GasTeX: Graphs and Automata Simplified in TeX
Documentation

version 3.1

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Last update: February 12, 2024
Remark: Version 3.1 of GasTeX is available here on CTAN since 2024/02/12.

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Known problems with TeXLive 2021: If you have problems using gastex simultaneously with the documentclass lipics-v2021 or the package todonotes or the library shadows of tikz (and possibly in other situtations), see the known problems and solutions.

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For a quick startup guide with some examples, see gastex-doc.tex and the resulting gastex-doc.pdf.

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Download and Installation

The last version of GasTeX is always available here. It consists of the following two files.

• gastex.sty which contains the definition of all GasTeX macros.
  This file could be in your working folder but it is best placed where other .sty files are, e.g.,
  .../texmf-dist/tex/latex/gastex/gastex.sty
or
.../texmf-local/tex/latex/gastex/gastex.sty
• gastex.pro which contains all the postscript procedures used to actually draw the pictures.
  This file could be in your working folder but it is best placed where other .pro files are, e.g.,
  .../texmf-dist/dvips/gastex/gastex.pro
or
.../texmf-local/dvips/gastex/gastex.pro

Usage and package options

Usage

Package options

Thanks to the packages pst-pdf and auto-pst-pdf, GasTeX is now fully compatible with pdflatex. This feature is controlled with two options pdflatex and recompilepics as explained below.

• pdflatex
  Set this option to true (default) if the latex file is compiled with pdflatex.
  \usepackage[pdflatex]{gastex} or
\usepackage[pdflatex=true]{gastex}
  Omit this option or set it to false if the latex file is compiled with latex+dvips(+ps2pdf).
  \usepackage{gastex} or
\usepackage[pdflatex=false]{gastex}
• recompilepics Only with pdflatex
  The package pst-pdf includes pictures directly from the file <jobname>-pics.pdf, allowing the compilation with pdflatex. When pictures have changed, the file <jobname>-pics.pdf should be regenerated. This is controlled with the recompilepics option.
  \usepackage[pdflatex,recompilepics={false,true,auto}]{gastex}
\usepackage[pdflatex,recompilepics]{gastex}
  The possible values for option recompilepics are:
  • "auto" (default): md5 checksums of gpicture's source code are computed and saved to file <jobname>-md5.txt. If this file exists, new checksums are compared with old ones to check if pictures have changed. If this is the case a warning occurs saying that <jobname>.tex needs to be re-compiled and next compilation will use "true" mode (see below) to re-generate <jobname>-pics.pdf. Otherwise, mode "false" (see below) is used and pictures are simply included from <jobname>-pics.pdf.
  • "true": the file <jobname>-pics.pdf is (re-)generated immediately, even if pictures did not change and the file <jobname>-pics.pdf is still up to date.
    Useful when pictures are intensively modified.
  • "false": pictures are simply included from <jobname>-pics.pdf with \includegraphics. Even if pictures have changed in the source file, you still get the old pictures from <jobname>-pics.pdf.
  Remarks:
  • When recompilepics is set to auto or true, the package auto-pst-pdf.sty is loaded and it requires the file <jobname>.tex to be compiled with pdflatex using the --shell-escape (or --enable-write18) option:
    pdflatex --shell-escape <jobname>.tex
pdflatex --enable-write18 <jobname>.tex
    If you are not running pdflatex from the command line, there should be some setup in the preferences of your tex software allowing to add the --shell-escape (or --enable-write18) option to the default command.
  • When sending a final version of a paper to be published in a journal or some conference proceedings which will compile the files with pdflatex, option recompilepics should be set to false and the file <jobname>-pics.pdf should be sent together with <jobname>.tex.
    Indeed, the --shell-escape option is usually not authorized by publishers since it would allow your latex file to execute arbitrary shell commands.
  • The package auto-pst-pdf automates the generation of the file <jobname>-pics.pdf. One may also do it manually by following the pst-pdf instructions:
    latex <jobname>.tex
dvips -o <jobname>-pics.ps <jobname>.dvi
ps2pdf <jobname>-pics.ps
• auto-pst-pdf options Only with pdflatex
  Other options are passed to the package auto-pst-pdf. Two such options are described below. See the documentation of auto-pst-pdf.sty for more details.
  • runs=2
    \usepackage[pdflatex,recompilepics,runs=2]{gastex}
    If a picture contains references with \ref{} then latex should be run twice when the file <jobname>-pics.pdf is generated.
  • crop=off
    \usepackage[pdflatex,recompilepics,crop=off]{gastex}
    By default, auto-pst-pdf crops a picture to its actual size (using the option notightpage of pst-pdf), ignoring the dimensions given to the environment gpicture. In most cases this is fine, but if you want the dimensions given to gpicture to be used for the bounding box, you should set option crop to off.

