PyXPlot’s default convention of displaying numbers in a format such as
(2+3i) metres
is well-suited for creating text which is readable by human users, but is less well-suited for creating text which can be copied and pasted into another calculation in another PyXPlot terminal, or for creating text which could be used in a LaTeX text label on a plot. For this reason, the set numerics display command allows the user to choose between three different ways in which numbers can be displayed:
pyxplot> set numerics display natural
pyxplot> print phy_c
299792 km/s
pyxplot> set numerics display typeable
pyxplot> print phy_c
299792*unit(km/s)
pyxplot> set numerics display latex
pyxplot> print phy_c
299792 km/s
The first case is the default way in which PyXPlot displays numbers. The second case produces text which forms a valid algebraic expression which could be pasted into another PyXPlot calculation. The final case produces a string of LaTeX text which could be used as a label on a plot.