CactusPlot

📖 About

CactusPlot is a lightweight XMGRACE-style plotting application. It allows you to create simple, clean, and customizable plots with minimal effort.

This project started as a quick attempt to solve a small problem of mine. I don’t know much Rust (to be honest: close to nothing), and the initial version was generated almost entirely by AI.

What began as a hacky experiment slowly grew into something that started resembling an actual application. That said: the code is probably poorly written, inefficient, and in need of refactoring.

I’m sharing it here in the open because:

• The app works for me, but could be so much better.
• I’d love for others to contribute, improve the code quality, and maybe even turn this into a proper tool.

If you’re experienced in Rust (or just learning and want to practice), this could be a fun project to collaborate on.

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✨ Features

Here are the main things the app currently does:

• Argument parsing (args.rs): Parses command-line options so the app can be run with different modes and inputs.

• Dataset handling (dataset.rs): Loads, manages, and provides access to structured data that powers the application.

• Data editing (data_editor.rs): Provides functionality to manipulate or transform the loaded dataset.

• Application logic (app.rs): Coordinates the major parts of the program — essentially the “core engine.”

• Utilities (utils.rs): Helper functions for common tasks (formatting, validation, etc.).

• Main entry point (main.rs): Wires everything together and launches the app.

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🚧 Current State

• Written mostly by AI, with very little manual Rust experience behind it.
• It works for the original problem I had in mind, but the design is naive.
• No guarantees on efficiency, error handling, or idiomatic Rust style.

Think of this repo as a prototype that needs love from the Rust community.

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🤝 Contributing

If you’re interested in:

• Refactoring messy AI-generated Rust code
• Making this more idiomatic and efficient
• Adding features or improving existing ones
• Writing tests and documentation

… then I would be thrilled to see your pull requests!

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🚀 Getting Started

Clone the repo:

git clone git@github.com:StochasticCactus/CactusPlot.git
cd CactusPlot

Build and run:

cargo run -- [options]

(See args.rs for supported CLI arguments.)

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💻 Installation Guide

macOS & Linux

1. Install Rust

On macOS (with Homebrew):

brew install rustup
rustup-init

On Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

Then restart your terminal and check:

rustc --version
cargo --version

2. Build and install

cargo build --release
cargo install --path .

This places the binary in ~/.cargo/bin/. Ensure that directory is in your PATH so you can run:

cactusplot --help

3. Update

git pull
cargo install --path . --force

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Windows

1. Install Rust

Download and run the official installer: 👉 https://rustup.rs/

During installation, choose "Default installation". Once finished, restart your terminal (PowerShell or Command Prompt) and check:

rustc --version
cargo --version

2. Build and install

Inside the cloned project folder:

cargo build --release
cargo install --path .

The binary will be placed in:

%USERPROFILE%\.cargo\bin\

Make sure this folder is in your PATH. You can then run:

cactusplot --help

3. Update

To update later:

git pull
cargo install --path . --force

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📜 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. You are free to use, modify, and distribute it as long as you include the original license.

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🙏 Thanks

Huge thanks in advance to anyone who wants to help improve this project. What started as a quick hack has the potential to grow into something actually useful — with your help!