Book Image

Numerical Computing with Python

By : Pratap Dangeti, Allen Yu, Claire Chung, Aldrin Yim, Theodore Petrou
Book Image

Numerical Computing with Python

By: Pratap Dangeti, Allen Yu, Claire Chung, Aldrin Yim, Theodore Petrou

Overview of this book

Data mining, or parsing the data to extract useful insights, is a niche skill that can transform your career as a data scientist Python is a flexible programming language that is equipped with a strong suite of libraries and toolkits, and gives you the perfect platform to sift through your data and mine the insights you seek. This Learning Path is designed to familiarize you with the Python libraries and the underlying statistics that you need to get comfortable with data mining. You will learn how to use Pandas, Python's popular library to analyze different kinds of data, and leverage the power of Matplotlib to generate appealing and impressive visualizations for the insights you have derived. You will also explore different machine learning techniques and statistics that enable you to build powerful predictive models. By the end of this Learning Path, you will have the perfect foundation to take your data mining skills to the next level and set yourself on the path to become a sought-after data science professional. This Learning Path includes content from the following Packt products: • Statistics for Machine Learning by Pratap Dangeti • Matplotlib 2.x By Example by Allen Yu, Claire Chung, Aldrin Yim • Pandas Cookbook by Theodore Petrou
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
Title Page
Contributors
About Packt
Preface
Index

Non-interactive backends


The code for plotting graphs is considered the frontend in Matplotlib terminology. We first mentioned backends in Chapter 6, Hello Plotting World!, when we were talking about output formats. In reality, Matplotlib backends differ much more than just in the support of graphical formats. Backends handle so many things behind the scenes! And that determines the support for plotting capabilities. For example, LaTeX text layout is only supported by AGG, PDF, PGF, and PS backends.

We have been using non-interactive backends so far, which include AGG, Cairo, GDK, PDF, PGF, PS, and SVG. Most of these backends work without extra dependencies, yet Cairo and GDK would require the Cairo graphics library or GIMP Drawing Kit, respectively, to work.

Non-interactive backends can be further classified into two groups--vector and raster. Vector graphics describe images in terms of points, paths, and shapes that are calculated using mathematical formulas. A vector graphic will always...