gpicture and gusepicture

Pictures should be defined inside a gpicture environment allowing the same source file to be compiled both with pdflatex and with latex+dvips(+ps2pdf). The (depreciated) picture environment may still be used only if compilation is with latex+dvips(+ps2pdf). One may safely replace all picture environments with gpicture, even when using latex+dvips(+ps2pdf).

• gpicture
  \begin{gpicture}[options]
...
\end{gpicture}
or
\begin{gpicture}[options](width,height)
...
\end{gpicture}
or
\begin{gpicture}[options](width,height)(x offset,y offset)
...
\end{gpicture}

  
  The (x offset,y offset) arguments are optional and default to (0,0) if omitted.
  The (width,height) arguments are optional and default to (10,10) if omitted.
  
  The (width,height)(x offset,y offset) arguments are similar to those of the LaTeX picture environment. The picture defines a TeX box whose size is (width,height) given in \unitlength. The coordinates of the lower left corner of this box are given by (x offset,y offset) in \unitlength.
  
  Remark: If pdflatex is used without the option crop=off given to the package auto-pst-pdf then the arguments (width,height)(x offset,y offset) are ignored and the TeX box containing the picture is automatically adjusted to the actual contents of the picture.
  
  The possible options are frame, name and ignore as described below.
  \begin{gpicture}[frame,name=loop,ignore]
...
\end{gpicture}

  The options name and ignore are only meaningful when compiling with pdflatex.
  
  • frame={true,false} default is true.
    Adds a frame around the picture.
  • name=<picname>
    Gives a name to the picture so that it may be used later with \gusepicture{<picname>}.
  • ignore={true,false} default is true. Only with pdflatex
    The picture is generated in <jobname>-pics.pdf but not included. It should be named and included later with \gusepicture{<picname>}.
• gusepicture Only with pdflatex
  \gusepicture[options]{<picname>}

  Includes picture <picname> which must have been created and named with a gpicture environment.
  This is convenient to include the same picture several times or to add \includegraphics options such as clip, viewport, scale, etc. See examples in gastex-gusepicture below.
  \gusepicture[viewport=0 5 88 90,clip]{loop}
\gusepicture[viewport=0 5 332 127,scale=0.85]{lessdfs}

  
  Remark: The option clip does not work if we add it to the option list of gpicture. This is a problem with pst-pdf that I do not understand, hence I cannot fix. A solution is to use ignore in the option of gpicture and then define the viewport and clip as options of \gusepicture (see above).

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Drawing commands

Commands should be used in the gpicture environment to draw lines, nodes, arrows, etc. Here is a simple example:

\begin{gpicture}   \node[Nmarks=i](A)(0,0){0}   \node(B)(20,0){1}   \node[Nmarks=f](C)(40,0){2}   \drawedge(A,B){$a$}   \drawloop(B){$b$}   \drawedge(B,C){$c$} \end{gpicture}

Each drawing command has a name, some optional parameters, and some mandatory arguments:

General parameters

• linegray=<decimal number between 0 and 1>:
  Gray level used to draw edges, lines, curves, etc. 0=black, 1=white.
• fillgray=<decimal number between 0 and 1>:
  Gray level used to fill nodes, circles, polygons, etc. 0=black, 1=white.
• linecolor=<color value>:
  Color used to draw edges, lines, curves, etc.
  color value should be as specified by the xcolor package. For instance, blue or red or green!40!yellow, etc.
• fillcolor=<color value>:
  Color used to fill nodes, circles, polygons, etc.
  
