How to use the command 'osage' (with examples)

The ‘osage’ command is a part of the Graphviz software package and is used to render an image of a clustered network graph from a Graphviz file. It provides various layouts to choose from, such as ‘dot’, ’neato’, ’twopi’, ‘circo’, ‘fdp’, ‘sfdp’, ‘osage’, and ‘patchwork’. It supports different output formats, including ‘png’, ‘svg’, ‘ps’, ‘pdf’, ‘fig’, ‘gif’, ‘jpg’, ‘json’, and ‘dot’. The command can be helpful for visualizing and analyzing network graphs.

Use case 1: Render a png image with a filename based on the input filename and output format

Code:

osage -T png -O path/to/input.gv

Motivation: In this use case, we want to render a png image of a clustered network graph. By using the -T option followed by the desired output format, and the -O option with the path to the input file, we can generate an image file with a filename based on the input file.

Explanation:

• -T png: Specifies the output format as png.
• -O path/to/input.gv: Specifies the path to the input Graphviz file.

Example output: A png image file will be generated with a filename based on the input file.

Use case 2: Render a svg image with the specified output filename

Code:

osage -T svg -o path/to/image.svg path/to/input.gv

Motivation: In this use case, we want to render a svg image of a clustered network graph. By using the -T option followed by the desired output format, and the lowercase -o option with the desired output filename, we can generate an image file with the specified output filename.

Explanation:

• -T svg: Specifies the output format as svg.
• -o path/to/image.svg: Specifies the output filename as path/to/image.svg.
• path/to/input.gv: Specifies the path to the input Graphviz file.

Example output: An svg image file will be generated with the specified output filename.

Use case 3: Render the output in various formats

Code:

osage -T format -O path/to/input.gv

Motivation: In this use case, we want to render the output of the clustered network graph in a format other than png or svg. By using the -T option followed by the desired output format and the -O option with the path to the input file, we can generate the output in formats such as ps, pdf, fig, png, gif, jpg, json, or dot.

Explanation:

• -T format: Specifies the desired output format (e.g., ps, pdf, fig, png, gif, jpg, json, or dot).
• -O path/to/input.gv: Specifies the path to the input Graphviz file.

Example output: The output will be generated in the specified format (e.g., ps, pdf, fig, png, gif, jpg, json, or dot).

Use case 4: Render a gif image using stdin and stdout

Code:

echo "digraph {this -> that} " | osage -T gif > path/to/image.gif

Motivation: In this use case, we want to render a gif image of a clustered network graph directly using stdin and stdout. By using pipes, we can pass the graph description through the stdin to osage and redirect the output to a gif image file.

Explanation:

• echo "digraph {this -> that} ": Creates a graph description and passes it as input using stdin.
• |: Pipes (passes) the output of the previous command as input to the next command.
• osage -T gif: Renders the clustered network graph as a gif image.
• > path/to/image.gif: Redirects the output to the specified gif image file.

Example output: A gif image file will be generated with the rendered clustered network graph.

Use case 5: Display help

Code:

osage -?

Motivation: In this use case, we want to display the help information for the ‘osage’ command. By using the -? option, we can quickly access the command’s documentation.

Example output: The help information for the ‘osage’ command will be displayed, providing details about the available options and their usage.

Conclusion:

The ‘osage’ command is a powerful tool for rendering images of clustered network graphs. Its various options and formats provide flexibility in generating visual representations of network data. Whether creating png, svg, ps, pdf, fig, gif, jpg, json, or dot images, the ‘osage’ command helps in visualizing and analyzing network graphs efficiently.