NAME

Matplotlib::Simple - Access Matplotlib from Perl; providing consistent user interface between different plot types

Synopsis

Take a data structure in Perl, and automatically write a Python3 script using matplotlib to generate an image. The Python3 script is saved in /tmp, to be edited at the user's discretion. Depends on python3 and matplotlib.

My aim is to simplify the most common tasks as much as possible. In my opinion, using this module is much easier than matplotlib itself.

Single Plots

Simplest use case:

use Matplotlib::Simple;
bar(
   'output.file'     => '/tmp/gospel.word.counts.png',
   data              => {
      Matthew => 18345,
      Mark    => 11304,
      Luke    => 19482,
      John    => 15635,
   }
);

A more complete (and slightly faster execution):

use Matplotlib::Simple;
plt(
   'output.file'     => '/tmp/gospel.word.counts.png',
   'plot.type'       => 'bar',
   data              => {
      Matthew => 18345,
      Mark    => 11304,
      Luke    => 19482,
      John    => 15635,
   }
);

gospel word counts

Multiple Plots

Having a plots argument as an array lets the module know to create subplots:

use Matplotlib::Simple 'plt';
plt(
    'output.file'   => 'svg/pies.png',
    plots             => [
    {
            data    => {
             Russian => 106_000_000,  # Primarily European Russia
             German => 95_000_000,    # Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.
            },
            'plot.type' => 'pie',
            title       => 'Top Languages in Europe',
            suptitle    => 'Pie in subplots',
        },
        {
            data    => {
             Russian => 106_000_000,  # Primarily European Russia
             German => 95_000_000,    # Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.
            },
            'plot.type' => 'pie',
            title       => 'Top Languages in Europe',
        },
    ],
    ncols    => 2,
);

which produces the following subplots image:

pies

bar, barh, boxplot, hexbin, hist, hist2d, imshow, pie, plot, scatter, and violinplot all match the methods in matplotlib itself. venn_proportional_area additionally wraps the Lhttps://pypi.org/project/matplotlib-venn/ library (see #venn_proportional_area).

The p argument

p is a single, uniform way to describe one or many subplots, so you no longer need a top-level plot.type (or the older plots array). Each plot is a hash, exactly like a single-plot call, and p collects the subplots into one array.

The rule is simple: one element of p is one subplot.

  • A hash element is a subplot containing a single plot.

  • An array of hashes element is a single subplot whose plots are drawn on the same axes: the first hash is the base plot and the rest are additions (overlays), exactly like add.

The two forms may be mixed freely in the same p. The first (or only) hash of a subplot supplies that subplot's axes-level options (title, xlabel, ylabel, legend, …).

If you don't give a grid, the subplots are laid out automatically on a near-square grid. Give ncol/nrow (aliases for ncols/nrows) to control it; supplying only one dimension derives the other (so ncols => 1 stacks the subplots in a single column), and supplying both is honored as given.

p cannot be combined with plot.type, data, plots, or add.

> Arguments are now passed as a plain list — C<plt( ... )> — though the older
> C<plt({ ... })> form still works.

One subplot, several plots overlaid

Wrap the plots in an inner array and they all land on a single subplot (the first is the base plot, the rest are additions):

plt(
    p => [
        [
            {
                data => {
                    E => [ 55, @{$x}, 160 ],
                    B => [ @{$y}, 140 ],
                },
                'plot.type' => 'boxplot',
                title       => 'Single Box Plot: Specified Colors',
                colors      => { E => 'yellow', B => 'purple' },
            },
            {
                data => {
                    A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
                    E => [ @{$y} ],
                    B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
                },
                'plot.type' => 'violinplot',
                title       => 'Single Violin Plot: Specified Colors',
                colors      => { E => 'yellow', B => 'purple', A => 'green' },
            },
        ],
    ],
    'output.file' => '1plot.svg',    # note: no C<plot.type> needed
);

Multiple subplots

Give each subplot as its own element. A bare hash is a one-plot subplot, so two hashes make two subplots; with ncol => 2 they sit side by side:

plt(
    p => [
        {
            data => {
                E => [ 55, @{$x}, 160 ],
                B => [ @{$y}, 140 ],
            },
            'plot.type' => 'boxplot',
            title       => 'Box Plot: Specified Colors',
            colors      => { E => 'yellow', B => 'purple' },
        },
        {
            data => {
                A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
                E => [ @{$y} ],
                B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
            },
            'plot.type' => 'violinplot',
            title       => 'Violin Plot: Specified Colors',
            colors      => { E => 'yellow', B => 'purple', A => 'green' },
        },
    ],
    ncol          => 2,
    'output.file' => '2plots.svg',
);

To overlay extra plots on any one subplot, make that element an array of hashes instead of a bare hash (the first is the plot, the rest are additions). Bare hashes and inner arrays may be intermixed in the same p, for example p => [ \%single, [ \%base, \%overlay ], \%another ].

Options

sharex and sharey are both implemented at the plot, rather than subplot, level. See Matplotlib's documentation for more clarity.

Quoting text: commas and apostrophes

title, suptitle, xlabel, ylabel, set_title, set_xlabel and set_ylabel are quoted for you — but only when the text contains no comma, no apostrophe and no double quote. Anything else is passed through to Python untouched, on the assumption that you are supplying Python syntax of your own, which is what makes a raw string such as

xlabel => 'r"$\it{anno}$ $\it{domini}$"',    # italics, via mathtext

possible in the first place. The practical consequence is that a plain-English label with a comma or an apostrophe in it has to carry its own quotes:

title => 'Two groups: mean and s.d.',     # fine, no comma
title => '"Two groups, mean and s.d."',   # comma: quote it yourself
title => '"war\'s end"',                  # apostrophe: likewise

Without those quotes the generated Python is a syntax error rather than a mislabelled plot, so the mistake is loud.

Use double quotes when quoting text yourself. suptitle in particular is emitted twice — once for the subplot and once for the figure — and the second pass runs its own quoting rules over the text, which turns single-quoted text into plt.suptitle(''a, b''). Double quotes survive both passes.

Every other option is passed through as written, so text inside legend, text and friends is Python syntax throughout: legend => 'loc = "upper left"'.

Color Bars (colorbars)

Colarbar args attempt to match matplotlib closely

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
cbdrawedgesWhether to draw lines at color boundariescbdrawedges => 1
cblabelThe label on the colorbar's long axiscblabel => 1
cblocationof the colorbar None or {'left', 'right', 'top', 'bottom'}
cborientation# None or {vertical, horizontal}
cbpadpad : float, default: 0.05 if vertical, 0.15 if horizontal; Fraction of original Axes between colorbar and new image Axes
cb_logscalePerl true (anything but 0) or false (0)
shared.colorbarshare colorbar between different plots: specify plot indices'shared.colorbar' => [0,1]

Size/Dimensions of output file

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
scalescale/multiply the size of the output figurescale => 2.4
scalexscale/multiply the x-axis onlyscalex => 2.4
scaleyscale/multiply the y-axis onlyscalex => 1.4

Examples/Plot Types

Every plot type can be called two ways: through plt with 'plot.type' => 'bar', or through the same-named helper subroutine, bar( ... ), which is a thin wrapper that fills in 'plot.type' and calls plt for you. Everything documented for a plot type therefore works in either form, and works identically whether the plot is alone or one panel of a plots grid.

Which helper takes which data?

The fastest way to pick a plot type is to start from the shape of the data you already have in Perl:

data you haveHelpers that take itNotes
----------------------
hash of numbers, A => 1bar, barh, pieone bar/wedge per key
hash of array refs, A => [1,2,3]boxplot, violin, hist, hexbin, hist2d, scatter, venn_proportional_areaone distribution/series per key; hexbin and hist2d need exactly 2 keys (x and y), scatter 2 or 3, venn_proportional_area 2 or 3
hash of hashes, A => { X => 1 }bar, barh, colored_tablegrouped/stacked bars, or a matrix
hash of [ \@x, \@y ] pairsplotone labelled line per key
hash of arrays of [ \@x, \@y ] pairswiderepeated runs of the same curve, summarised
hash of hashes of array refsscatterseveral labelled sets, each with its own x/y (and colour)
a single array refhist, boxplot, violinthe one-series shorthand
array of [ \@x, \@y ] pairsplot, wideunlabelled lines
2-D array (array of array refs)imshowa raster/heatmap; strings allowed via stringmap

A few conventions hold across all of them:

  • Keys are used in sorted order unless you say otherwise. key.order is accepted by bar, barh, boxplot, violin, hexbin, hist2d, plot and venn_proportional_area; scatter spells the same idea keys; and colored_table uses row.labels/col.labels. pie, hist and wide take no ordering option at all, and imshow has no keys to order.

  • title, xlabel, ylabel, suptitle, set_xlim, legend and the rest of Matplotlib's ax/fig/plt methods are accepted by every plot type; see #options.

  • Anything that is not recognised is reported as an error listing the arguments that are accepted, rather than being silently ignored.

