pic

The "pic" command line tool is a powerful utility used to create diagrams and graphs. It was originally developed at Bell Labs in the 1970s by Brian Kernighan and Lorinda Cherry. The name "pic" stands for "picture" and it is primarily used to generate line drawings, flowcharts, and other visual elements for documents. It uses a simple and intuitive language that allows users to define and manipulate graphical elements. Pic files consist of a sequence of commands that describe the structure and layout of the desired diagram. These commands can define shapes, lines, text, and various other visual elements. The "pic" utility can output diagrams in various formats, including PostScript, SVG, and TeX. It has been widely adopted by the Unix and Linux community and is often used in conjunction with the groff typesetting system. Pic is renowned for its ability to generate high-quality diagrams with minimal effort. It is particularly popular among programmers, researchers, and technical writers for creating illustrations in technical documentation.