R help - Aug 2012 - Origin of coordinate system

Dear R-community,

In graphical representations of findings concerning bodies of standing
water (lakes e.g.) in x-y-plots you often make use of a somewhat
different definition of coordinates in a cartesian system:
the origin is top-left, the x-axis (depth of the water body) from top
to bottom and the f(x)-axis from left to right, so you can project the
graphical representation of data in your imagination into the lake.

I wasn't able to find out if this is possible in R-plots of x-y-data.
I can treat the values, which are the x-values  as y-values and vice
versa. In simple plots that gives what I want (with the direction of
the vertical axis from top to down with e.g. ylim = c(60,0). But I am
not content with this. y is f(x) and not the other way round! I think,
when I start with error bars or similar, I will get in trouble.
Therefore my simple question: can I define a coordinate system with
(0,0) in the upper left and the x- and y-axis as I described?

Thanks for your answers - Richard

-- 
Richard M?ller . Am Spring 9 . D-58802 Balve
www.oeko-sorpe.de

See ?par etc

Setting ylim  sets the bottom and top of the plot respectively, so
plot(1:10, ylim=c(11,0), xlim=c(0,11), ylab='depth')

has 0,0 at top left and an inverted y-axis.

S Ellison
> -----Original Message-----
> From: r-help-bounces at r-project.org 
> [mailto:r-help-bounces at r-project.org] On Behalf Of Richard M?ller
> Sent: 23 August 2012 07:20
> To: r-help at r-project.org
> Subject: [R] Origin of coordinate system
> 
> Dear R-community,
> 
> In graphical representations of findings concerning bodies of 
> standing water (lakes e.g.) in x-y-plots you often make use 
> of a somewhat different definition of coordinates in a 
> cartesian system:
> the origin is top-left, the x-axis (depth of the water body) 
> from top to bottom and the f(x)-axis from left to right, so 
> you can project the graphical representation of data in your 
> imagination into the lake.
> 
> I wasn't able to find out if this is possible in R-plots of x-y-data.
> I can treat the values, which are the x-values  as y-values 
> and vice versa. In simple plots that gives what I want (with 
> the direction of the vertical axis from top to down with e.g. 
> ylim = c(60,0). But I am not content with this. y is f(x) and 
> not the other way round! I think, when I start with error 
> bars or similar, I will get in trouble.
> Therefore my simple question: can I define a coordinate system with
> (0,0) in the upper left and the x- and y-axis as I described?
> 
> Thanks for your answers - Richard
> 
> --
> Richard M?ller . Am Spring 9 . D-58802 Balve www.oeko-sorpe.de
> 
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