Consider the following helper subroutines to generate data to plot:

sub linspace { # mostly written by Grok
   my ($start, $stop, $num, $endpoint) = @_; # endpoint means include $stop
   $num = defined $num ? int($num) : 50; # Default to 50 points
   $endpoint = defined $endpoint ? $endpoint : 1; # Default to include endpoint
   return () if $num < 0; # Return empty array for invalid num
   return ($start) if $num == 1; # Return single value if num is 1
   my (@result, $step);

   if ($endpoint) {
       $step = ($stop - $start) / ($num - 1) if $num > 1;
       for my $i (0 .. $num - 1) {
         $result[$i] = $start + $i * $step;
       }
  } else {
     $step = ($stop - $start) / $num;
     for my $i (0 .. $num - 1) {
        $result[$i] = $start + $i * $step;
     }
  }
   return @result;
}

sub generate_normal_dist {
    my ($mean, $std_dev, $size) = @_;
    $size = defined $size ? int $size : 100; # default to 100 points
    my @numbers;
    for (1 .. int($size / 2) + 1) {# Box-Muller transform
        my $u1 = rand();
        my $u2 = rand();
        my $z0 = sqrt(-2.0 * log($u1)) * cos(2.0 * 3.141592653589793 * $u2);
        my $z1 = sqrt(-2.0 * log($u1)) * sin(2.0 * 3.141592653589793 * $u2); # Scale and shift to match mean and std_dev
        push @numbers, ($z0 * $std_dev + $mean, $z1 * $std_dev + $mean);
    } # Trim to exact size if needed
    @numbers = @numbers[0 .. $size - 1] if @numbers > $size;
    @numbers = map {sprintf '%.1f', $_} @numbers;
    return \@numbers;
}
sub rand_between {
    my ($min, $max) = @_;
    return $min + rand($max - $min)
}

Barplot/bar/barh

Plot a hash, a hash of arrays, or a hash of hashes as a bar chart. bar draws vertical bars, barh horizontal ones; every option below applies to both.

Entering data

data accepts three shapes, and the shape alone decides whether you get one bar per key or a group of bars per key:

1. One bar per key (hash of numbers). The simplest case — the key is the tick label:

bar(
    'output.file' => '/tmp/simple.svg',
    data          => { Mon => 73, Tue => 93, Wed => 77 },
);

2. Groups of bars (hash of array refs). Each key becomes a group; index i of every array is one series, so color and label are arrays indexed the same way:

bar(
    'output.file' => '/tmp/grouped.svg',
    data          => {
        1941 => [ 6.6, 6.2 ],    # UK, US
        1942 => [ 7.6, 26.4 ],
    },
    color         => [ 'blue', 'gray' ],    # index 0, index 1
    label         => [ 'UK',   'US'   ],    # legend entries
);

3. Groups of bars (hash of hashes). The same picture as (2), but the series are named by the inner keys rather than by position, so no label is needed:

bar(
    'output.file' => '/tmp/grouped.hoh.svg',
    data          => {
        1941 => { UK => 6.6, US => 6.2 },
        1942 => { UK => 7.6, US => 26.4 },
    },
);

Both grouped forms accept stacked => 1 to pile the series on top of one another instead of placing them side by side.

Error bars

yerr (natural for bar) and xerr (natural for barh) take either one number for every bar, or a hash keyed by the data keys. A two-element array gives asymmetric [ lower, upper ] errors:

bar(
    'output.file' => '/tmp/warheads.svg',
    data          => { USA => 5277, Russia => 5449 },
    yerr          => {
        USA    => [ 15,  29   ],    # -15, +29
        Russia => [ 199, 1000 ],
    },
    log           => 'True',
    ylabel        => '# of Nuclear Warheads',
);

Options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
color:mpltype:color or list of :mpltype:color, optional; The colors of the bar faces. This is an alias for *facecolor*. If both are given, *facecolor* takes precedence # if entering multiple colors, quoting isn't needed; as of version 0.23, colors can be given as a hashcolor => ['red', 'orange', 'yellow', 'green', 'blue', 'indigo', 'fuchsia'], or a single color for all bars color => 'red', or as of version 0.23 color => {A => 'red', B => 'green'}
edgecolor:mpltype:color or list of :mpltype:color, optional; The colors of the bar edgesedgecolor => 'black'
key.orderdefine the keys in an order (an array reference)'key.order' => ['Sun','Mon','Tue','Wed','Thu','Fri','Sat'],
labelan array of legend labels for grouped bar plots, indexed like the data arrays; only meaningful for the hash-of-arrays form, since the hash-of-hashes form takes its labels from the inner keyslabel => ['North', 'South'],
linewidthfloat or array, optional; Width of the bar edge(s). If 0, don't draw edges. Only does anything with defined edgecolorlinewidth => 2,
logbool, default: False; If *True*, set the y-axis to be log scale.log = 'True',
logscalea synonym for log taking a Perl true/false value rather than Python's 'True'/'False'. Unlike the logscale of boxplot, hist, hist2d, plot, scatter and violin, this one is a scalar and not an array of axis nameslogscale => 1,
stackedstack the groups on top of one another; default 0 = offstacked => 1,
widthfloat only, default: 0.8; The width(s) of the bars. width will be deactivated with grouped, non-stacked bar plotswidth => 0.4,
xerrfloat or array-like of shape(N,) or shape(2, N), optional. If not *None*, add horizontal / vertical errorbars to the bar tips. The values are +/- sizes relative to the data: - scalar: symmetric +/- values for all bars # - shape(N,): symmetric +/- values for each bar # - shape(2, N): Separate - and + values for each bar. First row # contains the lower errors, the second row contains the upper # errors. # - *None*: No errorbar. (Default)yerr => {'USA' => [15,29], 'Russia' => [199,1000],}
yerrsame as xerr, but better with bar

an example of multiple plots, showing many options:

single, simple plot

use Matplotlib::Simple 'plt';
plt(
    'output.file'           => 'output.images/single.barplot.png',
    data    => { # simple hash
        Fri => 76, Mon  => 73, Sat => 26, Sun => 11, Thu    => 94, Tue  => 93, Wed  => 77
    },
    'plot.type' => 'bar',
    xlabel      => '# of Days',
    ylabel      => 'Count',
    title       => 'Customer Calls by Days'
);

where xlabel, ylabel, title, etc. are axis methods in matplotlib itself. plot.type, data, fh are all specific to MatPlotLib::Simple.

