matplotlib-devel Mailing List for matplotlib

Hello,

I recently updated matplotlib using macports, and it broke my plotting
functions which plot date-value plots.

The reason was that my locale.getpreferredencoding() returned empty string
in
cbook.py.

changing the code to the following solved my problem

# On some systems, locale.getpreferredencoding returns None,
# which can break unicode; and the sage project reports that
# some systems have incorrect locale specifications, e.g.,
# an encoding instead of a valid locale name.

try:
    preferredencoding = locale.getpreferredencoding()
    if preferredencoding.strip() == '':
        raise ValueError
except ValueError:
    preferredencoding = None
except ImportError:
    preferredencoding = None

sorry for disturbing you
--
Huziy Oleksandr

On 06/13/2010 07:39 AM, Daniel Welling wrote:
> Something that I have noticed:
> When using TkAgg (python 2.5, OSX/ppc, mpl 99.0), isinteractive()
> switches from False to True after the first call to show() (see below).
> When I switch back ends, e.g. to Qt4, this change does not happen until
> I do it myself through ion().  This was reproduceable on my intel mac,
> but since updating to 99.1.1 (from source rather than Fink), I've broken
> the Tk backend.  Hope this helps; it may be a naive observation.

Not naive at all--this is one of the odd, and I think very undesirable, 
aspects of present TkAgg show() behavior.  It is eliminated by my 
proposed change.

Eric

>
> In [2]: import matplotlib as mpl
>
> In [3]: mpl.use('TkAgg')
>
> In [4]: import pylab as plt
>
> In [5]: plt.isinteractive()
> Out[5]: False
>
> In [6]: plt.plot([0,1])
> Out[6]: [<matplotlib.lines.Line2D object at 0x1dee1f0>]
>
> In [7]: plt.show()
>
> In [8]: plt.isinteractive()
> Out[8]: True
>
>
> On Sun, Jun 13, 2010 at 9:36 AM, Michiel de Hoon <mjl...@ya...
> <mailto:mjl...@ya...>> wrote:
>
>     --- On Fri, 6/11/10, Eric Firing <ef...@ha...
>     <mailto:ef...@ha...>> wrote:
>      > I agree that the difference in blocking behavior is still a
>      > problem. I think that what we should do for now, *if* multiple
>      > calls to show work on the Mac (which I can't easily test), is
>      > change the documentation to correspond to the present situation,
>      > highlighting the real problem of different blocking behavior.
>
>     I now tried the remaining backends on Mac OS X. With the Qt4Agg and
>     WxAgg backends, show() can be called repeatedly and blocks each
>     time. The FltkAgg backend shows the same behavior as Tkagg. The
>     implementation of show() in the FltkAgg backend uses the same
>     _needmain as TkAgg. If I remove the _needmain stuff, then show() can
>     be called multiple times with FltkAgg, blocking each time.
>
>     --Michiel.
>
>
>
>
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Something that I have noticed:
When using TkAgg (python 2.5, OSX/ppc, mpl 99.0), isinteractive() switches
from False to True after the first call to show() (see below).  When I
switch back ends, e.g. to Qt4, this change does not happen until I do it
myself through ion().  This was reproduceable on my intel mac, but since
updating to 99.1.1 (from source rather than Fink), I've broken the Tk
backend.  Hope this helps; it may be a naive observation.

In [2]: import matplotlib as mpl

In [3]: mpl.use('TkAgg')

In [4]: import pylab as plt

In [5]: plt.isinteractive()
Out[5]: False

In [6]: plt.plot([0,1])
Out[6]: [<matplotlib.lines.Line2D object at 0x1dee1f0>]

In [7]: plt.show()

In [8]: plt.isinteractive()
Out[8]: True


On Sun, Jun 13, 2010 at 9:36 AM, Michiel de Hoon <mjl...@ya...>wrote:

> --- On Fri, 6/11/10, Eric Firing <ef...@ha...> wrote:
> > I agree that the difference in blocking behavior is still a
> > problem. I think that what we should do for now, *if* multiple
> > calls to show work on the Mac (which I can't easily test), is
> > change the documentation to correspond to the present situation,
> > highlighting the real problem of different blocking behavior.
>
> I now tried the remaining backends on Mac OS X. With the Qt4Agg and WxAgg
> backends, show() can be called repeatedly and blocks each time. The FltkAgg
> backend shows the same behavior as Tkagg. The implementation of show() in
> the FltkAgg backend uses the same _needmain as TkAgg. If I remove the
> _needmain stuff, then show() can be called multiple times with FltkAgg,
> blocking each time.
>
> --Michiel.
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ThinkGeek and WIRED's GeekDad team up for the Ultimate
> GeekDad Father's Day Giveaway. ONE MASSIVE PRIZE to the
> lucky parental unit.  See the prize list and enter to win:
> http://p.sf.net/sfu/thinkgeek-promo
> _______________________________________________
> Matplotlib-devel mailing list
> Mat...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/matplotlib-devel
>

