PGFPlots in LaTeX

PGFPlots is a powerful package for creating high-quality plots and graphs in LaTeX documents. It builds upon the TikZ drawing package to provide a user-friendly interface for data visualization.

Getting Started with PGFPlots

To use PGFPlots, you need to include the package in your LaTeX preamble:

\usepackage{pgfplots}
\pgfplotsset{compat=1.18}

The second line sets the compatibility level, ensuring consistent behavior across different PGFPlots versions.

Basic Plot Structure

A basic PGFPlots graph is created using the axis environment within a tikzpicture:

\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
    xlabel={X Label},
    ylabel={Y Label},
    title={Plot Title}
]
\addplot coordinates {
    (0, 0)
    (1, 1)
    (2, 4)
    (3, 9)
};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}

Plot Types and Customization

PGFPlots supports various plot types, including:

• Line plots
• Scatter plots
• Bar charts
• 3D surface plots

You can customize your plots using a wide range of options. For example, to change line color and style:

\addplot[color=red, dashed, mark=*] coordinates {
    (0, 0)
    (1, 2)
    (2, 1)
};

Data Input Methods

PGFPlots offers multiple ways to input data:

1. Inline coordinates (as shown above)
2. Table format within the document
3. External data files

For larger datasets, using external files is recommended:

\addplot table {data.txt};

Advanced Features

PGFPlots provides advanced features for complex visualizations:

• Multiple y-axes
• Logarithmic scales
• Error bars
• Filled areas
• Contour plots

Best Practices

• Use consistent styling across your document
• Label axes and include units
• Choose appropriate scales for your data
• Use legends for multiple data series
• Consider colorblind-friendly color schemes

By mastering PGFPlots, you can create professional-quality graphs that seamlessly integrate with your LaTeX documents. Whether you're working on articles, reports, or presentations, PGFPlots offers the flexibility and power to visualize your data effectively.