• linewidth=<decimal number>:
  Width in \unitlength used to draw edges, lines, curves, etc.
• dash={pattern}{offset}:
  Set the dash pattern used when drawing edges, lines, curves, etc.
  pattern is a list of decimal numbers indicating lengths in \unitlength alternately of dashes and spaces.
  The list of lenghts is used circularly.
  offset is a decimal number indicating in \unitlength when the pattern starts.

  dash={}{0}	continuous path
  dash={1.5}{0}	dashs of length 1.5 and empty spaces of length 1.5
  dash={0.2 0.5}{0}	looks like a sequence of dots
  dash={4 1 1 1}{0}	alternation of long and short dashs
  dash={1.5}{1.5}	we start with the empty space and not the dash
  dash={4}{2}	we start in the middle of the first dash

Commands for nodes (work in progress)

• \node: Define and draw a node.
  \node(NodeName)(x,y){NodeLabel}
\node[parameter=value,...](NodeName)(x,y){NodeLabel}

  NodeName (string) is the name of the node, to be used with edges, loops, etc.
  x,y (decimal numbers) define the coordinates in \unitlength of the center of the node.
  NodeLabel (any LATEX text, including math, array, etc.) is the label of the node. Leave empty if no label.
  
• \rpnode: Define and draw a node whose shape is a regular polygon.
  \rpnode(NodeName)(x,y)(n,r){NodeLabel}
\rpnode[parameter=value,...](NodeName)(x,y)(n,r){NodeLabel}

  Similar to the \node macro with two additional arguments:
  n (natural number) number of sides of the regular polygon.
  r (decimal number) is the radius in \unitlength of the circle containing the polygon.
  
• \imark: Add an ingoing arrow to mark an initial node.
  \imark(NodeName)
\imark[parameter=value,...](NodeName)

  NodeName (string) is the name of the node, which should have been defined with \node or \rpnode.
  
• \fmark: Add an outgoing arrow to mark a final node.
  \fmark(NodeName)
\fmark[parameter=value,...](NodeName)

  NodeName (string) is the name of the node, which should have been defined with \node or \rpnode.
  
• \rmark: Add a second line to mark a repeated node.
  \rmark(NodeName)
\rmark[parameter=value,...](NodeName)

  NodeName (string) is the name of the node, which should have been defined with \node or \rpnode.
  
• \nodelabel: Add a label to the node.
  \nodelabel(NodeName){NodeLabel}
\nodelabel[parameter=value,...](NodeName){NodeLabel}

  NodeName (string) is the name of the node, which should have been defined with \node or \rpnode.
  NodeLabel (any LATEX text, including math, array, etc.) is the label of the node. Leave empty if no label.
  

Examples for \node, \rpnode, \imark, \fmark, \rmark, \nodelabel

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Commands for edges (work in progress)

• \drawedge: Draw an edge between two nodes.
  \drawedge(startingNode,endingNode){EdgeLabel}
\drawedge[parameter=value,...](startingNode,endingNode){EdgeLabel}

  startingNode (string) is the name of the source node, which should have been defined with \node or \rpnode.
  endingNode (string) is the name of the target node, which should have been defined with \node or \rpnode.
  EdgeLabel (any LATEX text, including math, array, etc.) is the label of the edge. Leave empty if no label.
  
• \drawloop: Draw a loop on a node following a cubic Bézier curve.
  \drawloop(NodeName){EdgeLabel}
\drawloop[parameter=value,...](NodeName){EdgeLabel}

  NodeName (string) is the name of the node, which should have been defined with \node or \rpnode.
  EdgeLabel is as for the \drawedge command above.
  
• \drawqbedge: Draw an edge between two nodes following a quadratic Bézier curve.
  \drawqbedge(startingNode,x,y,endingNode){EdgeLabel}
\drawqbedge[parameter=value,...](startingNode,x,y,endingNode){EdgeLabel}

  startingNode, endingNode, EdgeLabel are as for the \drawedge command above.
  x,y (decimal numbers) define in \unitlength the coordinates of the intermediate control point of the quadratic Bézier curve.
  
