Python Data Science Handbook, 2nd Edition

Part IV. Visualization with Matplotlib

We’ll now take an in-depth look at the Matplotlib package for visualization in Python. Matplotlib is a multiplatform data visualization library built on NumPy arrays and designed to work with the broader SciPy stack. It was conceived by John Hunter in 2002, originally as a patch to IPython for enabling interactive MATLAB-style plotting via gnuplot from the IPython command line. IPython’s creator, Fernando Perez, was at the time scrambling to finish his PhD, and let John know he wouldn’t have time to review the patch for several months. John took this as a cue to set out on his own, and the Matplotlib package was born, with version 0.1 released in 2003. It received an early boost when it was adopted as the plotting package of choice of the Space Telescope Science Institute (the folks behind the Hubble Telescope), which financially supported Matplotlib’s development and greatly expanded its capabilities.

One of Matplotlib’s most important features is its ability to play well with many operating systems and graphics backends. Matplotlib supports dozens of backends and output types, which means you can count on it to work regardless of which operating system you are using or which output format you desire. This cross-platform, everything-to-everyone approach has been one of the great strengths of Matplotlib. It has led to a large user base, which in turn has led to an active developer base and Matplotlib’s powerful tools and ubiquity within the ...