Using the `patchwork` command (with examples)

This article provides different use cases for the patchwork command, which is used to render an image of a squareified treemap network graph from a graphviz file. The patchwork command supports various layouts, including dot, neato, twopi, circo, fdp, sfdp, osage, and patchwork. Below are the examples of using the command with different options.

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

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

Motivation: This example allows us to render a png image with a filename based on the input file and output format. It is useful when we want to generate an image in a specific format based on the input file.

Explanation:

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

Example output: The command will generate a png image based on the input file and save it with a filename derived from the input filename.

Example 2: Render an svg image with a specified output filename

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

Motivation: This example allows us to render an svg image with a specified output filename. It is useful when we want to generate an image in the svg format and save it with a specific 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 input file to generate the image from.

Example output: The command will generate an svg image based on the input file and save it with the specified output filename.

Example 3: Render the output in various formats

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

Motivation: This example allows us to render the output in various formats. It is useful when we want to generate an image in different formats without specifying the output filename.

Explanation:

• -T format: Specifies the desired output format. Replace format with the desired format, such as ps, pdf, svg, fig, png, gif, jpg, json, or dot.
• -O path/to/input.gv: Specifies the input file to generate the image from.

Example output: The command will generate an image in the specified format without specifying the output filename.

Example 4: Render a gif image using stdin and stdout

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

Motivation: This example allows us to generate a gif image using the standard input and standard output. It is useful when we want to generate an image based on dynamically generated graph data.

Explanation:

• echo "digraph {this -> that} ": Generates the graph data and sends it to the standard output.
• |: Pipes the output of the previous command as the input to the next command.
• patchwork -T gif: Specifies the output format as gif.
• > path/to/image.gif: Redirects the output to the specified file path.

Example output: The command will generate a gif image based on the provided graph data and save it to the specified file path.

Example 5: Display help

patchwork -?

Motivation: This example allows us to display the help information for the patchwork command. It is useful when we need to understand the available options and arguments.

Explanation:

• -?: Specifies the option to display the help information.

Example output: The command will display the help information for the patchwork command, including the available options and arguments.