single barplot

multiple plots

plt(
    fh                  => $fh,
    execute                => 0,
    'output.file'   => 'output.images/barplots.png',
    plots                   => [
    { # simple plot
            data    => { # simple hash
                Fri => 76, Mon  => 73, Sat => 26, Sun => 11, Thu    => 94, Tue  => 93, Wed  => 77
            },
            'plot.type' => 'bar',
           'key.order'      => ['Sun','Mon','Tue','Wed','Thu','Fri','Sat'],
            suptitle            => 'Types of Plots', # applies to all
            color               => ['red', 'orange', 'yellow', 'green', 'blue', 'indigo', 'fuchsia'],
            edgecolor       => 'black',
            set_figwidth    => 40/1.5, # applies to all plots
            set_figheight   => 30/2, # applies to all plots
            title               => 'bar: Rejections During Job Search',
            xlabel          => 'Day of the Week',
            ylabel          => 'No. of Rejections'
        },
        { # grouped bar plot
            'plot.type' => 'bar',
            data    => {
                1941 => {
                   UK       => 6.6,
                   US       => 6.2,
                   USSR     => 17.8,
                   Germany => 26.6
                },
                1942 => {
                  UK      => 7.6,
                  US      => 26.4,
                  USSR    => 19.2,
                  Germany => 29.7
                },
                1943 => {
                 UK      => 7.9,
                  US      => 61.4,
                  USSR    => 22.5,
                  Germany => 34.9
                },
                1944 => {
                  UK      => 7.4,
                  US      => 80.5,
                  USSR    => 27.0,
                  Germany => 31.4
                },
                1945 => {
                  UK      => 5.4,
                  US      => 83.1,
                  USSR    => 25.5,
                  Germany => 11.2 #Rapid decrease due to war's end <br />
                },
            },
            stacked => 0,
            title       => 'Hash of Hash Grouped Unstacked Barplot',
            width       => 0.23,
            xlabel  => 'r"$\it{anno}$ $\it{domini}$"', # italic
            ylabel  => 'Military Expenditure (Billions of $)'
        },
         { # grouped bar plot
            'plot.type' => 'bar',
            data    => {
                1941 => {
                  UK      => 6.6,
                  US      => 6.2,
                  USSR    => 17.8,
                  Germany => 26.6
                },
                1942 => {
                  UK      => 7.6,
                  US      => 26.4,
                  USSR    => 19.2,
                  Germany => 29.7
                },
                1943 => {
                  UK      => 7.9,
                  US      => 61.4,
                  USSR    => 22.5,
                  Germany => 34.9
                },
                1944 => {
                  UK      => 7.4,
                  US      => 80.5,
                  USSR    => 27.0,
                  Germany => 31.4
                },
                1945 => {
                  UK      => 5.4,
                  US      => 83.1,
                  USSR    => 25.5,
                   Germany => 11.2 #Rapid decrease due to war's end 
                },
            },
            stacked => 1,
            title       => 'Hash of Hash Grouped Stacked Barplot',
            xlabel  => 'r"$\it{anno}$ $\it{domini}$"', # italic
            ylabel  => 'Military Expenditure (Billions of $)'
        },
        {# grouped barplot: arrays indicate Union, Confederate which must be specified in options hash
            data                    => { # 4th plot: arrays indicate Union, Confederate which must be specified in options hash
             'Antietam'             => [ 12400, 10300 ],
             'Gettysburg'           => [ 23000, 28000 ],
             'Chickamauga'          => [ 16000, 18000 ],
             'Chancellorsville' => [ 17000, 13000 ],
             'Wilderness'           => [ 17500, 11000 ],
             'Spotsylvania'     => [ 18000, 12000 ],
             'Cold Harbor'          => [ 12000, 5000  ],
             'Shiloh'               => [ 13000, 10700 ],
             'Second Bull Run'  => [ 10000, 8000  ],
             'Fredericksburg'       => [ 12600, 5300  ],
            },
            'plot.type' => 'barh',
            color       =>  ['blue', 'gray'], # colors match indices of data arrays
            label       => ['North', 'South'], # colors match indices of data arrays
            xlabel  => 'Casualties',
            ylabel  => 'Battle',
            title       => 'barh: hash of array'
        },
        { # 5th plot: barplot with groups
            data    => {
                1942 => [ 109867,  310000, 7700000 ], # US, Japan, USSR
                1943 => [ 221111,  440000, 9000000 ],
                1944 => [ 318584,  610000, 7000000 ],
                1945 => [ 318929, 1060000, 3000000 ],
            },
            color       => ['blue', 'pink', 'red'], # colors match indices of data arrays
            label       => ['USA', 'Japan', 'USSR'], # colors match indices of data arrays
            'log'       => 1,
            title       => 'grouped bar: Casualties in WWII',
            ylabel  => 'Casualties',
            'plot.type' => 'bar'
        }, <br />
        { # nuclear weapons barplot
            'plot.type'     => 'bar',
            data => {
                'USA'               => 5277, # FAS Estimate
                'Russia'            => 5449, # FAS Estimate
                'UK'                => 225, # Consistent estimate
                'France'            => 290, # Consistent estimate
                'China'         => 600, # FAS Estimate
                'India'         => 180, # FAS Estimate
                'Pakistan'      => 130, # FAS Estimate
                'Israel'            => 90, # FAS Estimate
                'North Korea'   => 50, # FAS Estimate
            },
            title       => 'Simple hash for barchart with yerr',
            xlabel  => 'Country',
            yerr                        => {
                'USA'               => [15,29],
                'Russia'            => [199,1000],
                'UK'                => [15,19],
                'France'            => [19,29],
                'China'         => [200,159],
                'India'         => [15,25],
                'Pakistan'      => [15,49],
                'Israel'            => [90,50],
                'North Korea'   => [10,20],
            },
            ylabel  => '# of Nuclear Warheads',
            'log'                       => 'True', #    linewidth               => 1,
        }
    ],
    ncols   => 3,
    nrows   => 4
);

which produces the plot:

barplots

colors for each hash key defined by hash

plt(
    plots => [
        {
            color        => {
                A => 'red', B => 'green', C => 'blue'
            },
            data => {
                A => 1, B => 2, C => 3
            },
            'plot.type'   => 'bar'
        },
        {
            color        => {
                A => 'red', B => 'green', C => 'blue'
            },
            data => {
                A => 1, B => 2, C => 3
            },
            'plot.type'   => 'barh'
        },
    ],
    ncols         => 2,
    'output.file' => '/tmp/key.colors.bar.svg',
);

which produces the plot

key colors bar

boxplot

Plot a hash of arrays as a series of boxplots: one box per key, labelled with the key and the number of points it holds.

Entering data

Ordinarily data is a hash of array refs, one array per box:

boxplot(
    'output.file' => '/tmp/boxes.svg',
    data          => { A => \@a, B => \@b, C => \@c },
);

A bare array ref is the one-box shorthand; the box gets an empty label:

boxplot(
    'output.file' => '/tmp/one.box.svg',
    data          => \@a,
);

Undefined values are dropped rather than fatal, so a column read out of a spreadsheet with blank cells can be handed over as-is; a value that is present but not a number is an error naming the offending key. (#violin takes exactly these two shapes as well — swapping 'plot.type' => 'boxplot' for 'plot.type' => 'violinplot' is a one-word change — but it drops non-numeric values silently instead of dying.)

options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
colora single color for all boxescolor => 'pink'
colorsa hash pairing each data key with its own color. Every key in data must appear, otherwise the call dies naming the keys that have no colorcolors => { A => 'orange', E => 'yellow', B => 'purple' },
key.orderorder that the keys in the entry hash will be plotted'key.order' => ['A', 'E', 'B']
logscalean array of the axes to put on a log scale; only x and y are acceptedlogscale => ['y']
notchdraw a notched box ('True') instead of a rectangular onenotch => 'True'
orientationorientation of the plot, by default verticalorientation => 'horizontal'
showcapsShow the caps on the ends of whiskers; default Trueshowcaps => 'False',
showfliersShow the outliers beyond the caps; default Trueshowfliers => 'False'
showmeansshow means; default = Trueshowmeans => 'False'

showcaps, showfliers, showmeans and notch are passed straight through to Matplotlib, so they take Python's 'True'/'False' rather than a Perl boolean. The whiskers switch belongs to #violin, not to boxplot.

single, simple plot

my $x = generate_normal_dist( 100, 15, 3 * 10 );
my $y = generate_normal_dist( 85,  15, 3 * 10 );
my $z = generate_normal_dist( 106, 15, 3 * 10 );

single plots are simple

use Matplotlib::Simple 'barplot';
boxplot(
    'output.file' => 'output.images/single.boxplot.png',
    data              => {                                     # simple hash
        E => [ 55,    @{$x}, 160 ],
        B => [ @{$y}, 140 ],

        #       A => @a
    },
    title        => 'Single Box Plot: Specified Colors',
    colors       => { E => 'yellow', B => 'purple' },
    fh           => $fh,
    execute      => 0,
);

which makes the following image:

single boxplot

multiple plots

plt(
    'output.file' => 'output.images/boxplot.png',
    execute           => 0,
    fh                => $fh,
    plots             => [
        {
            data => {
                A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
                E => [ @{$y} ],
                B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
            },
            title       => 'Simple Boxplot',
            ylabel      => 'ylabel',
            xlabel      => 'label',
            'plot.type' => 'boxplot',
            suptitle    => 'Boxplot examples'
        },
        {
            color => 'pink',
            data  => {
                A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
                E => [ @{$y} ],
                B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
            },
            title       => 'Specify single color',
            ylabel      => 'ylabel',
            xlabel      => 'label',
            'plot.type' => 'boxplot'
        },
        {
            colors => {
                A => 'orange',
                E => 'yellow',
                B => 'purple'
            },
            data => {
                A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
                E => [ @{$y} ],
                B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
            },
            title       => 'Specify set-specific color; showfliers = False',
            ylabel      => 'ylabel',
            xlabel      => 'label',
            'plot.type' => 'boxplot',
            showmeans   => 'True',
            showfliers  => 'False',
            set_figwidth => 12
        },
        {
            colors => {
                A => 'orange',
                E => 'yellow',
                B => 'purple'
            },
            data => {
                A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
                E => [ @{$y} ],
                B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
            },
            title       => 'Specify set-specific color; showmeans = False',
            ylabel      => 'ylabel',
            xlabel      => 'label',
            'plot.type' => 'boxplot',
            showmeans   => 'False',
        },
        {
            colors => {
                A => 'orange',
                E => 'yellow',
                B => 'purple'
            },
            data => {
                A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
                E => [ @{$y} ],
                B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
            },
            title       => 'Set-specific color; orientation = horizontal',
            ylabel      => 'ylabel',
            xlabel      => 'label',
            orientation => 'horizontal',
            'plot.type' => 'boxplot',
        },
        {
            colors => {
                A => 'orange',
                E => 'yellow',
                B => 'purple'
            },
            data => {
                A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
                E => [ @{$y} ],
                B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
            },
            title       => 'Notch = True',
            ylabel      => 'ylabel',
            xlabel      => 'label',
            notch       => 'True',
            'plot.type' => 'boxplot',
        },
        {
            colors => {
                A => 'orange',
                E => 'yellow',
                B => 'purple'
            },
            data => {
                A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
                E => [ @{$y} ],
                B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
            },
            title         => 'showcaps = False',
            ylabel        => 'ylabel',
            xlabel        => 'label',
            showcaps      => 'False',
            'plot.type'   => 'boxplot',
            set_figheight => 12,
        },
    ],
    ncols => 3,
    nrows => 3,
);

which makes the following plot:

boxplot

Colored Table

Plot a hash of hashes as a matrix, coloring each cell by its value.