• \drawqbpedge: Draw an edge between two nodes following a quadratic Bézier curve.
  \drawqbpedge(startingNode,sa,endingNode,ea){EdgeLabel}
\drawqbpedge[parameter=value,...](startingNode,sa,endingNode,ea){EdgeLabel}

  startingNode, endingNode, EdgeLabel are as for the \drawedge command above.
  sa,ea (decimal numbers) define the angles in degree of the edge at the source and target node.
  The intersection of the lines defined by (startingNode,sa) and (endingNode,ea) is the intermediary control point of the quadratic Bézier curve.
  
• \drawcbedge: Draw an edge between two nodes following a cubic Bézier curve.
  \drawcbedge(startingNode,xs,ys,endingNode,xe,ye){EdgeLabel}
\drawcbedge[parameter=value,...](startingNode,xs,ys,endingNode,xe,ye){EdgeLabel}

  startingNode, endingNode, EdgeLabel are as for the \drawedge command above.
  xs,ys,xe,ye (decimal numbers) define in \unitlength the coordinates of the two intermediate control points of the cubic Bézier curve.
  
• \drawcbpedge: Draw an edge between two nodes following a cubic Bézier curve.
  \drawcbpedge(startingNode,sa,sr,endingNode,ea,er){EdgeLabel}
\drawcbpedge[parameter=value,...](startingNode,sa,sr,endingNode,ea,er){EdgeLabel}

  startingNode, endingNode, EdgeLabel are as for the \drawedge command above.
  sa,sr (decimal numbers) define the polar coordinates relative to startingNode of the first control point (angle sa in degree and radius sr in \unitlength.
  ea,er (decimal numbers) define the polar coordinates relative to endingNode of the second control point (angle sa in degree and radius sr in \unitlength.
  

Examples for \drawedge, \drawloop, \drawqbedge, \drawqbpedge, \drawqcedge, \drawcbpedge

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Lines and curves

• \drawline: Draw a broken line defined by n points (n>1).
  \drawline(x1,y1)...(xn,yn)
\drawline[parameter=value,...](x1,y1)...(xn,yn)

  x1,y1,...,xn,yn (decimal numbers) define the coordinates in \unitlength of the control points.
  Depending on the parameters, the line may have arrowhead(s), arrowtail(s), color, ...
  
• \drawcurve: Draw a curve defined by n points (n>1).
  \drawcurve(x1,y1)...(xn,yn)
\drawcurve[parameter=value,...](x1,y1)...(xn,yn)

  x1,y1,...,xn,yn (decimal numbers) define the coordinates in \unitlength of the control points.
  Between each pair of consecutive points, we use a cubic Bezier curve. The control points of the cubic Bezier curves are determined so that the whole curve is continuously differentiable and the tangent at each point is orthogonal to the bisector at this point.
  Depending on the parameters, the line may have arrowhead(s), arrowtail(s), color, ...
  

Examples for \drawline and \drawcurve

Polygons and closed curves

• \drawpolygon: Draw a polygon defined by n points (n>1).
  \drawpolygon(x1,y1)...(xn,yn)
\drawpolygon[parameter=value,...](x1,y1)...(xn,yn)

  x1,y1,...,xn,yn (decimal numbers) define the coordinates in \unitlength of the control points.
  Depending on the parameters, the polygon may be framed and/or filled.
  
• \drawccurve: Draw a closed curve defined by n points (n>1).
  \drawccurve(x1,y1)...(xn,yn)
\drawccurve[parameter=value,...](x1,y1)...(xn,yn)

  x1,y1,...,xn,yn (decimal numbers) define the coordinates in \unitlength of the control points.
  Between each pair of consecutive points, we use a cubic Bezier curve. The control points of the cubic Bezier curves are determined so that the whole curve is continuously differentiable and the tangent at each point is orthogonal to the bisector at this point.
  Depending on the parameters, the polygon may be framed and/or filled.
  

Examples for \drawpolygon and \drawccurve

Circles and arcs

• \drawcircle: Draw a circle.
  \drawcircle(x,y,d)
\drawcircle[parameter=value,...](x,y,d)

  x,y,d (decimal numbers) define the coordinates in \unitlength of the center of the circle and its diameter.
  Depending on the parameters, the circle may be framed and/or filled.
  
