## What is xpicture?

The xpicture package introduces several new graphical instructions, and some enriched versions of the instructions used in the standard picture environment that, among other utilities, will provide the possibility of using different reference systems and a fine control the precise position where the objects are placed in your drawing.
But the most interesting feature of this package is the ability to draw high quality curves such that conic sections, graphs of elementary functions and parametric curves, from LaTeX and using the typical LaTeX style syntax.
 x = (sin t)(ecos t - 2cos 4t + sin5(t/12)) y = (cos t)(ecos t - 2cos 4t + sin5(t/12)) \DIVIDE{1}{12}{\invXII}\MULTIPLY{12}{\numberTWOPI}{\phione} \MULTIPLY{12}{64}{\divisions} \COMPOSITIONfunction{\EXPfunction}{\COSfunction}{\Afunction}\SCALEVARIABLEfunction{4}{\COSfunction}{\Bfunction}\SCALEVARIABLEfunction{\invXII}{\SINfunction}{\cfunction}\POWERfunction{\cfunction}{5}{\Cfunction}\LINEARCOMBINATIONfunction{1}{\Afunction}{-2}{\Bfunction}{\ABfunction}\SUBTRACTfunction{\ABfunction}{\Cfunction}{\ABCfunction}\PRODUCTfunction{\SINfunction}{\ABCfunction}{\Xfunction} % x=(sin t)(exp(cos t)-2 cos 4t + (sin(t/12))^5)\PRODUCTfunction{\COSfunction}{\ABCfunction}{\Yfunction} % y=(cos t)(exp(cos t)-2 cos 4t + (sin(t/12))^5)\PARAMETRICfunction{\Xfunction}{\Yfunction}{\butterfly}\begin{Picture}(-4,-3)(4,4)\PlotParametricFunction[\divisions]\butterfly{0}{\phione} \end{Picture}

The new instructions defined by this package can be classified as follows:
• Reference systems and coordinates:
• Declare and use any reference system (in this context, a reference system is a coordinates origin and two linearly independent vectors).
• Use cartesian or polar coordinates.
• Alternatives or extensions for the standard picture commands:
• Alternatives to the picture environment, compatible with any reference system.
• Enriched versions of \put and \multiput, providing an adequate control of the precise position where objects are composed; this feature is specially useful in the composition of not strictly graphic objects, such as formulas or labels.
• Instructions for drawing straight segments, vectors, polylines, regular polygons and arbitrary polygons (in any direction and using any reference system).
• Instructions for drawing conic sections (circles, ellipses, hyperbolas and parabolas) and conic arcs.
• Instructions to graph functions and parametric curves.