Entering data

data is a hash of hashes: the outer key is the row, the inner key is the column, and the value is the number that picks the cell's color.

colored_table(
    'output.file' => '/tmp/matrix.svg',
    data          => {
        H => { H => 432, Cl => 427, Br => 363 },
        C => { H => 413, Cl => 339, Br => 276 },
    },
);

The matrix does not have to be complete. Cells with no value are left out of the color scale and drawn in undef.color (gray by default), and a table that only fills one triangle — the usual shape of a pairwise-comparison table — can be completed by reflecting it across the diagonal with mirror => 1, so that $data{A}{B} also supplies $data{B}{A}.

Rows and columns are otherwise taken in sorted order. col.labels chooses which keys are drawn and in what order, which is how the bond-dissociation example below shows the halogens only out of a larger table; row.labels supplies the text down the left-hand side, so it should list the same keys in the same order.

options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
cb_logscalecolor the cells on a log scalecb_logscale => 1
cb_min, cb_maxclamp the ends of the color scale instead of taking them from the data, so several tables can be compared directlycb_min => 100, cb_max => 500
cblabelthe label on the colorbarcblabel => 'kJ/mol'
cmapthe colormap used for coloring the cellscmap => 'viridis'
col.labelsarray ref: which keys to draw, in order — this selects the rows and the columns of the matrix, not just the heading text'col.labels' => ['H', 'F', 'Cl', 'Br', 'I']
colorbar.ondraw the colorbar; on by default, 0 turns it off. Passing cblabel draws it regardless'colorbar.on' => 0
mirrortreat the table as symmetric: $data{A}{B} also fills $data{B}{A}mirror => 1
row.labelsarray ref of the labels printed down the left side; give it the same keys, in the same order, as col.labels'row.labels' => ['H', 'F', 'Cl', 'Br', 'I']
show.numbersprint each cell's value in the cell; off by default'show.numbers' => 1
undef.colorthe color for cells that have no value; gray by default'undef.color' => 'white'

The colorbar options in #color-bars-colorbarscbdrawedges, cblocation, cborientation, cbpad — work here too.

Single, simple plot

the bond dissociation energy table can be plotted:

# https://labs.chem.ucsb.edu/zakarian/armen/11---bonddissociationenergy.pdf and https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry_Textbook_Maps/Supplemental_Modules_(Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry)/Chemical_Bonding/Fundamentals_of_Chemical_Bonding/Bond_Energies
my %bond_dissociation = (
    Br =>  {
      Br =>  193
    },
    C  =>  {
        Br =>  276, C  =>  347, Cl =>  339, F   => 485, H  =>  413, I  =>  240,
        N  =>  305, O  =>  358, S  =>  259
    },
    Cl =>  {
        Br =>  218, Cl =>  239
    },
    F =>   {
        I => 280, Br =>  237, Cl  => 253, F   => 154
    },
    H  =>  {
        Br =>  363, Cl =>  427, F  =>  565, H   => 432, I   => 295
    },
    I  =>  {
        Br  => 175, Cl =>  208, I  =>  149
    },
    N  =>  {
        Br =>  243, Cl  => 200, F   => 272, H  =>  391, N  =>  160, O  =>  201
    },
    O =>   {
        Cl =>  203, F  =>  190, H  =>  467, I  =>  234, O  =>  146
    },
    S  =>  {
        Br => 218,  Cl => 253,  F  => 327,  H  => 347,  S  => 266
    },
    Si => {
        C  => 360, H  => 393, O  => 452,    Si => 340
    }
);

and the plot itself:

colored_table(
    'cblabel'     => 'kJ/mol',
    'col.labels'  => ['H', 'F', 'Cl', 'Br', 'I'],
    data          => \%bond_dissociation,
    execute       => 0,
    fh            => $fh,
    mirror        => 1,
    'output.file' => 'output.images/single.tab.png',
    'row.labels'  => ['H', 'F', 'Cl', 'Br', 'I'],
    'show.numbers'=> 1,
    set_title     => 'Bond Dissociation Energy'
);

which makes the following image:

single tab

Multiple Plots

plt(
    'output.file' => 'output.images/tab.multiple.png',
    execute       => 0,
    fh            => $fh,
    plots         => [
        {
            data          => \%bond_dissociation,
            'output.file' => '/tmp/single.bonds.svg',
            'plot.type'   => 'colored_table',
            set_title     => 'No other options'
        },
        {
            data          => \%bond_dissociation,
            cblabel       => 'Average Dissociation Energy (kJ/mol)',
            'col.labels'  => ['H', 'C', 'N', 'O', 'F', 'Si', 'S', 'Cl', 'Br', 'I'],
            mirror        => 1,
            'output.file' => '/tmp/single.bonds.svg',
            'plot.type'   => 'colored_table',
            'row.labels'  => ['H', 'C', 'N', 'O', 'F', 'Si', 'S', 'Cl', 'Br', 'I'],
            'show.numbers'=> 1,
            set_title     => 'Showing numbers and mirror with defined order'
        },
        {
            data          => \%bond_dissociation,
            cblabel       => 'Average Dissociation Energy (kJ/mol)',
            'col.labels'  => ['H', 'C', 'N', 'O', 'F', 'Si', 'S', 'Cl', 'Br', 'I'],
            mirror        => 1,
            'output.file' => '/tmp/single.bonds.svg',
            'plot.type'   => 'colored_table',
            'row.labels'  => ['H', 'C', 'N', 'O', 'F', 'Si', 'S', 'Cl', 'Br', 'I'],
            'show.numbers'=> 1,
            set_title     => 'Set undefined color to white',
            'undef.color' => 'white'
        }
    ],
    ncols         => 3,
    set_figwidth  => 14,
    suptitle      => 'Colored Table options'
);

which makes the following plot:

tab multiple

hexbin

Plot a hash of arrays as a hexbin see https://matplotlib.org/stable/api/asgen/matplotlib.pyplot.hexbin.html

A hexbin answers the question a scatterplot stops answering once there are tens of thousands of points: instead of drawing every point and letting them pile up into an indistinguishable blob, the plane is tiled with hexagons and each one is colored by how many points fell inside it.

Entering data

data is a hash of exactly two array refs of equal length — the first key (sorted) is the x-axis, the second is the y-axis, and both become the axis labels. Use key.order to say which is which rather than relying on the sort:

hexbin(
    'output.file' => '/tmp/hex.svg',
    data          => { Height => \@heights, Weight => \@weights },
    'key.order'   => [ 'Weight', 'Height' ],    # Weight on x
    cblabel       => 'people per cell',
);

options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
cb_logscalecolorbar log scale from matplotlib.colors import LogNormdefault 0, any value > 0 enables
cblabelthe label on the colorbar, i.e. what the cell counts mean; Density if not givencblabel => 'observations'
cmapThe Colormap instance or registered colormap name used to map scalar data to colorsdefault gist_rainbow
key.orderdefine the keys in an order (an array reference)'key.order' => ['X-rays', 'Yak Butter'],
marginalsinteger, by default off = 0marginals => 1
mincntint >= 0, default: None; If not None, only display cells with at least mincnt number of points in the cell.mincnt => 2
vmaxThe normalization method used to scale scalar data to the [0, 1] range before mapping to colors using cmap'asinh', 'function', 'functionlog', 'linear', 'log', 'logit', 'symlog' default linear
vminThe normalization method used to scale scalar data to the [0, 1] range before mapping to colors using cmap'asinh', 'function', 'functionlog', 'linear', 'log', 'logit', 'symlog' default linear
xbinsinteger that accesses horizontal gridsizedefault is 15
xscale.hexbin'linear', 'log'}, default: 'linear': Use a linear or log10 scale on the horizontal axis'xscale.hexbin' => 'log'
ybinsinteger that accesses vertical gridsizedefault is 15
yscale.hexbin'linear', 'log'}, default: 'linear': Use a linear or log10 scale on the vertical axis'yscale.hexbin' => 'log'

cb_logscale cannot be combined with vmin/vmax. The log-scaled colorbar is drawn by handing Matplotlib a LogNorm, and an explicit range on top of that makes the generated Python fail; use one or the other.

single, simple plot

plt(
    data    => {
        E   => generate_normal_dist(100, 15, 3*210),
        B   => generate_normal_dist(85, 15, 3*210)
    },
    'output.file'   => 'output.images/single.hexbin.png',
    'plot.type' => 'hexbin',
    set_figwidth => 12,
    title           => 'Simple Hexbin',
);

which makes the following plot:

single hexbin

multiple plots

plt(
    fh => $fh,
    execute           => 0,
    'output.file' => 'output.images/hexbin.png',
    plots             => [
        {
            data => {
            E => @e,
            B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'Simple Hexbin',
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hexbin',
            title       => 'colorbar logscale',
            cb_logscale => 1
        },
        {
            cmap => 'jet',
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'cmap is jet',
            xlabel       => 'xlabel',
        },
         {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'key.order'  => ['E', 'B'],
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'Switch axes with key.order',
        },
         {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'vmax set to 25',
            vmax         => 25
        },
         {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'vmin set to -4',
            vmin         => -4
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'mincnt set to 7',
            mincnt       => 7
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'xbins set to 9',
            xbins        => 9
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'ybins set to 9',
            ybins        => 9
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'marginals = 1',
            marginals    => 1
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'xscale.hexbin = 1',
            'xscale.hexbin' => 'log'
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'yscale.hexbin = 1',
            'yscale.hexbin' => 'log'
        },
    ],
    ncols        => 4,
    nrows        => 3,
    scale        => 5,
    suptitle     => 'Various Changes to Standard Hexbin: All data is the same'
);

which produces the following image:

hexbin

hist

Plot a hash of arrays as a series of histograms, one per key, drawn over each other in the same axes — alpha defaults to 0.5 so that the overlaps stay readable. A single array ref is the one-set shorthand. Values must be numeric: unlike boxplot and violin, a non-numeric value here is an error.

