.. _python_plotting:
=============================================================
Plotting with Python
=============================================================
.. _pylab:
matplotlib and pylab
--------------------
There are nice tools for making plots of 1d and 2d data (curves, contour
plots, etc.) in the module
`matplotlib `_.
Many of these plot commands are very similar to those in Matlab.
To see some of what's possible (and learn how to do it), visit the
`matplotlib gallery `_.
Clicking on a figure displays the Python commands needed to create it.
The best way to get matplotlib working interactively in a standard Python
shell is to do::
$ python
>>> import pylab
>>> pylab.interactive(True)
*pylab* includes not only *matplotlib* but also *numpy*.
Then you should be able to do::
>>> x = pylab.linspace(-1, 1, 20)
>>> pylab.plot(x, x**2, 'o-')
and see a plot of a parabola appear. You should also be able to use the
buttons at the bottom of the window, e.g click the
magnifying glass and then use the mouse to select a rectangle in the plot to
zoom in.
Alternatively, you could do::
>>> from pylab import *
>>> interactive(True)
With this approach you don't need to start every pylab function name with
pylab, e.g.::
>>> x = linspace(-1, 1, 20)
>>> plot(x, x**2, 'o-')
In these notes we'll generally use module names just so it's clear where
things come from.
If you use the IPython shell, you can do::
$ ipython -pylab
In [1]: x = linspace(-1, 1, 20)
In [2]: plot(x, x**2, 'o-')
The -pylab flag causes everything to be imported from pylab and set up for
interactive plotting.
.. _mayavi:
Mayavi and mlab
---------------
Mayavi is a Python plotting package designed primarily for 3d plots. See:
* `Documentation `_
* `Gallery `_
The easiest way to get Mayavi working is to install the
`Enthought Python Distribution (EPD) `_ since it is
included in EPD (along with NumPy, SciPy, and matplotlib).
.. _visit:
VisIt
-----
VisIt is an open source visualization package being developed at Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory. It is designed for industrial-strength visualization problems
and can deal with very large distributed data sets using MPI.
There is a GUI interface and also a Python interface for scripting.
See:
* `Documentation `_
* `Gallery `_
* `Tutorial `_
.. _paraview:
ParaView
--------
ParaView is another open source package developed originally for work at the
National Labs.
There is a GUI interface and also a Python interface for scripting.
See:
* `Documentation `_
* `Gallery `_