How to Use the Command `ttyplot` (with examples)

ttyplot is a powerful, yet simple, command-line utility designed for real-time plotting of numeric data inputs via standard input (stdin). It creates a simple graphical visualization of data directly in the terminal, allowing users to track data trends without needing complex graphical interfaces. By streaming data into ttyplot, you can generate live and dynamic charts for a variety of applications, such as monitoring network performance, CPU usage, or other time-series data.

Use case 1: Plotting Static Values

Code:

{ echo 1 2 3; cat } | ttyplot

Motivation:

This use case is ideal for quickly visualizing a fixed set of values in a simple and straightforward manner. By plotting static values, you can easily verify the effectiveness of the ttyplot utility in rendering graphical point representation from numerical data on the command line.

Explanation:

• { echo 1 2 3; cat } |: This portion of the command sends the numbers 1, 2, and 3 to ttyplot, with cat keeping the pipeline open to prevent ttyplot from exiting immediately after plotting.
• ttyplot: The command that generates a rudimentary graphical plot in the terminal of the values it receives.

Example Output:

+--------------------+
|                     |
|    *                |
|      *              |
|        *            |
+--------------------+

Use Case 2: Setting a Custom Title and Unit

Code:

{ echo 1 2 3; cat } | ttyplot -t title -u unit

Motivation:

Customizing the plot with specific titles and measurement units enhances the clarity and context of the visualized data. This can be particularly beneficial when dealing with diverse datasets, allowing viewers to quickly understand what the represented values pertain to.

Explanation:

• -t title: This flag sets a custom title for the plot. Replace title with your desired plot title.
• -u unit: This flag allows you to specify a unit of measurement for the data being plotted. Replace unit with your desired unit.

Example Output:

+------- title -------+
|                     |
|    *                |
|      *              |
|        *            |
+--- unit -----------+

Use Case 3: Continuously Plotting Random Values

Code:

{ while true; do echo $RANDOM; sleep 1; done } | ttyplot

Motivation:

Continuously plotting random values is useful for testing the dynamic capabilities of ttyplot. This use case simulates real-time data streaming scenarios such as monitoring sensor outputs or live networks where the data feed is unpredictable and constant.

Explanation:

• while true; do echo $RANDOM; sleep 1; done: This loop generates a random number and outputs it every second. It will continue indefinitely, constantly supplying new data to ttyplot.
• ttyplot: Receives the continuous stream of random values and plots them in real-time on the terminal.

Example Output:

+--------------------+
|               *    |
|          *         |
|      *             |
+--------------------+
   <Values update every second>

Use Case 4: Parsing and Visualizing Ping Output

Code:

ping 8.8.8.8 | sed -u 's/^.*time=//g; s/ ms//g' | ttyplot -t "ping to 8.8.8.8" -u ms

Motivation:

This example demonstrates how ttyplot can be used to monitor network performance in real-time by parsing the latency data from ping commands. Such visualization helps in detecting network issues by observing trends or patterns in the response time.

Explanation:

• ping 8.8.8.8: Sends continuous ping requests to the IP address 8.8.8.8, which is a public DNS server operated by Google.
• sed -u 's/^.*time=//g; s/ ms//g': This sed command filters the ping output, extracting only the numerical response time by removing surrounding text and characters.
• ttyplot -t "ping to 8.8.8.8" -u ms: ttyplot takes these parsed numeric latency values, plots them in real-time, and adds a title (“ping to 8.8.8.8”) and a unit of “ms” (milliseconds) for context.

Example Output:

+--- ping to 8.8.8.8 --+
|            *         |
|     *                |
|         *            |
+------- ms -----------+

Conclusion:

The examples above showcase the versatility of the ttyplot utility in plotting numeric data streams directly within a terminal. Whether for static data, continuous data streams, or parsed command outputs, ttyplot provides a simple yet effective solution for real-time data visualization. With customizable options like setting titles and units, it can cater to various use cases, making data analysis and monitoring more intuitive and accessible even from the command line.