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Apache Parquet VS GnuPlot

Compare Apache Parquet VS GnuPlot and see what are their differences

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Apache Parquet logo Apache Parquet

Apache Parquet is a columnar storage format available to any project in the Hadoop ecosystem.

GnuPlot logo GnuPlot

Gnuplot is a portable command-line driven interactive data and function plotting utility.
  • Apache Parquet Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-17
  • GnuPlot Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-13

Apache Parquet features and specs

  • Columnar Storage
    Apache Parquet uses columnar storage, which allows for efficient retrieval of only the data you need, reducing I/O and improving query performance on large datasets.
  • Compression
    Parquet files support efficient compression and encoding schemes, resulting in significant storage savings and less data to transfer over the network.
  • Compatibility
    It is compatible with the Hadoop ecosystem, including tools like Apache Spark, Hive, and Impala, making it versatile for big data processing.
  • Schema Evolution
    Parquet supports schema evolution, allowing changes to the schema without breaking existing data, which helps in maintaining long-lived data pipelines.
  • Efficient Read Performance for Aggregations
    Due to its columnar layout, Parquet is highly efficient for processing queries that aggregate data across columns, such as SUM and AVERAGE.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Parquet

  • Write Performance
    Writing data to Parquet can be slower compared to row-based formats, particularly for small inserts or updates, due to the overhead of encoding and compression.
  • Complexity in File Management
    Managing and partitioning Parquet files to optimize performance can become complex, particularly as datasets grow in size and complexity.
  • Not Ideal for All Workloads
    Workloads that require frequent row-level updates or involve small queries might be less efficient with Parquet due to its columnar nature.
  • Learning Curve
    The need to understand the nuances of columnar storage, encoding, and compression can pose a learning curve for teams new to Parquet.

GnuPlot features and specs

  • Highly Customizable
    GnuPlot offers extensive customization options for creating plots, allowing users to tweak almost every aspect of the graph, including colors, labels, line styles, and more.
  • Scriptable
    GnuPlot can be driven by scripts, making it convenient for automating complex plots and integrating with other software workflows.
  • Wide Range of Output Formats
    It supports many output formats such as PNG, PDF, SVG, and EPS, making it easy to generate graphics for different purposes like presentations, publications, and web content.
  • Cross-Platform
    GnuPlot runs on multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, ensuring that it can be used in diverse computing environments.
  • Complex Plotting Capabilities
    GnuPlot supports a wide variety of plots, including 2D and 3D plots, histograms, heatmaps, and more, which caters to the needs of advanced visualization requirements.
  • Performance
    GnuPlot is efficient and can handle large datasets with ease, offering fast rendering times which is crucial when dealing with complex visualizations.
  • Free and Open Source
    Being free and open-source software, GnuPlot is accessible to everyone, and users can modify the source code to suit their needs.

Possible disadvantages of GnuPlot

  • Steep Learning Curve
    GnuPlot has a complex syntax and a steep learning curve, especially for beginners who may find it difficult to get started without substantial effort.
  • Limited GUI
    GnuPlot lacks a full-featured graphical user interface (GUI), making it less user-friendly for those who prefer point-and-click interactions over scripting.
  • Documentation
    While comprehensive, the documentation can be overwhelming and difficult to navigate for new users trying to find specific information quickly.
  • Date Handling
    Handling and formatting dates can be cumbersome in GnuPlot, requiring more manual setup compared to other dedicated plotting tools.
  • Interactive Features
    GnuPlot's interactive plotting capabilities are limited compared to other modern plotting tools that offer more dynamic and real-time interactivity.
  • Integration
    Integration with some modern programming environments and languages may not be as seamless as with other plotting libraries specifically designed for those ecosystems (e.g., Matplotlib in Python).

Analysis of GnuPlot

Overall verdict

  • Gnuplot is generally considered to be a good choice for those looking for a reliable and flexible plotting tool, especially if the users need robust scriptability or work across different operating systems.

Why this product is good

  • Gnuplot is a powerful, portable, and multi-platform tool capable of producing high-quality 2D and 3D plots. It supports numerous output formats and can be used interactively or in scripts. Additionally, it has a large support community and extensive documentation, making it accessible for both beginners and advanced users.

Recommended for

  • Scientists and engineers who need to visualize data across diverse platforms.
  • Users comfortable working with command-line interfaces.
  • Individuals or teams needing to generate plots through automated scripts.
  • Those looking for a free and open-source alternative to other graphing tools.

