Development of a Maple Macro Package Suitable for Drawing Fine TEX-Pictures

The authors have developed a Maple macro package: KETpic which generates ${\rm L\kern-.36em\raise.3ex\hbox{\sc a}\kern-.15em T\kern-.1667em\lower.7ex\hbox{E}\kern-.125emX}$ source codes for clear drawings. KETpic enables us to draw every kind of complicated figure easily. Users are simply required to command Maple, with KETpic loaded, to plot graphs, to create ${\rm L\kern-.36em\raise.3ex\hbox{\sc a}\kern-.15em T\kern-.1667em\lower.7ex\hbox{E}\kern-.125emX}$ source codes by KETpic commands, and to embed them into ${\rm L\kern-.36em\raise.3ex\hbox{\sc a}\kern-.15em T\kern-.1667em\lower.7ex\hbox{E}\kern-.125emX}$ source files. Desired figures are obtained by the usual ${\rm L\kern-.36em\raise.3ex\hbox{\sc a}\kern-.15em T\kern-.1667em\lower.7ex\hbox{E}\kern-.125emX}$ compilation. Two versions of KETpic for Macintosh and Windows are provided, both of which are available for Linux users. Figures finally obtained, either on a PC display or on printed matter, are clear and possess the highest accuracy. KETpic does not require an expensive printer. Carefully prepared figures are significantly advantageous for mathematical education because they facilitate students’ understanding of difficult mathematical notions. In this paper, we describe the advantages of KETpic with typical examples.