# How to properly draw a histogram?

Surely it is an easy problem but I can't find a solution. Imagine you want to simulate a Gaussian distribution of frequencies around a mean value with a certain spread. It is an easy task to write the following code

\documentclass[tikz,border=5pt]{standalone}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}[scale=1]
\pgfmathsetseed{431}%
\pgfmathsetmacro{\mu}{0}
\pgfmathsetmacro{\sigma}{1}

\fill[red,opacity=.5,domain=-3:3,variable=\x,smooth] plot ({\x},{(10/sqrt(2*pi)*\sigma)*exp(-((\x-\mu)^2)/(2*\sigma^2))});

\foreach \k in {-3,-2.9,...,3}
{
\pgfmathsetmacro{\y}{(10/sqrt(2*pi)*\sigma)*exp(-((\k-     \mu)^2)/(2*\sigma^2))}
\draw[xshift=-1.5pt](\k,0)rectangle(\k+1/10,\y+rand/10);
}
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}


But if instead one want to draw the histogram with a continue line following only the top border, what would be the code?

• Could you please explain your question better, perhaps by adding a sketch of what you want to achieve? – user121799 Nov 16 '18 at 13:45

If I understood your question correctly, you can do this with a "const plot" in pgfplots. (It's not really a histogram here; it's an analytical step function.)

\documentclass[tikz,border=5pt]{standalone}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
\pgfmathsetmacro{\mu}{0}
\pgfmathsetmacro{\sigma}{1}
\begin{axis}