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First, I want to say upfront that this question need not dissolve into arguments and discussion. This question can and should have a correct answer, please don't respond with your opinions.

GNUplot is very pervasive in Physics research. Many of the plots appearing in things like PRL and JPB are made in GNUplot. Why is this the case. There are much more modern tools for doing these types of graphs, and from my uninformed position, it appears that this would be easier.

One obvious and relevant first point to make is that GNUplot is free and opensource. I respect this, but do not expect that this is the primary reason.

I am hoping for answers that specify what GNUplot can do that can be achieved in other programs efficiently, say Mathematica. If there are none of these, and the reason is simply tradition/resistance to change, that is also fine, but I expect there must be some specific tasks one wishes to perform.

Thanks!

BBischof
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    I have to disagree that this question should have a correct answer that is separate from people's opinions. It might, but I have my doubts. I'll wait and see what happens. – David Z Nov 03 '10 at 07:18
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    Your premise is inaccurate in my experience. Of the many physics students and faculty I know, from different universities, I have never met one who uses Gnuplot, except me (but not anymore.) Matlab, Origin, and even Excel are much more prevalent. I also see far more publications with graphs that obviously come from Matlab than Gnuplot. – ptomato Nov 03 '10 at 08:55
  • Also, Matplotlib is also free and open source, but not very popular. – ptomato Nov 03 '10 at 08:56
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    Voting to close. Not only is this off topic, it's not a physics-related question. It's going to cause an argument. Let's just not go there! – Alasdair Allan Nov 03 '10 at 10:26
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  • Its good software 2. For historical reasons :)
    • – Pratik Deoghare Nov 03 '10 at 12:21
  • Alright fair enough, I thought that there might be something particular to GNUplot that would make this choice obvious. – BBischof Nov 03 '10 at 14:01
  • It's not only free, it's also very easily scripted. While point-and-click graph software might have a lower learning curve, they aren't as flexible and powerful as something where you can just throw scripts at. – Lagerbaer Jan 22 '12 at 00:00