• \drawarc: Draw an arc of a circle.
  \drawarc(x,y,r,a,b)
\drawarc[parameter=value,...](x,y,r,a,b)

  x,y,r (decimal numbers) define the coordinates in \unitlength of the center of the arc of circle and its radius.
  a,b (decimal numbers) define in degree the starting/ending angle of the arc of circle.
  Depending on the parameters, the arc of circle may be framed and/or filled.
  

Examples for \drawcircle and \drawarc

Rectangles, ovals and regular polygons

• \drawrect: Draw a rectangle.
  \drawrect(x0,y0,x1,y1)
\drawrect[parameter=value,...](x0,y0,x1,y1)

  x0,y0,x1,y1 (decimal numbers) define in \unitlength the coordinates of the lower-left and upper-right points of the rectangle.
  Depending on the parameters, the rectangle may be framed and/or filled.
  
• \drawoval: Draw an oval.
  \drawoval(x,y,w,h,mr)
\drawoval[parameter=value,...](x,y,w,h,mr)

  x,y,w,h,mr (decimal numbers) define in \unitlength the coordinates of the center of the oval, its width and height, and the maximal radius of the rounded corners.
  The oval is simply a rectangle with rounded corners, setting mr=0 results in a classical rectangle.
  Depending on the parameters, the rectangle may be framed and/or filled.
  
• \drawrpolygon: Draw a regular polygon
  \drawrpolygon(x,y)(n,r)
\drawrpolygon[parameter=value,...](x,y)(n,r)

  x,y,r (decimal numbers) define in \unitlength the coordinates of the center of the polygon and its radius.
  n (natural number) is the number of sides of the polygon.
  Depending on the parameters, the polygon may be framed and/or filled.
  

Examples for \drawrect, \drawoval and \drawrpolygon

Bézier curves and snake lines

• \drawqbezier: Draw a quadratic Bézier curve.
  \drawqbezier(x0,y0,x1,y1,x2,y2)
\drawqbezier[parameter=value,...](x0,y0,x1,y1,x2,y2)

  x0,y0,x1,y1,x2,y2 (decimal numbers) define in \unitlength the coordinates of the starting point, the intermediate control point, and the final point of the quadratic Bézier curve.
  
• \drawcbezier: Draw a cubic Bézier curve.
  \drawcbezier(x0,y0,x1,y1,x2,y2,x3,y3)
\drawcbezier[parameter=value,...](x0,y0,x1,y1,x2,y2,x3,y3)

  x0,y0,x1,y1,x2,y2,x3,y3 (decimal numbers) define in \unitlength the coordinates of the starting point, the two intermediate control points, and the final point of the cubic Bézier curve.
  
• \drawsnake: Draw a line with snake waves between two points.
  \drawsnake(x1,y1)(x2,y2)
\drawsnake[parameter=value,...](x1,y1)(x2,y2)

  x1,y1,x2,y2 (decimal numbers) define in \unitlength the coordinates of the starting and ending points.
  

Examples for \drawqbezier, \drawcbezier and \drawsnake

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More examples

The documentation above already contains many examples. Some more examples are given in the files below:

• gastex-examples.tex and gastex-examples.pdf give some examples to learn gastex and to test your installation.
• gastex-gusepicture.tex and gastex-gusepicture.pdf show how to compile gastex pictures with pdflatex.

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Known problems and (hopefully) solutions

• Documentclass lipics-v2021 and TeXLive 2021 (2021/10/21): Starting with version 2021 of the documentclass lipics, an error appeared when compiling gastex pictures with option pdflatex=true. The error occurs during the latex+dvips+ps2pdf compilation needed to generate gastex pictures in pdf. The problem seems to be with the latest hyperref and/or preview.
  
