Preface

In just over a decade, matplotlib has grown to offer the Python scientific computing community a world-class plotting and visualization library. When combined with related projects, such as Jupyter, NumPy, SciPy, and SymPy, matplotlib competes head-to-head with commercial software, which is far more established in the industry. Furthermore, the growth experienced by this open source software project is reflected again and again by individuals around the world, who make their way through the thorny wilds that face the newcomer and who develop into strong intermediate users with the potential to be very productive.

In essence, Mastering matplotlib is a very practical book. Yet every chapter was written considering this learning process, as well as a larger view of the same. It is not just the raw knowledge that defines how far developers progress in their goal. It is also the ability of motivated individuals to apply meta-levels of analysis to the problem and the obstacles that must be surmounted. Implicit in the examples that are provided in each chapter are multiple levels of analysis, which are integral to the mastery of the subject matter. These levels of analysis involve the processes of defining the problem, anticipating potential solutions, evaluating approaches without losing focus, and enriching your experience with a wider range of useful projects.

Finding resources that facilitate developers in their journey towards advanced knowledge and beyond can be difficult. This is not due to the lack of materials. Rather, it is because of the complex interaction of learning styles, continually improving codebases with strong legacies, and the very flexible nature of the Python programming language itself. The matplotlib developers who aspire to attain an advanced level, must tackle all of this and more. This book aims to be a guide for those in search of such mastery.