Each set is binned separately, so with bins => 50 two sets covering different ranges get 50 bins each over their own range rather than a common set of edges. When the sets must line up exactly — which is what makes the bar heights comparable — pass the edges themselves rather than a count:

hist(
    'output.file' => '/tmp/hist.svg',
    data          => { E => \@e, B => \@b },
    bins          => [ map { 10 * $_ } 0 .. 20 ],    # shared edges, 0..200
);

bins and color also accept a hash keyed by set, for when one distribution wants different treatment from the others:

bins  => { E => 50, B => 20 },
color => { E => 'orange', B => 'black' },

The legend is on by default when there is more than one set and off when there is only one; show.legend overrides that either way.

options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
alphaopacity of the bars, default 0.5; the same value is used for all setsalpha => 0.25
binsint or sequence or str, default: :rc:hist.bins. If *bins* is an integer, it defines the number of equal-width bins in the range. If *bins* is a sequence, it defines the bin edges, including the left edge of the first bin and the right edge of the last bin; in this case, bins may be unequally spaced. All but the last (righthand-most) bin is half-open. May also be a hash keyed by setbins => 50
coloreither one color for every set, or a hash pairing each data key with its own colorcolor => { X => 'blue', Y => 'orange' }
logscalean array of the axes to put on a log scale, useful when one set is orders of magnitude rarer than another. It must be an array reference — logscale => 1 is an errorlogscale => ['y']
orientation{'vertical', 'horizontal'}, default: 'vertical'orientation => 'horizontal'
show.legendon when data holds more than one set, off when it holds one; set it explicitly to override'show.legend' => 0

single, simple plot

as of version 0.26, single arrays can be given to hist instead of a hash, simplifying the call:

hist(
    data          => [0..9],
    'output.file' => '/tmp/hist.arr.svg',
);

for slightly more complex data sets, hashes are taken:

use Matplotlib::Simple 'hist';

my @e = generate_normal_dist( 100, 15, 3 * 200 );
my @b = generate_normal_dist( 85,  15, 3 * 200 );
my @a = generate_normal_dist( 105, 15, 3 * 200 );

hist(
    fh => $fh,
    execute           => 0,
    'output.file' => 'output.images/single.hist.png',
    data              => {
        E => @e,
        B => @b,
        A => @a,
    }
);

which makes the following simple plot:

single hist

multiple plots

plt(
    fh => $fh,
    execute           => 0,
    'output.file' => 'output.images/histogram.png',
   set_figwidth => 15,
   suptitle          => 'hist Examples',
    plots             => [
        { # 1st subplot
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b,
                A => @a,
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hist',
            alpha       => 0.25,
            bins        => 50,
            title       => 'alpha = 0.25',
            color       => {
                B => 'Black',
                E => 'Orange',
                A => 'Yellow',
            },
            scatter => '['
              . join( ',', 22 .. 44 ) . '],['  # x coords
              . join( ',', 22 .. 44 )          # y coords
              . '], label = "scatter"',
            xlabel   => 'Value',
            ylabel   => 'Frequency',
        },
        { # 2nd subplot
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b,
                A => @a,
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hist',
            alpha       => 0.75,
            bins        => 50,
            title       => 'alpha = 0.75',
            color       => {
                B => 'Black',
                E => 'Orange',
                A => 'Yellow',
            },
            xlabel   => 'Value',
            ylabel   => 'Frequency',
        },
        { # 3rd subplot
            add               => [ # add secondary plots/graphs/methods
            { # 1st additional plot/graph
                data              => {
                    'Gaussian'       => [
                        [40..150],
                        [map {150 * exp(-0.5*($_-100)**2)} 40..150]
                    ]
                },
                'plot.type' => 'plot',
                'set.options' => {
                    'Gaussian' =>  'color = "red", linestyle = "dashed"'
                }
            }
            ],
           data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b,
                A => @a,
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hist',
            alpha       => 0.75,
            bins        => {
                A => 10,
                B => 25,
                E => 50
            },
            title => 'Varying # of bins',
            color => {
                B => 'Black',
                E => 'Orange',
                A => 'Yellow',
            },
            xlabel       => 'Value',
            ylabel       => 'Frequency',
        },
        {# 4th subplot
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b,
                A => @a,
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hist',
            alpha       => 0.75,
            color       => {
                B => 'Black',
                E => 'Orange',
                A => 'Yellow',
            },
            orientation  => 'horizontal',    # assign x and y labels smartly
            title        => 'Horizontal orientation',
            ylabel       => 'Value',
            xlabel       => 'Frequency',                #               'log'                   => 1,
        },
    ],
    ncols => 3,
    nrows => 2,
);

histogram

hist2d

Make a 2-D histogram from a hash of arrays: like #hexbin, data is a hash of exactly two equal-length array refs, the first (sorted) key giving the x-axis and the second the y-axis, and the plane is divided into rectangular cells colored by how many points landed in each. hexbin and hist2d are interchangeable on the same data — hexagons tile the plane without the visual grid artefacts of squares, while square bins are easier to read off against the axes.

single, simple plot

plt(
    'output.file' => 'output.images/single.hist2d.png',
    data              => {
        E => @e,
        B => @b
    },
    'plot.type'  => 'hist2d',
    title        => 'title',
    execute      => 0,
    fh => $fh,
);

makes the following image:

single hist2d

the range for the density min and max is reported to stdout

options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
cb_logscalemake the colorbar log-scalecb_logscale => 1
cblabelthe label on the colorbar, i.e. what the cell counts mean; Density if not givencblabel => 'observations'
cmapcolor map for coloring # "gist_rainbow" by default
'cmax', cminAll bins that has count < *cmin* or > *cmax* will not be displayed. cmin => 1 is the usual way to leave empty cells blank instead of coloring them as zerocmin => 1
'density'density : bool, default: False; normalise the counts so the plot shows a probability density instead of raw counts, which is what makes two plots of different-sized samples comparabledensity => 'True'
'key.order'define the keys in an order (an array reference), i.e. which key is the x-axis'key.order' => ['Y', 'X']
'logscale'an array of the axes that will get a log scalelogscale => ['x']
'show.colorbar'self-evident, 0 or 1; this, and not colorbar.on, is what suppresses a hist2d colorbarshow.colorbar => 0
'vmax'When using scalar data and no explicit *norm*, *vmin* and *vmax* define the data range that the colormap cover
'vmin'# When using scalar data and no explicit *norm*, *vmin* and *vmax* define the data range that the colormap cover
'xbins'# default 15
'xmin', 'xmax',
'ymin', 'ymax',
'ybins'default 15

multiple plots

plt(
    fh => $fh,
    execute           => 1,
    ncols             => 3,
    nrows             => 3,
    suptitle          => 'Types of hist2d plots: all of the data is identical',
    plots => [
        {
            data => {
            X => $x,    # x-axis
            Y => $y,    # y-axis
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hist2d',
            title       => 'Simple hist2d',
        },
        {
            data => {
                X => $x,    # x-axis
                Y => $y,    # y-axis
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hist2d',
            title       => 'cmap = terrain',
            cmap        => 'terrain'
        },
        {
            cmap => 'ocean',
            data => {
                X => $x,    # x-axis
                Y => $y,    # y-axis
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hist2d',
            title => 'cmap = ocean and set colorbar range with vmin/vmax',
            set_figwidth => 15,
            vmin         => -2,
            vmax         => 14
        },
        {
            data => {
                X => $x,    # x-axis
                Y => $y,    # y-axis
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hist2d',
            title       => 'density = True',
            cmap        => 'terrain',
            density     => 'True'
        },
        {
            data => {
                X => $x,    # x-axis
                Y => $y,    # y-axis
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hist2d',
            title       => 'key.order flips axes',
            cmap        => 'terrain',
            'key.order' => [ 'Y', 'X' ]
        },
        {
            cb_logscale => 1,
            data => {
                X => $x,    # x-axis
                Y => $y,    # y-axis
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hist2d',
            title       => 'cb_logscale = 1',
        },
        {
            cb_logscale => 1,
            data => {
                X => $x,    # x-axis
                Y => $y,    # y-axis
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hist2d',
            title       => 'cb_logscale = 1 with vmax set',
            vmax        => 2.1,
            vmin        => 1
        },
        {
            data => {
                X => $x,    # x-axis
                Y => $y,    # y-axis
            },
            'plot.type'     => 'hist2d',
            'show.colorbar' => 0,
            title           => 'no colorbar',
        },
        {
            data => {
                X => $x,    # x-axis
                Y => $y,    # y-axis
            },
            'plot.type'     => 'hist2d',
            title           => 'xbins = 9',
            xbins           => 9
        },
    ],
    'output.file' => 'output.images/hist2d.png',
);

makes the following image:

hist2d

imshow

Plot 2D array of numbers as an image

Entering data

data is a 2-D array — an array of array refs — and nothing else; a hash is an error. The generated call leaves Matplotlib's origin at its default, so row 0 is drawn at the top; use invert_yaxis if your first row is meant to be the bottom of the picture:

my @grid;
foreach my $i (0 .. 360) {
    foreach my $j (0 .. 360) {
        push @{ $grid[$i] }, sin($i * $pi/180) * cos($j * $pi/180);
    }
}
imshow(
    'output.file' => '/tmp/grid.svg',
    data          => \@grid,
    cblabel       => 'sin(x) * cos(x)',
);

The cells may hold strings instead of numbers, as long as stringmap gives the meaning of each one — without it, non-numeric data is an error. Each string is assigned an integer, the image is drawn with one discrete color per string, and the colorbar's ticks are labelled with the names from stringmap rather than with numbers. (cmap is dropped, with a warning, when strings are in play, since the palette has to be a discrete one.) This is what makes imshow usable for categorical rasters — sequence annotation, land cover, state-over-time diagrams — and there is a worked example under #secondary-structure-prediction-dssp.

