matplotlib-users Mailing List for matplotlib

Hi --

I'm just starting with matplotlib and scipy on a Mac.  I was able to get some 
plots to work under X (using the gtk+ renderer), but I wanted to avoid that and 
use CocoaAgg (that's the best option for mac, right?)

When using the default renderer, it looks like the window (under X11) was in a 
separate thread and new plots showed up until I cleared.

However, when I use CocoaAgg (and ipython), plot brings up a blank 
metal-looking window, and then the plot I wanted, but ipython blocks until I 
close it.

Is this expected?

I downloaded everything from darwinports, and dropped in the .nibs which seemed 
to be in wrong -- they're XML and it doesn't complain.


What I do:
------------

$ ipython -pylab
Python 2.4.3 (#1, Feb 23 2007, 06:25:26)
Type "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.

IPython 0.7.2 -- An enhanced Interactive Python.
?       -> Introduction to IPython's features.
%magic  -> Information about IPython's 'magic' % functions.
help    -> Python's own help system.
object? -> Details about 'object'. ?object also works, ?? prints more.

   Welcome to pylab, a matplotlib-based Python environment.
   For more information, type 'help(pylab)'.

In [1]: x = arange(-5,5,0.01)

In [2]: y = sin(x)

In [3]: plot(x,y)
<after I close the window>
Out[3]: [<matplotlib.lines.Line2D instance at 0x10c5620>]


$ cat ~/.matplotlib/matplotlibrc
backend: CocoaAgg

Any help appreciated.

Ranjan

Christopher Barker wrote:
[...]
> It is nice to have a really simple plot command. What would it do if we 
> were trying to be fully OO? My key question is whether it would return 
> and axis, a figure or both:
> 
> Fig, ax = plot([1,2,3])
> 
> then:
> 
> ax.xlabel("whatever")
> 
> isn't bad for me.

Sometimes plot creates a figure, sometimes it creates an axes, sometimes 
neither, but it always creates one or more Line2D objects, so that is 
what it returns--a list of lines.  As far as I can see, it *has* to 
return this, or something containing this, so that one can work later 
with these most fundamental objects that it makes.  An alternative would 
be some sort of LineSet object like the ContourSet object returned by 
contour, with lots of extra information, but I don't know that there 
would be any advantage.

Anyway, the point is that your alternatives for plot to return would not 
work well in practice, but what it does return now works fine, both for 
plot() and for ax.plot().

Eric