DISLIN or gnuplot.py

[John Hunter]

>>>>> "Richard" == Richard  <none at pacbell.net> writes:

    Richard> I am going to need to plot some data and formula results
    Richard> from Python.  A few years ago I used gnuplot (not from
    Richard> Python) and was wondering which Python plotting module I
    Richard> should use (learn)?

    Richard> I have seen DISLIN mentioned on "onlamp.com" and see that
    Richard> gnuplot has a python module wrapper.

    Richard> Any suggestions on Python plotting modules? (DISLIN or
    Richard> gnuplot.py or ????)

I suggest looking at matplotlib.  Although it is not as mature as
DISLIN and gnuplot, it is progressing rapidly and supports most 2D
plotting needs, with the remaining gaps closing quickly (see
http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/screenshots.html for a quick
snapshot of capabilities).

It has several advantages over these old workhorses

  -- written in python for python, so it is easier for users to become
     developers.  This makes it possible, for example, to write a
     custom tick locator or formatter by extending one of the base
     python classes.

  -- supports many nice features that older packages do not:
     antialiasing, alpha channel, freetype fonts, sophisticated
     cross-platform font finding.

  -- embeddable in an GUI application: gtk, wx, tkinter, fltk.  More
     to come.

  -- mathematical text with "TeX" style expressions; mathtext and
     plain text looks the same in the GUI, image and postscript
     backends because we embed truetype fonts in postscript.


It is also actively developed and supported by yours truly and others.

http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net


JDH