--- On Fri, 6/11/10, Eric Firing <ef...@ha...> wrote:
> I agree that the difference in blocking behavior is still a
> problem. I think that what we should do for now, *if* multiple
> calls to show work on the Mac (which I can't easily test), is
> change the documentation to correspond to the present situation, 
> highlighting the real problem of different blocking behavior.

I now tried the remaining backends on Mac OS X. With the Qt4Agg and WxAgg backends, show() can be called repeatedly and blocks each time. The FltkAgg backend shows the same behavior as Tkagg. The implementation of show() in the FltkAgg backend uses the same _needmain as TkAgg. If I remove the _needmain stuff, then show() can be called multiple times with FltkAgg, blocking each time.

--Michiel.


      

On 06/12/2010 08:12 PM, Michiel de Hoon wrote:
> So on Linux, show(block=True) blocks but show(block=False) doesn't? If matplotlib is in interactive mode, does show(block=True) still block? Because if matplotlib is in interactive mode, then the call to matplotlib.interactive(True) shouldn't make a difference, and I would expect show(block=True) and show(block=False) to behave the same way.
>

Except that with block=False there is that _needmain flag.  And as you 
noted earlier, it blocks the first time, but not after that.  Somehow, I 
had previously missed the fact that it did block on the first call, so I 
did not realize that the tkagg behavior was identical on linux and mac, 
as one would expect.

Eric

> --Michiel.
>
> --- On Sat, 6/12/10, Eric Firing<ef...@ha...>  wrote:
>
>> From: Eric Firing<ef...@ha...>
>> Subject: Re: [matplotlib-devel] repeated calls to show() are now OK?
>> To: "Michiel de Hoon"<mjl...@ya...>
>> Cc: "John Hunter"<jd...@gm...>, "matplotlib development list"<mat...@li...>
>> Date: Saturday, June 12, 2010, 11:32 PM
>> On 06/12/2010 05:37 AM, Michiel de
>> Hoon wrote:
>>> --- On Sat, 6/12/10, Eric Firing<ef...@ha...>
>> wrote:
>>>>> With TkAgg on Mac OS X, the first call to
>> show()
>>>>> blocks, and returns when all figures are
>> closed by the user.
>>>>> However, subsequent calls to show() return
>> immediately.
>>>>
>>>> This is anomalous, then; on linux, no call to show
>> blocks
>>>> with tkagg.
>>>> Puzzling difference.
>>>
>>> If I remove the _needmain stuff in the show() function
>> in the TkAgg backend, then each call to show() blocks on Mac
>> OS X with the TkAgg backend, which (in my understanding) is
>> the desired behavior. I don't know the purpose of _needmain
>> in the show() function, other than to disallow multiple
>> calls to show().
>>>
>>> --Michiel.
>>>
>>
>> I committed a change to backend_tkagg that leaves the show
>> functionality exactly as it is at present, but that
>> facilitates testing of a simpler version that I think is
>> more consistent with the other backends and with what we
>> want.  (I have appended the whole function to this
>> message--see below for additional explanation.)
>>
>> I have also done some more exploration and testing, and
>> here are my tentative conclusions:
>>
>> 1) We should aim for a show() that blocks until all windows
>> are closed, on all backends, and in all environments.
>> I think this is clearly something that many users would
>> like; it has reasonable use cases; and it is simple,
>> consistent, and easy to explain.
>>
>> 2) The big problem is the "in all environments" part of
>> that statement.  We probably can't achieve the goal,
>> but I suspect that over the long term we can approach it,
>> and the result will be "good enough".
>>
>> 3) As a step in that direction, I would like to see enough
>> testing of Tk with show(block=True) so that, if it works, we
>> can transition towards that behavior as the default,
>> deprecate the old behavior, and eventually eliminate
>> it.  Presently, TkAgg is most anomalous among the major
>> backends.
>>
>> 4) Leaving the documentation (all in the FAQ) with its
>> caution against anything but a single show() at the end of a
>> script is fine for 1.0; supporting multiple calls to a
>> blocking show under mildly restrictive conditions is a
>> reasonable goal for a subsequent release.
>>
>> Eric
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------
>> def show(block=False):
>>      """
>>      Show all figures.
>>
>>      Temporary, experimental kwarg *block*
>> defaults to False to
>>      provide the behavior present throughout mpl
>> history to date:
>>      interactive mode is forced on, and show does
>> not block.
>>
>>      Set *block* to True to test the proposed new
>> behavior,
>>      consistent with other backends, in which show
>> does not affect
>>      interactive mode, and always blocks until all
>> figures are closed.
>>      In addition, the rcParam['tk.pythoninspect']
>> is ignored.
>>
>>      Use this kwarg only for testing; other
>> backends do not accept
>>      a kwarg to show, and might never do so.
>>      """
>>      for manager in Gcf.get_all_fig_managers():
>>          manager.show()
>>      if block:
>>          # proposed new behavior; seems
>> to make this backend consistent
>>          # with others, with no
>> drawbacks identified yet.
>>          Tk.mainloop()
>>      else:
>>          # long-time behavior:
>> non-blocking, forces interactive mode
>>          import matplotlib
>>          matplotlib.interactive(True)
>>          if
>> rcParams['tk.pythoninspect']:
>>
>> os.environ['PYTHONINSPECT'] = '1'
>>          if show._needmain:
>>              Tk.mainloop()
>>              show._needmain =
>> False
>>
>> show._needmain = True   # This can go away
>> if we eliminate block=False option.
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>

