i've found data_hacks[^0] to be a useful substitute for interactive use. e.g.

  $ for x in {0..999}
  > do echo $((RANDOM%5))
  > done | bar_chart.py -np
  # each * represents a count of 8. total 1000
  0 [   193] ************************ (19.30%)
  1 [   200] ************************* (20.00%)
  2 [   209] ************************** (20.90%)
  3 [   193] ************************ (19.30%)
  4 [   205] ************************* (20.50%)
  $

[^0]: https://github.com/bitly/data_hacks