Tektronix graphics

Programs that plot through the Tektronix 4014 command set (gnuplot’s tek40xx terminal, plotting libraries of that era, and their descendants) draw directly in Ubiquitty. CSI ? 38 h switches the pane into vector mode; ESC ETX switches back.

Tektronix vectors and alpha labels: a cube, globe and sine mesh with storage-tube glow.

What is emulated

• The 4096-point extended addressing, with 3,120 rows visible, and the original 1024-point form.
• Vector, point and incremental plot modes, page erase, alpha text in four sizes, line styles, and the two-column alpha page.
• GIN mode: the crosshair cursor reports its position to the program.
• A bounded display list, so a program that draws forever cannot grow memory without limit.

The look

By default vectors follow the terminal’s theme. [tek] in the configuration chooses custom colours (green phosphor on near-black by default), a bright spot at the writing beam, and glow: an additive bloom under each stroke, so crossing vectors grow brighter the way they did on a storage tube. CSI ? 7400 h and l force the bright pen on or off for one session.

The Metal renderer on macOS and iOS draws Tek graphics in a dedicated pass; the Linux frontend draws them on its raster path.