On 2012-06-09 15:18, pybokeh wrote:
> Maybe workflow may not be the appropriate term. Essentially, when
I want
> to plot something using matplotlib, I find myself having to look up
the api
> docs or examples online because quite frankly, matplotlib's syntax
is very
> hard to remember. I use ipython and use tab browsing, help(),
dir(), etc,
> and that seem to help to some extent. I absolutely love
matplotlib, but
> when I want to put a chart up quickly, matplotlib is just a "hassle"
> depending on what chart you want to create. I do expect this since
> plotting with matplotlib, you are essentially creating a chart
> "programmatically", instead of GUI interface environment. But still, I
> feel like an improvement could still be made in making charts
simpler with
> matplotlib.
Just wanted to mention that I've managed to get a good workflow going
using DreamPie. I haven't seen much talk about DreamPie on here, but
it's really useful for working with matplotlib. Although I haven't
used ipython, I get the impression DreamPie is like a GUI version of
that. It provides a two-window interface sort of like a chat or MUD
client, with a separate editing window where you can enter code, and
an output window where your code and results are displayed.
Most importantly for present purposes, it's matplotlib-aware so you
can use interactive plotting commands and have it "just work" (i.e.,
not hang the program as with IDLE). It also provides name-completion
and docstring tooltips, making it easy to scan the docs for a
particular function to refresh my memory about its arguments.
DreamPie makes it pretty doable to make iterative tweaks to the same
plotting code until I get it into a form that I want, at which point I
can copy and paste it into a file for storage.
I do think there are areas where matplotlib starts to get in its own
way, in that its powerful features obscure the path toward simple
goals. It seems like wrapper libs that provide a simpler interface
(like I guess this Canvas thing you mentioned) could be useful for
getting around that.
--
Brendan Barnwell
"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is
no path, and leave a trail."
--author unknown
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