What is Xfig?
Xfig is an open-source vector graphics editor and diagramming tool that runs on Linux and Unix platforms. It is designed for producing figures for inclusion in documents and presentations. Xfig can be used to draw many different types of diagrams like flowcharts, entity-relationship diagrams, network maps, UML diagrams, and more.
Some key features of Xfig include:
- A graphical user interface for interactive drawing and editing of diagrams
- Tools for basic shapes like boxes, circles, lines, arrows, polygons, etc.
- Advanced tools like splines and polygons
- Support for text labels on diagrams
- Object alignment and distribution tools
- Grouping and layering of objects
- Image export to formats like PNG, PDF, PostScript and more
- LaTeX output support for inclusion of figures in LaTeX documents
- Extensibility through a GUI frontend to the Fig scripting language
With its long history and feature set, Xfig has proven useful for diagramming needs in academic and technical writing. Its cross-platform availability and LaTeX support also make it popular among the LaTeX scientific publishing community.