Better Scientific Graphics with Matplotlib

This workshop is intended to teach you how to put ideas into practice with Matplotlib. The goal is to demonstrate the underlying API in a way that empowers you to build any visualization that you can envision in your minds-eye.

Topics Covered

• Discussion of scientific/data visualizations and its importance.

• Discussion of available libraries within Python (and others).

• Introduce the lower level API within Matplotlib.

• Recreate a simple statistical plot produced by Seaborn using pure Matplotlib calls.

• Build up a new graphic highlighting the components of its “anatomy”.

• Select an idea from the attendees and interactively build it in real time.

Topics NOT Covered

• Dynamic/Interactive widgets (buttons, sliders, selectors, etc.)

• 3D graphics

• Animations

Prerequisites

This workshop assumes you’ve already attempted some form of plotting in Python.

Contents:

• Libraries
  • Matplotlib, Seaborn, etc.
  • Bokeh
  • Plotly
  • D3.js, Vega, Vega-lite, Altair
• Examples
  • Determination of the Muon Lifetime
  • Monthly Distribution in Temperature
  • Time-series Temperature
  • Interactive Curve-Fitting
• Matplotlib API
  • Functional
  • Object-Oriented API