Because imshow produces a colorbar per subplot, shared.colorbar is often worth setting when several panels show the same quantity: it gives them one colorbar, and hence one color scale, so the panels can be compared.

options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
cblabelcolorbar labelcblabel => 'sin(x) * cos(x)',
cbdrawedgesdraw edges for colorbar
cblocation'left', 'right', 'top', 'bottom'cblocation => 'left',
cborientationNone, or 'vertical', 'horizontal'
cbpadfraction of the original axes between the image and the colorbar; the default 0.05 is often too big for a short, wide imagecbpad => 0.01,
cmap# The Colormap instance or registered colormap name used to map scalar data to colors.
colorbar.ondraw the colorbar; on by default, 0 turns it off'colorbar.on' => 0
shared.colorbar0-based indices of the subplots that should share one colorbar, and therefore one color scale'shared.colorbar' => [0,1]
stringmapa hash giving the meaning of each string used in data, which also makes string data legalstringmap => { H => 'Alpha helix' }
vmaxfloat
vminfloat

single, simple plot

my @imshow_data;
foreach my $i (0..360) {
    foreach my $j (0..360) {
        push @{ $imshow_data[$i] }, sin($i * $pi/180)*cos($j * $pi/180);
    }
}
plt(
    data              => \@imshow_data,
    execute           => 0,
   fh => $fh,
    'output.file' => 'output.images/imshow.single.png',
    'plot.type'       => 'imshow',
    set_xlim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
    set_ylim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
);

which makes the following image:

imshow single

multiple plots

plt(
    plots  => [
        {
            data => \@imshow_data,
            'plot.type'       => 'imshow',
            set_xlim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
            set_ylim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
            title             => 'basic',
        },
        {
            cblabel           => 'sin(x) * cos(x)',
            data => \@imshow_data,
            'plot.type'       => 'imshow',
            set_xlim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
            set_ylim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
            title             => 'cblabel',
        },
        {
            cblabel           => 'sin(x) * cos(x)',
            cblocation        => 'left',
            data              => \@imshow_data,
            'plot.type'       => 'imshow',
            set_xlim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
            set_ylim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
            title             => 'cblocation = left',
        },
        {
            cblabel           => 'sin(x) * cos(x)',
            data              => \@imshow_data,
            add               => [ # add secondary plots
            { # 1st additional plot
                data              => {
                    'sin(x)'       => [
                        [0..360],
                        [map {180 + 180*sin($_ * $pi/180)} 0..360]
                    ],
                    'cos(x)'       => [
                        [0..360],
                        [map {180 + 180*cos($_ * $pi/180)} 0..360]
                    ],
                },
                'plot.type' => 'plot',
                'set.options' => {
                    'sin(x)'    =>  'color = "red", linestyle = "dashed"',
                    'cos(x)'    =>  'color = "blue", linestyle = "dashed"',
                }
            }
            ],
            'plot.type'       => 'imshow',
            set_xlim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
            set_ylim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
            title             => 'auxiliary plots',
        },
    ],
    execute         => 0,
  fh              => $fh,
    'output.file'   => 'output.images/imshow.multiple.png',
    ncols           => 2,
    nrows           => 2,
    set_figheight   => 6*3,# 4.8
    set_figwidth    => 6*4 # 6.4
);

which makes the following image:

imshow multiple

Secondary Structure Prediction (DSSP)

Sometimes strings instead of numbers can be entered into a 2-D array, one example is protein secondary structure. Protein secondary structure can be plotted thus, with a key in stringmap to show which strings become which integers in a minimal working example:

plt(
    cbpad       => 0.01,          # default 0.05 is too big
    data        => [              # imshow gets a 2D array
        [' ', ' ', ' ', ' ', 'G'], # bottom
        ['S', 'I', 'T', 'E', 'H'], # top
    ],
    'plot.type' => 'imshow',
    stringmap   => {
        'H' => 'Alpha helix',
        'B' => 'Residue in isolated β-bridge',
        'E' => 'Extended strand, participates in β ladder',
        'G' => '3-helix (3/10 helix)',
        'I' => '5 helix (pi helix)',
        'T' => 'hydrogen bonded turn',
        'S' => 'bend',
        ' ' => 'Loops and irregular elements'
    },
    'output.file' => 'output.images/dssp.single.png',
    scalex        => 2.4,
    set_ylim      => '0, 1',
    title         => 'Dictionary of Secondary Structure in Proteins (DSSP)',
    xlabel        => 'xlabel',
    ylabel        => 'ylabel'
);

dssp single

or for multiple plots, where the colorbar can be spread across multiple plots now:

plt(
    cbpad       => 0.01,          # default 0.05 is too big
    plots       => [
        { # 1st plot
            data    => [
                [' ', ' ', ' ', ' ', 'G'], # bottom
                ['S', 'I', 'T', 'E', 'H'], # top
            ],
            'plot.type' => 'imshow',
            set_xticklabels=> '[]', # remove x-axis labels
            set_ylim    => '0, 1',
            stringmap   => {
                'H' => 'Alpha helix',
                'B' => 'Residue in isolated β-bridge',
                'E' => 'Extended strand, participates in β ladder',
                'G' => '3-helix (3/10 helix)',
                'I' => '5 helix (pi helix)',
                'T' => 'hydrogen bonded turn',
                'S' => 'bend',
                ' ' => 'Loops and irregular elements'
            },
            title         => 'top plot',
            ylabel        => 'ylabel'
        },
        { # 2nd plot
            data    => [
                [' ', ' ', ' ', ' ', 'G'], # bottom
                ['S', 'I', 'T', 'E', 'H'], # top
            ],
            'plot.type' => 'imshow',
            set_ylim    => '0, 1',
            stringmap   => {
                'H' => 'Alpha helix',
                'B' => 'Residue in isolated β-bridge',
                'E' => 'Extended strand, participates in β ladder',
                'G' => '3-helix (3/10 helix)',
                'I' => '5 helix (pi helix)',
                'T' => 'hydrogen bonded turn',
                'S' => 'bend',
                ' ' => 'Loops and irregular elements'
            },
            title         => 'bottom plot',
            xlabel        => 'xlabel',
            ylabel        => 'ylabel'
        }
    ],
    nrows             => 2,
    'output.file'     => 'output.images/dssp.multiple.png',
    scalex            => 2.4,
    'shared.colorbar' => [0,1], # plots 0 and 1 share a colorbar
    suptitle          => 'Dictionary of Secondary Structure in Proteins (DSSP)',
);

which makes the following plot:

dssp multiple

pie

Plot a hash of numbers as a pie chart: one wedge per key, sized by its share of the total. data is the same simple hash that bar takes, so the two are interchangeable — reach for pie when the reader should see parts of a whole, and for bar when they should compare the parts with each other.