So on Linux, show(block=True) blocks but show(block=False) doesn't? If matplotlib is in interactive mode, does show(block=True) still block? Because if matplotlib is in interactive mode, then the call to matplotlib.interactive(True) shouldn't make a difference, and I would expect show(block=True) and show(block=False) to behave the same way.

--Michiel.

--- On Sat, 6/12/10, Eric Firing <ef...@ha...> wrote:

> From: Eric Firing <ef...@ha...>
> Subject: Re: [matplotlib-devel] repeated calls to show() are now OK?
> To: "Michiel de Hoon" <mjl...@ya...>
> Cc: "John Hunter" <jd...@gm...>, "matplotlib development list" <mat...@li...>
> Date: Saturday, June 12, 2010, 11:32 PM
> On 06/12/2010 05:37 AM, Michiel de
> Hoon wrote:
> > --- On Sat, 6/12/10, Eric Firing<ef...@ha...> 
> wrote:
> >>> With TkAgg on Mac OS X, the first call to
> show()
> >>> blocks, and returns when all figures are
> closed by the user.
> >>> However, subsequent calls to show() return
> immediately.
> >> 
> >> This is anomalous, then; on linux, no call to show
> blocks
> >> with tkagg.
> >> Puzzling difference.
> > 
> > If I remove the _needmain stuff in the show() function
> in the TkAgg backend, then each call to show() blocks on Mac
> OS X with the TkAgg backend, which (in my understanding) is
> the desired behavior. I don't know the purpose of _needmain
> in the show() function, other than to disallow multiple
> calls to show().
> > 
> > --Michiel.
> > 
> 
> I committed a change to backend_tkagg that leaves the show
> functionality exactly as it is at present, but that
> facilitates testing of a simpler version that I think is
> more consistent with the other backends and with what we
> want.  (I have appended the whole function to this
> message--see below for additional explanation.)
> 
> I have also done some more exploration and testing, and
> here are my tentative conclusions:
> 
> 1) We should aim for a show() that blocks until all windows
> are closed, on all backends, and in all environments. 
> I think this is clearly something that many users would
> like; it has reasonable use cases; and it is simple,
> consistent, and easy to explain.
> 
> 2) The big problem is the "in all environments" part of
> that statement.  We probably can't achieve the goal,
> but I suspect that over the long term we can approach it,
> and the result will be "good enough".
> 
> 3) As a step in that direction, I would like to see enough
> testing of Tk with show(block=True) so that, if it works, we
> can transition towards that behavior as the default,
> deprecate the old behavior, and eventually eliminate
> it.  Presently, TkAgg is most anomalous among the major
> backends.
> 
> 4) Leaving the documentation (all in the FAQ) with its
> caution against anything but a single show() at the end of a
> script is fine for 1.0; supporting multiple calls to a
> blocking show under mildly restrictive conditions is a
> reasonable goal for a subsequent release.
> 
> Eric
> 
> ------------------------------------------------
> def show(block=False):
>     """
>     Show all figures.
> 
>     Temporary, experimental kwarg *block*
> defaults to False to
>     provide the behavior present throughout mpl
> history to date:
>     interactive mode is forced on, and show does
> not block.
> 
>     Set *block* to True to test the proposed new
> behavior,
>     consistent with other backends, in which show
> does not affect
>     interactive mode, and always blocks until all
> figures are closed.
>     In addition, the rcParam['tk.pythoninspect']
> is ignored.
> 
>     Use this kwarg only for testing; other
> backends do not accept
>     a kwarg to show, and might never do so.
>     """
>     for manager in Gcf.get_all_fig_managers():
>         manager.show()
>     if block:
>         # proposed new behavior; seems
> to make this backend consistent
>         # with others, with no
> drawbacks identified yet.
>         Tk.mainloop()
>     else:
>         # long-time behavior:
> non-blocking, forces interactive mode
>         import matplotlib
>         matplotlib.interactive(True)
>         if
> rcParams['tk.pythoninspect']:
>            
> os.environ['PYTHONINSPECT'] = '1'
>         if show._needmain:
>             Tk.mainloop()
>             show._needmain =
> False
> 
> show._needmain = True   # This can go away
> if we eliminate block=False option.
> 
> 
> 