  Solution: The fix is to remove the hooks set by hyperref when the compilation is not in pdf:
  \documentclass[a4paper,UKenglish]{lipics-v2021}
\usepackage[pdflatex,recompilepics=true]{gastex}
\ifpdf
\usepackage{todonotes}
\RequirePackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{shadows}
\else
\AtBeginDocument{%
\RemoveFromHook{shipout/firstpage}[hyperref]%
\RemoveFromHook{shipout/before}[hyperref]%
}
\fi
\begin{document}
...
  
  
• package todonotes or tikz (shadows) (2021/10/21): Starting with TeXLive 2021, an error appeared when compiling gastex pictures with option pdflatex=true, and when the package todonotes is loaded or when the library shadows of tikz is loaded. The error may also occur in other contexts. The error occurs during the latex+dvips+ps2pdf compilation needed to generate gastex pictures in pdf.
  
  Solution: The fix is to load these packages/libraries only when the compilation is really in pdf:
  \documentclass{article}
\usepackage[pdflatex,recompilepics=true]{gastex}
\ifpdf
\usepackage{todonotes}
\RequirePackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{shadows}
\fi
\begin{document}
...
  
  
• overlays with beamer and pdflatex (2012/08/21): If a frame consists only of a gpicture with overlays, when compiling with pdflatex you may get the first overlay only. I don't know why and guess it is a problem either with auto-pst-pdf or with beamer.
  Solution: add a command outside the gpicture which forces the generation of all overlays, e.g., \pause[6]
  
  
• gasset and tabular (2000/10/27): Using gasset inside a tabular or an array produces an error.
  The reason is that I'm using the "&" symbol as a marker in order to process gasset options.
  Solution: Include the whole picture inside an mbox.
  \begin{tabular}{c}
    \mbox{\begin{picture}(10,20)(-5,-5)
    \gasset{ELdist=0}
    \node(A)(0,0){1}\drawloop(A){$a$}
    \end{picture}}
  \end{tabular}
  
  
• GasTeX and German (1999/10/21): Frank Goertzen has reported that when using gastex together with german an error may occur when running dvips if the german package is loaded first.
  Solution: load gastex before german:
  \usepackage{gastex}
  \usepackage{german}
  I have no idea concerning the cause of this error.
  
  

Feedback

I hope you will find gastex helpful. Let me know if you have any problem or suggestion to improve gastex.

History since version 2.0

Version 3.1: (2021/10/21)

Fixed a bug that appeared with TeXLive 2021 when compiling gastex pictures with option pdflatex=true.
More precisely, gastex calls the package auto-pst-pdf to generate the pdf picture from the postscript code, this in turn calls ps2pdf resulting in a ghostscript error The fix is to give the option pspdf={-dALLOWPSTRANSPARENCY} when loading auto-pst-pdf.

Version 3.0: (2013/10/01)

Many changes in this release.

• Compatibility with pdflatex using auto-pst-pdf (See above).
• gpicture and gusepicture (See above).
• New command to draw an arc of circle or a pie (See gastex-examples.tex)
  \drawarc[linecolor=black](0,10,20,0,45)
\drawarc[arcPie=y,linecolor=blue](0,10,20,-50,-15)
• New command to draw a snaky line (See gastex-examples.tex)
  \drawsnake[linecolor=red,snakeh=.8,snakew=.8](20,15.5)(20,8.5)
\drawsnake[linecolor=red,snakeh=.8,snakew=.8](0,7.5)(0,0.5)

Version 2.9: (2010/09/23)

As suggested by Jean Berstel, it is now possible to set independently the width and the height of a loop with the two new parameters loopwidth and loopheight. The parameter loopdiam simply sets loopwidth and loopheight to the same value. See the example here.

Version 2.8: (2006/11/26)

Packaged for CTAN.

Version 2.7: (2004/05/02)

gastex is now compatible with the xcolor package which allows very useful color expressions such as red!50!blue!60!white.

Version 2.6: (2004/04/23)

Improved precision of some computations.

Version 2.5: (2004/04/17)

The horizontal shifts that one gets sometimes (e.g. with overlays in presentations) should no more occur provided \nullfont is used inside the picture environment:
\selectfont is automatically used by gastex for node or edge labels.
I found this solution looking in the package pgf (portable graphics format) by Till Tantau.
I also recommend his excellent beamer package for laptop presentations.

