[IPython-dev] An issue using matplotlib in the new ipython

[Gökhan Sever]

On Wed, Aug 24, 2011 at 1:49 PM, Eric Firing <efiring at hawaii.edu> wrote:
> On 08/24/2011 08:57 AM, Gökhan Sever wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> Using the new IPython with --pylab option:
>>
>> Creating a simple plot via
>>
>> plt.plot(range(10))
>>
>> then typing in the shell for example:
>>
>> plt.plot? and getting the help blocks the figure. Is this a known
>> issue? I don't recall seeing this behavior in the previous IPython.
>
> It does result from the major change in how IPython handles the guis; it
> is now relying on PyOS_InputHook and leaving everything in a single
> thread instead of running the gui mainloop in a separate thread.
> Getting help shells out to the pager ("less" on linux), so nothing gets
> updated until that process is ended--the python process itself is
> waiting for it rather than checking for text input.  I imagine the only
> ways to get around that without multi-threading would be if the external
> pager were replaced with python code, or if "less" could be run in the
> background.  I suspect the latter would be difficult if not impossible,
> since "less" would still need console IO.
>


> The ipython qtconsole avoids this problem--but you have to have qt, of
> course.

qtconsole works fine. Thanks for the tip.


-- 
Gökhan