matplotlib is a Python module for plotting, and it is a component of the ScientificPython modules suite. matplotlib allows you to easily prepare professional-grade figures with a comprehensive API to customize every aspect of the figures. In this book, we will cover the different types of figures and how to adjust a figure to suit your needs. The recipes are orthogonal and you will be able to compose your own solutions very quickly.
Chapter 1, First Steps, introduces the basics of working with matplotlib. The basic figure types are introduced with minimal examples.
Chapter 2, Customizing the Color and Styles, covers how to control the color and style of a figure—this includes markers, line thickness, line patterns, and using color maps to color a figure several items.
Chapter 3, Working with Annotations, covers how to annotate a figure—this includes adding an axis legend, arrows, text boxes, and shapes.
Chapter 4, Working with Figures, covers how to prepare a complex figure—this includes compositing several figures, controlling the aspect ratio, axis range, and the coordinate system.
Chapter 5, Working with a File Output, covers output to files, either in bitmap or vector formats. Issues like transparency, resolution, and multiple pages are studied in detail.
Chapter 6, Working with Maps, covers plotting matrix-like data—this includes maps, quiver plots, and stream plots.
Chapter 7, Working with 3D Figures, covers 3D plots—this includes scatter plots, line plots, surface plots, and bar charts.
Chapter 8, User Interface, covers a set of user interface integration solutions, ranging from simple and minimalist to sophisticated.
The examples in this book are written for Matplotlib 1.2 and Python 2.7 or 3.
Most examples rely on NumPy and SciPy. Some examples require SymPy, while some other examples require LaTeX.
The book is intended for readers who have some notions of Python and a science background.
In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles, and an explanation of their meaning.
Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: "We can include other contexts through the use of the include directive."
A block of code is set as follows:
[default] exten => s,1,Dial(Zap/1|30) exten => s,2,Voicemail(u100) exten => s,102,Voicemail(b100) exten => i,1,Voicemail(s0)
When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or items are set in bold:
[default]
exten => s,1,Dial(Zap/1|30)
exten => s,2,Voicemail(u100)
exten => s,102,Voicemail(b100)
exten => i,1,Voicemail(s0)Any command-line input or output is written as follows:
# cp /usr/src/asterisk-addons/configs/cdr_mysql.conf.sample /etc/asterisk/cdr_mysql.conf
New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, in menus or dialog boxes for example, appear in the text like this: "Clicking on the Next button moves you to the next screen".
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