PIC — A language for typesetting graphics

PIC is a language for specifying pictures so that they can be typeset as an integral part of a document preparation system. The basic objects in PIC are boxes, lines, arrows, circles, ellipses, arcs and splines, which may be placed at positions specified absolutely or in terms of previous objects, and labeled with arbitrary text. The example below illustrates the general capabilities of the language. (Formula Presented.) Most of the effort in designing PIC has gone into making it possible to specify the sizes and positions of objects with minimal use of absolute coordinates. This paper describes PIC, with primary emphasis on those aspects of the language that make it easy to use. The paper was typeset using PIC.