      

On 06/12/2010 05:37 AM, Michiel de Hoon wrote:
> --- On Sat, 6/12/10, Eric Firing<ef...@ha...>  wrote:
>>> With TkAgg on Mac OS X, the first call to show()
>>> blocks, and returns when all figures are closed by the user.
>>> However, subsequent calls to show() return immediately.
>>
>> This is anomalous, then; on linux, no call to show blocks
>> with tkagg.
>> Puzzling difference.
>
> If I remove the _needmain stuff in the show() function in the TkAgg backend, then each call to show() blocks on Mac OS X with the TkAgg backend, which (in my understanding) is the desired behavior. I don't know the purpose of _needmain in the show() function, other than to disallow multiple calls to show().
>
> --Michiel.
>

I committed a change to backend_tkagg that leaves the show functionality 
exactly as it is at present, but that facilitates testing of a simpler 
version that I think is more consistent with the other backends and with 
what we want.  (I have appended the whole function to this message--see 
below for additional explanation.)

I have also done some more exploration and testing, and here are my 
tentative conclusions:

1) We should aim for a show() that blocks until all windows are closed, 
on all backends, and in all environments.  I think this is clearly 
something that many users would like; it has reasonable use cases; and 
it is simple, consistent, and easy to explain.

2) The big problem is the "in all environments" part of that statement. 
  We probably can't achieve the goal, but I suspect that over the long 
term we can approach it, and the result will be "good enough".

3) As a step in that direction, I would like to see enough testing of Tk 
with show(block=True) so that, if it works, we can transition towards 
that behavior as the default, deprecate the old behavior, and eventually 
eliminate it.  Presently, TkAgg is most anomalous among the major backends.

4) Leaving the documentation (all in the FAQ) with its caution against 
anything but a single show() at the end of a script is fine for 1.0; 
supporting multiple calls to a blocking show under mildly restrictive 
conditions is a reasonable goal for a subsequent release.

Eric

------------------------------------------------
def show(block=False):
     """
     Show all figures.

     Temporary, experimental kwarg *block* defaults to False to
     provide the behavior present throughout mpl history to date:
     interactive mode is forced on, and show does not block.

     Set *block* to True to test the proposed new behavior,
     consistent with other backends, in which show does not affect
     interactive mode, and always blocks until all figures are closed.
     In addition, the rcParam['tk.pythoninspect'] is ignored.

     Use this kwarg only for testing; other backends do not accept
     a kwarg to show, and might never do so.
     """
     for manager in Gcf.get_all_fig_managers():
         manager.show()
     if block:
         # proposed new behavior; seems to make this backend consistent
         # with others, with no drawbacks identified yet.
         Tk.mainloop()
     else:
         # long-time behavior: non-blocking, forces interactive mode
         import matplotlib
         matplotlib.interactive(True)
         if rcParams['tk.pythoninspect']:
             os.environ['PYTHONINSPECT'] = '1'
         if show._needmain:
             Tk.mainloop()
             show._needmain = False

show._needmain = True   # This can go away if we eliminate block=False 
option.