Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/Nonanti/mathcore/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

MathCore includes a built-in ASCII plotter that renders any single-variable mathematical expression as a text-based chart, directly in your terminal. This is useful for quick visual sanity-checks during development, exploring function behavior, and displaying results in environments where a graphical UI is unavailable — such as CI pipelines, SSH sessions, or embedded debug consoles.

​
MathCore::plot_ascii

pub fn plot_ascii(
    expression: &str,
    var: &str,
    x_min: f64,
    x_max: f64,
    width: usize,
    height: usize,
) -> Result<String, MathError>

​
Parameters

ParameterTypeDescription
expression&strThe mathematical expression to plot, e.g. "sin(x)".
var&strThe name of the x-axis variable used in the expression.
x_minf64The left bound of the x range.
x_maxf64The right bound of the x range.
widthusizeNumber of character columns in the output grid. Controls x-axis resolution.
heightusizeNumber of character rows in the output grid. Controls y-axis resolution.
Returns: Result<String, MathError> — the complete ASCII plot as a multi-line string, ready to be passed to println!. Returns Err if the expression cannot be parsed or if no finite points can be computed in the given range.

​
Basic Example

use mathcore::MathCore;

let plot = MathCore::plot_ascii("sin(x)", "x", -3.14, 3.14, 60, 20).unwrap();
println!("{}", plot);
This renders a sine wave over one full period using a 60-column by 20-row grid.

​
Output Format

The returned string has the following structure:
  1. Header line — shows the expression and the x range: 
    Plot of sin(x) from x=-3.14 to x=3.14
  2. y-range line — the automatically-determined minimum and maximum y values: 
    y range: [-1.00, 1.00]
  3. Blank line — separates the header from the grid.
  4. The plot grid — a rectangular character grid where:
    • | is drawn along the leftmost column as the y-axis.
    • - is drawn along the bottom row as the x-axis.
    • + marks the bottom-left corner where the axes meet.
    • * marks each evaluated point of the function.
Example output (abbreviated): 
Plot of sin(x) from x=-3.14 to x=3.14
y range: [-1.00, 1.00]

|                              *
|                         *       *
|                       *           *
|                      *             *
|                     *               *
|    *               *
|  *   *           *
| *     *         *
|*       *       *
|         *     *
|          *   *
|            *
+------------------------------------------------------------
The y-axis range is computed automatically from the actual evaluated points — you do not need to specify it. The grid maps the minimum y value to the bottom row and the maximum y value to the top row.

​
More Examples

​
Parabola

use mathcore::MathCore;

let plot = MathCore::plot_ascii("x^2", "x", -3.0, 3.0, 50, 15).unwrap();
println!("{}", plot);
A parabola opens upward symmetrically. The vertex (at x=0, y=0) appears at the bottom of the grid, and the two arms curve upward toward the corners.

​
Cosine Wave

use mathcore::MathCore;

let plot = MathCore::plot_ascii("cos(x)", "x", 0.0, 6.28, 60, 20).unwrap();
println!("{}", plot);
With x_min=0 and x_max=6.28 (approximately tau), this plots a full period of the cosine function, starting at its maximum value of 1.

​
Combining with the Demo

The examples/demo.rs file uses plot_ascii with a 40-column, 15-row grid: 
use mathcore::MathCore;

let plot = MathCore::plot_ascii("x^2", "x", -2.0, 2.0, 40, 15).unwrap();
println!("{}", plot);

​
Resolution Tips

Increase width for finer x-axis sampling — MathCore evaluates the function at width + 1 evenly-spaced x values across [x_min, x_max]. A wider grid reveals more horizontal detail.
Increase height for finer y-axis resolution. Each y value is mapped to the nearest row by linearly scaling between y_min and y_max. A taller grid reduces vertical quantisation.
A reasonable starting point for most terminal windows is width=60, height=20. For detailed inspection of a narrow feature (like a sharp peak), zoom in by tightening x_min and x_max and increasing width.

​
Handling Non-Finite Points

plot_ascii evaluates the expression for each x sample and silently skips any point that produces a non-finite result — that is, f64::INFINITY, f64::NEG_INFINITY, or NaN. This means functions with poles or discontinuities plot cleanly without panicking: 
use mathcore::MathCore;

// tan(x) has poles at ±π/2 — those points are simply skipped
let plot = MathCore::plot_ascii("tan(x)", "x", -1.4, 1.4, 60, 20).unwrap();
println!("{}", plot);
If every evaluated point in the range is non-finite, plot_ascii returns Err(MathError::InvalidOperation("No valid points to plot")). Make sure your x range contains at least one finite point for the expression.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us