Version 2.4: (2003/08/12)

• added the macro \rpnode to allow nodes whose shape is a regular polygon defined by its radius, its number of sides and an angle for the first point.
• added the possibility to have arrows at the tail of edges and lines. For this, the following new parameters are provided:
  ATnb, ATdist, ATangle, ATlength, ATLength
• added the macro \drawpolygon to draw a polygon defined by a list of points.
• added the macro \drawrpolygon to draw a regular polygon defined by its radius, its number of sides and an angle for the first point.
• added the macro \drawline to draw a broken line defined by n points.
• added the parameter "arcradius" in order to have arcs instead of sharp angles for polygons and broken lines.
  The default is arcradius=0 for sharp angles.
• added the macro \drawcurve to draw a continuous curve going through n points.
  
• added the macro \drawccurve to draw a continuous closed curve going through n points.
  

All these macros use gasset parameters and in particular: Nframe, Nfill, linecolor, fillcolor, dash, ... Uncompatibility: The macro \drawline was introduced in version 2.1 to draw a line between two points. The new version allows to draw a line defined by an arbitrary number of points but the syntax is different. It was \drawline(x1,y1,x2,y2) and it is now \drawline(x1,y1)(x2,y2).

Version 2.3: (2002/05/05)

• Added the parameter ELdistC (y or n) allowing to specify whether the distance (ELdist) is between the center (y) of the label and the edge or between the side (n) of the label and the edge. The behaviour of previous gastex versions corresponds to the setting (n) which is therefore the default.
• Added the macro \drawqbpedge allowing to specify the auxiliary point of a quadratic Bézier curve with two angles instead of the absolute coordinates required by \drawqbedge.
• Added parameters sxo, syo, exo, eyo (offsets in \unitlength). They define offsets for the virtual starting and ending points of an edge with respect to the centers of the starting and ending nodes.
• Improved drawing for arrowheads (in gastex.pro). First, the direction of the arrowhead is better for curved edges. Second, when several arrowheads are drawn they follow the curve. Previously, they followed the tangent at the ending point of the edge which was bad for curved edges.

Version 2.2: (2002/01/03)

• Added the options slide and paper to the package.
  In order to get the default settings for slides, use
  \usepackage[slide]{gastex}
  The default settings for papers is obtained with
  \usepackage[paper]{gastex} or \usepackage{gastex}
• Added new option loopCW to define whether loops are in clockwise direction or not.
• Fix a TeX error (Arithmetic overflow) that occurred when using \drawedge(A,B){} with two nodes A and B having the same coordinates.
  Now, in this case, an error message is issued in the log and the macro \drawedge(A,B){} is ignored.

Version 2.1:

• New macros to draw directly circles, rectanges, ovals, lines and bezier curves.
  \drawcircle, \drawrect, \drawoval, \drawline, \drawqbezier, \drawcbezier
  All these macros uses gasset options and in particular:
  Nframe, Nfill, linecolor, fillcolor, dash, AHnb, etc...
• Compatibility mode for pspictpg up to v0.6
• Fix the bug which occured sometimes when using Nw=0,Nh=0.

Version 2.01:

• Fix an error that occured in v2.0 when using Nfill=y without defining previously fillgray or fillcolor.
  The following default setting has been added.
  \gasset{fillgray=0,Nfill=n} % Not filled but black if filled

Remarks

• Version 2.0 of gastex has been completely rewritten and is much more powerful than version 1.0. You need to use a compatible mode if you wish to use old pictures with this new version. See the files gastex.sty and ex-gastex.tex to learn more about this compatibility.
• The perl script GasTeX1to2.pl allows you to translate most gastex 1.0 pictures to gastex 2.0 syntax. Just use this perl script as a filter on your file.
• gastex mainly generates postscript so the pictures cannot be seen with a dvipreviewer. One should use a postscript printer or a postscript previewer (which usually allows also to print on nonpostscript printers).
• I have only tested gastex with dvips.
• If you have problems with colors try adding the option dvips when calling the package color: \usepackage[usenames,dvips]{color}. It may not be the default in all systems.
• In case you need the old version, it is still available here .

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