Apache Parquet videos

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GnuPlot videos

Gnuplot Introduction

More videos:

  • Review - DTrace Latency Visualization in gnuplot
  • Review - Basics of Gnuplot - Make your plot look Good

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Parquet and GnuPlot)
Databases
100 100%
0% 0
Technical Computing
0 0%
100% 100
Big Data
100 100%
0% 0
Numerical Computation
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Apache Parquet should be more popular than GnuPlot. It has been mentiond 31 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Parquet mentions (31)

  • Can you build observability ingestion on S3 alone โ€” no Kafka, no disks, no coordination layer?
    Apache Iceberg fits these requirements well. Iceberg stores data as immutable Apache Parquet files and adds them through atomic commits, so readers always see a consistent snapshot. A separate metadata layer prunes files by their statistics before the data itself is ever read, and those statistics can be extended to match an observability filtering profile. - Source: dev.to / 26 days ago
  • Zeroserve: A zero-config web server you can script with eBPF
    Depends on the domain. There's a bunch of sciences using large datasets served up efficiently using static file formats, e.g., https://zarr.dev/ and https://parquet.apache.org/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • What Are Table Formats and Why Were They Needed?
    The data files themselves are still standard Parquet or ORC. The table format adds a metadata layer on top that gives those files the properties of a database table. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • So, you know what? I just wasted 3 months of my life
    The dataset is huge - in parquet conversion - it is total 9gb. And in raw PNG image nested folders - it is 67 gigabytes. Huge... - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Fix Slow Query: A Developer's Guide to Data Warehouse Performance
    The solution is to standardize on columnar formats like Apache Parquet. Parquet stores data in columns, not rows, which immediately enables column pruning. If a query is SELECT avg(price) FROM sales, the engine reads only the price column and ignores all others. This can reduce storage footprints by up to 75% compared to raw formats and is a cornerstone of modern analytics performance. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
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GnuPlot mentions (5)

  • Question about Project Management
    To some extent it extends the concept of tasks which only can be reasonably executed after the completion of other ones (though results of branches eventually may join each other) and offers an additional assisting birds' eye visual of projects. So far, I'm aware about the documentation on worg interfacing org-taskjuggler and taskjuggler, as well as a video tutorial interfacing gnuplot instead. Source: about 3 years ago
  • How do I make a transparent background on .ps or .eps file imported to groff
    Gnuplot is a program to plot diagrams. The Commands issued to use it don't change regardless if it is used in Linux/Windows/MacOS and it comes with less dependencies than a Spread sheet, or a statistics program. This is why I started to Become comfortable with it, and venture out some of its features. Here, "conditional plot" referred to "the diagram only displays a Thing/uses a pixel if the value in the table... Source: over 3 years ago
  • Drawing graphs and diagrams
    Or, does drawing diagrams refers to plotting data, but neither using matplotlib, nor gnuplot (export to .svg, .pdf, .png; pstricks, tikz to mention a few options)? Source: over 3 years ago
  • Are specific softwares avialable that are suitable for converting different diagrams, graphs and mindmaps to latex codes?
    There may the occasion you actually need the data from a publication, and want to plot them altogether with data newly collected data in one diagram in common. An overlay, though possible, can become tricky (scaling, centering, alignment, etc.) and plotting all data in a diagram generated from scratch (gnuplot/octave, matplotlib, Origin, ...) exported as an illustration in the usual formats (.pdf/.png), or... Source: over 3 years ago
  • Introducing Graphs
    Have you looked at the graphing capabilities of Octave or Gnuplot? Gnuplot in particular has a lot of options, and a GUI for those who want it. Source: over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Parquet and GnuPlot, you can also consider the following products

Apache Spark - Apache Spark is an engine for big data processing, with built-in modules for streaming, SQL, machine learning and graph processing.

Matplotlib - matplotlib is a python 2D plotting library which produces publication quality figures in a variety...

Apache Arrow - Apache Arrow is a cross-language development platform for in-memory data.

GeoGebra CAS Calculator - Free online algebra calculator from GeoGebra: solve equations, expand and factor expressions, find derivatives and integrals

Amazon S3 - Amazon S3 is an object storage where users can store data from their business on a safe, cloud-based platform. Amazon S3 operates in 54 availability zones within 18 graphic regions and 1 local region.

GeoGebra - GeoGebra is free and multi-platform dynamic mathematics software for learning and teaching.