...