Wedges are laid out in sorted key order and that order cannot be overridden: key.order is not among the options pie accepts. Nor is a legend added — the wedges carry their own labels — so show.legend is not accepted either.

options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
autopcta Python format string for the share printed inside each wedge; omit it and no numbers are drawnautopct => '%1.1f%%'
labeldistancewhere the key label sits, as a fraction of the radius: 0 is the centre, 1 the edge, above 1 outside the pielabeldistance => 0.6
pctdistancethe same scale, for the autopct text. Swapping the two — labels in, percentages out — is a readable arrangement when the labels are longpctdistance => 1.25

single, simple plot

plt(
    'output.file' => 'output.images/single.pie.png',
    data              => {                                 # simple hash
        Fri => 76,
        Mon => 73,
        Sat => 26,
        Sun => 11,
        Thu => 94,
        Tue => 93,
        Wed => 77
    },
    'plot.type'  => 'pie',
    title        => 'Single Simple Pie',
    fh           => $fh,
    execute      => 0,
);

which makes the image:

single pie

multiple plots

plt(
    'output.file' => 'output.images/pie.png',
    plots             => [
        {
            data => {
                'Russian' => 106_000_000,    # Primarily European Russia
                'German'  =>
                  95_000_000,    # Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.
                'English' => 70_000_000,      # UK, Ireland, etc.
                'French' => 66_000_000, # France, Belgium, Switzerland, etc.
                'Italian'   => 59_000_000,    # Italy, Switzerland, etc.
                'Spanish'   => 45_000_000,    # Spain
                'Polish'    => 38_000_000,    # Poland
                'Ukrainian' => 32_000_000,    # Ukraine
                'Romanian'  => 24_000_000,    # Romania, Moldova
                'Dutch'     => 22_000_000     # Netherlands, Belgium
            },
            'plot.type' => 'pie',
            title       => 'Top Languages in Europe',
            suptitle    => 'Pie in subplots',
        },
        {
            data => {
                'Russian' => 106_000_000,     # Primarily European Russia
                'German'  =>
                  95_000_000,    # Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.
                'English' => 70_000_000,      # UK, Ireland, etc.
                'French' => 66_000_000, # France, Belgium, Switzerland, etc.
                'Italian'   => 59_000_000,    # Italy, Switzerland, etc.
                'Spanish'   => 45_000_000,    # Spain
                'Polish'    => 38_000_000,    # Poland
                'Ukrainian' => 32_000_000,    # Ukraine
                'Romanian'  => 24_000_000,    # Romania, Moldova
                'Dutch'     => 22_000_000     # Netherlands, Belgium
            },
            'plot.type' => 'pie',
            title       => 'Top Languages in Europe',
            autopct     => '%1.1f%%',
        },
        {
            data => {
                'United States'  => 86,
                'United Kingdom' => 33,
                'Germany'        => 29,
                'France'         => 10,
                'Japan'          => 7,
                'Israel'         => 6,
            },
            title         => 'Chem. Nobels: swap text positions',
            'plot.type'   => 'pie',
            autopct       => '%1.1f%%',
            pctdistance   => 1.25,
            labeldistance => 0.6,
        }
    ],
    fh => $fh,
    execute      => 0,
   set_figwidth  => 12,
    ncols        => 3,
);

pie

plot

A line plot of one or more series of (x, y) points. Each series needs an x array and a y array of equal length.

Entering data

data accepts three shapes:

1. Labeled series (hash). Use this when you want a legend — each key becomes a line label. The value is a [ \@x, \@y ] pair:

{
    'plot.type' => 'plot',
    data        => {
        A => [ [5..9], [5..9] ],
        B => [ [5..9], [1..5] ],
    },
}

2. Several unlabeled series (array of pairs). A list of [ \@x, \@y ] pairs, one per line, with no legend labels:

{
    'plot.type' => 'plot',
    data        => [
        [ [5..9], [5..9] ],
        [ [5..9], [1..5] ],
    ],
}

3. A single unlabeled series (two bare arrays). The simplest form: just the x array and the y array, with no enclosing pair-array and no key:

{
    'plot.type' => 'plot',
    data        => [
        [5..9],
        [5..9],
    ],
}

Form 3 is shorthand for form 2 with a single line — it is promoted internally to [ [ \@x, \@y ] ]. Because there is no key, the line is unlabeled; if you need a legend entry, use the hash form (1).

> How the forms are told apart: in the multi-line form (2) C<< data-E<gt>[0] >> is itself
> a C<[ \@x, \@y ]> pair, so C<< data-E<gt>[0][0] >> is an array ref; in the single-line
> form (3) C<< data-E<gt>[0] >> is the x array, so C<< data-E<gt>[0][0] >> is a number. A 2-element
> C<data> whose first element starts with a number is therefore always read as a
> single line.

Setting line options with set.options

set.options is passed straight through to Matplotlib's .plot(x, y, ...), so anything plot accepts works (color, linewidth, linestyle, marker, alpha, …). How you supply it depends on the data shape:

A scalar applies to every line. This is the natural partner of the single-line data form — the one option string is used for the only series:

{
    'plot.type'   => 'plot',
    'show.legend' => 0,
    data          => [
        [ min(vals($df, 'experiment')) .. max(vals($df, 'experiment')) ],
        [ min(vals($df, 'experiment')) .. max(vals($df, 'experiment')) ],
    ],
    'set.options' => 'color = "red"',
}

The same scalar also works with the multi-line array form, where it is applied to all lines at once:

{
    'plot.type'   => 'plot',
    data          => [
        [ [5..9], [5..9] ],
        [ [5..9], [1..5] ],
    ],
    'set.options' => 'linewidth = 2',    # both lines
}

An array sets options per line (positional). With array data, give one string per line; entry i styles line i. You may supply fewer entries than lines, but not more:

{
    'plot.type'   => 'plot',
    data          => [
        [ [5..9], [5..9] ],
        [ [5..9], [1..5] ],
    ],
    'set.options' => [
        'color = "red"',
        'color = "blue", linestyle = "--"',
    ],
}

A hash sets options per key. With hash data, key the options by the same data keys (any key may be omitted):

{
    'plot.type'   => 'plot',
    data          => {
        A => [ [5..9], [5..9] ],
        B => [ [5..9], [1..5] ],
    },
    'set.options' => {
        A => 'color = "red"',
        B => 'color = "blue", marker = "o"',
    },
}

Note the pairing rule: a scalar set.options goes with any data shape; an array set.options goes with array data; a hash set.options goes with hash data. Mismatches (for example a hash of options with array data) are rejected with an explanatory error.

Other options

  • show.legend — on by default (1); set to 0 to suppress labels. Only the hash form produces labels in the first place.

  • key.order — array of keys (hash form) fixing the draw/legend order; defaults to the keys sorted alphabetically.

  • logscale — array of axes to put on a log scale, e.g. [ 'x', 'y' ].

  • twinx — draw selected series against a secondary y-axis.

    • hash data: a single key, or a hash whose keys are the series to twin;

    • array data: an integer index, or an array of indices.

  • twinx.args — a hash keyed by data key (hash form) or index (array form); each value is a hash of axis options (e.g. ylabel, set_ylim) applied to that twin axis.

Common axes options such as title, xlabel, ylabel, and legend are accepted here too, exactly as for the other plot types.

Two y-axes with twinx

Series measured in different units, or on wildly different scales, flatten each other when they share a y-axis. twinx moves the named series onto a second y-axis on the right, and twinx.args labels it:

plt(
    'output.file' => '/tmp/twinx.svg',
    'plot.type'   => 'plot',
    data          => {
        Temperature => [ [@t], [@celsius] ],
        Pressure    => [ [@t], [@hPa]     ],
    },
    twinx         => 'Pressure',                        # onto the right axis
    'twinx.args'  => { Pressure => { ylabel => 'hPa' } },
    ylabel        => 'degrees C',                       # the left axis
    xlabel        => 'hour',
);

twinx => 'Pressure' is shorthand for the single-series case. To twin more than one series, pass a hash whose keys are the series to move:

twinx => { Pressure => 1, Humidity => 1 },

With array data the same options are given by index instead of by key:

plt(
    'output.file' => '/tmp/twinx.arr.svg',
    'plot.type'   => 'plot',
    data          => [
        [ [@t], [@celsius] ],    # index 0, left axis
        [ [@t], [@hPa]     ],    # index 1
    ],
    twinx         => 1,                              # index 1 goes right
    'twinx.args'  => { 1 => { ylabel => 'hPa' } },
);

A plot spec is an ordinary plot hash, so it can be dropped straight into the #the-p-argument argument — on its own for a single subplot, or alongside other hashes to overlay or to fill a grid of subplots.

single, simple

data can be given as a hash, where the hash key is the label:

plt(
    fh => $fh,
    execute           => 0,
    'output.file' => 'output.images/plot.single.png',
    data              => {
        'sin(x)' => [
            [@x],                     # x
            [ map { sin($_) } @x ]    # y
        ],
        'cos(x)' => [
            [@x],                     # x
            [ map { cos($_) } @x ]    # y
        ],
    },
    'plot.type' => 'plot',
    title       => 'simple plot',
    set_xticks  =>
    "[-2 * $pi, -3 * $pi / 2, -$pi, -$pi / 2, 0, $pi / 2, $pi, 3 * $pi / 2, 2 * $pi"
     . '], [r\'$-2\pi$\', r\'$-3\pi/2$\', r\'$-\pi$\', r\'$-\pi/2$\', r\'$0$\', r\'$\pi/2$\', r\'$\pi$\', r\'$3\pi/2$\', r\'$2\pi$\']',
    'set.options' => {    # set options overrides global settings
        'sin(x)' => 'color="blue", linewidth=2',
        'cos(x)' => 'color="red",  linewidth=2'
    }
);

or as an array of arrays:

plt(
    fh => $fh,
    execute           => 0,
    'output.file' => 'output.images/plot.single.arr.png',
    data              => [
        [
            [@x],                     # x
            [ map { sin($_) } @x ]    # y
        ],
        [
            [@x],                     # x
            [ map { cos($_) } @x ]    # y
        ],
    ],
    'plot.type' => 'plot',
    title       => 'simple plot',
    set_xticks  =>
    "[-2 * $pi, -3 * $pi / 2, -$pi, -$pi / 2, 0, $pi / 2, $pi, 3 * $pi / 2, 2 * $pi"
     . '], [r\'$-2\pi$\', r\'$-3\pi/2$\', r\'$-\pi$\', r\'$-\pi/2$\', r\'$0$\', r\'$\pi/2$\', r\'$\pi$\', r\'$3\pi/2$\', r\'$2\pi$\']',
    'set.options' => [    # set options overrides global settings; indices match data array
        'color="blue", linewidth=2, label = "sin(x)"', # labels aren't added automatically when using array here
        'color="red",  linewidth=2, label = "cos(x)"'
    ],
);

both of which make the following "plot" plot:

plot single

multiple sub-plots

which makes

my $epsilon = 10**-7;
my (%set_opt, %d);
my $i = 0;
foreach my $interval (
    [-2*$pi, -$pi],
    [-$pi, 0],
    [0, $pi],
    [$pi, 2*$pi]
) {
    my @th = linspace($interval->[0] + $epsilon, $interval->[1] - $epsilon, 99, 0);
    @{ $d{csc}{$i}[0] } = @th;
    @{ $d{csc}{$i}[1] } = map { 1/sin($_) } @th;
    @{ $d{cot}{$i}[0] } = @th;
    @{ $d{cot}{$i}[1] } = map { cos($_)/sin($_) } @th;
    if ($i == 0) {
        $set_opt{csc}{$i} = 'color = "red", label = "csc(θ)"';
        $set_opt{cot}{$i} = 'color = "violet", label = "cot(θ)"';
    } else {
        $set_opt{csc}{$i} = 'color = "red"';
        $set_opt{cot}{$i} = 'color = "violet"';
    }
    $i++;
}
$i = 0;
foreach my $interval (
    [-2 * $pi, -1.5 * $pi],
    [-1.5*$pi, -0.5*$pi],
    [-0.5*$pi, 0.5 * $pi],
    [0.5 * $pi, 1.5 * $pi],
    [1.5 * $pi, 2 * $pi]
) {
    my @th = linspace($interval->[0] + $epsilon, $interval->[1] - $epsilon, 99, 0);
    @{ $d{sec}{$i}[0] } = @th;
    @{ $d{sec}{$i}[1] } = map { 1/cos($_) } @th;
    if ($i == 0) {
        $set_opt{sec}{$i} = 'color = "blue", label = "sec(θ)"';
        $set_opt{tan}{$i} = 'color = "green", label = "tan(θ)"';
    } else {
        $set_opt{sec}{$i} = 'color = "blue"';
        $set_opt{tan}{$i} = 'color = "green"';
    }
    @{ $d{tan}{$i}[0] } = @th;
    @{ $d{tan}{$i}[1] } = map { sin($_)/cos($_) } @th;
    $i++;
}
mkdir 'svg' unless -d 'svg';
my $xticks = "[-2 * $pi, -3 * $pi / 2, -$pi, -$pi / 2, 0, $pi / 2, $pi, 3 * $pi / 2, 2 * $pi"
        . '], [r\'$-2\pi$\', r\'$-3\pi/2$\', r\'$-\pi$\', r\'$-\pi/2$\', r\'$0$\', r\'$\pi/2$\', r\'$\pi$\', r\'$3\pi/2$\', r\'$2\pi$\']';
my ($min, $max) = (-9,9);
plt(
    fh => $fh,
    execute           => 0,
    'output.file' => 'output.images/plots.png',
    plots         => [
    { # sin
        data          => {
            'sin(θ)' => [
                [@x],
                [map {sin($_)} @x]
            ]
        },
        'plot.type'   => 'plot',
        'set.options' => {
            'sin(θ)' => 'color = "orange"'
        },
        set_xticks    => $xticks,
        set_xlim      => "-2*$pi, 2*$pi",
        xlabel        => 'θ',
        ylabel        => 'sin(θ)',
    },
    { # sin
        data          => {
            'cos(θ)' => [
                [@x],
                [map {cos($_)} @x]
            ]
        },
        'plot.type'   => 'plot',
        'set.options' => {
            'cos(θ)' => 'color = "black"'
        },
        set_xticks    => $xticks,
        set_xlim      => "-2*$pi, 2*$pi",
        xlabel        => 'θ',
        ylabel        => 'cos(θ)',
    },
    { # csc
        data          => $d{csc},
        'plot.type'   => 'plot',
        'set.options' => $set_opt{csc},
        set_xticks    => $xticks,
        set_xlim      => "-2*$pi, 2*$pi",
        set_ylim      => "$min,$max",
        'show.legend' => 0,
        vlines        => [ # asymptotes
            "-2*$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
            "-$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
            "0, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
            "$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
            "2*$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
        ],
        xlabel        => 'θ',
        ylabel        => 'csc(θ)',
    },
    { # sec
        data          => $d{sec},
        'plot.type'   => 'plot',
        'set.options' => $set_opt{sec},
        set_xticks    => $xticks,
        set_xlim      => "-2*$pi, 2*$pi",
        set_ylim      => "$min,$max",
        'show.legend' => 0,
        vlines        => [ # asymptotes
            "-1.5*$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
            "-.5*$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
            ".5*$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
            "1.5*$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
#           "2*$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
        ],
        xlabel        => 'θ',
        ylabel        => 'sec(θ)',
    },
        { # csc
        data          => $d{cot},
        'plot.type'   => 'plot',
        'set.options' => $set_opt{cot},
        set_xticks    => $xticks,
        set_xlim      => "-2*$pi, 2*$pi",
        set_ylim      => "$min,$max",
        'show.legend' => 0,
        vlines        => [ # asymptotes
            "-2*$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
            "-$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
            "0, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
            "$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
            "2*$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
        ],
        xlabel        => 'θ',
        ylabel        => 'cot(θ)',
    },
    { # sec
        data          => $d{tan},
        'plot.type'   => 'plot',
        'set.options' => $set_opt{tan},
        set_xticks    => $xticks,
        set_xlim      => "-2*$pi, 2*$pi",
        set_ylim      => "$min,$max",
        'show.legend' => 0,
        vlines        => [ # asymptotes
            "-1.5*$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
            "-.5*$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
            ".5*$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
            "1.5*$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
#           "2*$pi, $min, $max, color = 'gray', linestyle = 'dashed'",
        ],
        xlabel        => 'θ',
        ylabel        => 'tan(θ)',
    },
    ], # end
    ncols        => 2,
    nrows        => 3,
    set_figwidth => 8,
    suptitle     => 'Basic Trigonometric Functions'
);

plots

scatter

Plot points from a hash of arrays. Beyond x and y, a scatterplot can carry a third number per point as color, which is where most of scatter's options go.

Entering data

data takes two shapes, and which one you passed is worked out from whether the values are arrays or hashes.

1. One set (hash of 2 or 3 array refs). All the arrays must be the same length. Keys are taken in case-insensitive sorted order: the first is x, the second y, and a third — if present — is the value each point is colored by, which also gets a colorbar. Exactly 2 or 3 keys are allowed; anything else is an error. The keys become the axis labels, so naming them for the quantity they hold pays off:

scatter(
    'output.file' => '/tmp/scatter.svg',
    data          => {
        Height => \@height,    # x
        Weight => \@weight,    # y
        Age    => \@age,       # colour + colorbar
    },
    color_key     => 'Age',    # say so rather than relying on the sort
    cmap          => 'viridis',
);

Sorted order is convenient but fragile — rename a key and the axes swap. Use keys to fix the roles positionally, or color_key to name the color column explicitly, as above:

keys => [ 'Weight', 'Height', 'Age' ],    # x, y, colour

2. Several labelled sets (hash of hashes of array refs). The outer key is the set's legend label; each inner hash is a set of 2 or 3 arrays read exactly as in form 1. This is the form to use for "the same measurement, split by group":

scatter(
    'output.file' => '/tmp/by.group.svg',
    data          => {
        Male   => { Height => \@mh, Weight => \@mw },
        Female => { Height => \@fh, Weight => \@fw },
    },
    'set.options' => {
        Male   => 'marker = "v", color = "blue"',
        Female => 'marker = "o", color = "red"',
    },
);

With three inner keys, every set is colored by its own third column and the figure gets a single colorbar, drawn from the last set plotted — so read the colors across sets only when the color columns cover comparable ranges. color_key then names an inner key, and it must exist in every set: naming a key that is not there is an error rather than being quietly ignored.

options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
cmapthe colormap used when a third key colors the points; gist_rainbow by defaultcmap => 'viridis'
color_keywhich key of data holds the color values, rather than letting the sort decide. For the multi-set form this is an inner key, and it must be present in every setcolor_key => 'Age'
keysarray ref fixing the roles of the keys positionally: x, y, then colorkeys => ['Weight', 'Height', 'Age']
logscalean array of the axes to put on a log scalelogscale => ['x', 'y']
set.optionsarguments passed straight to Matplotlib's ax.scatter: marker, color, alpha, s, … A **scalar** for the single-set form; a **hash keyed by set name** for the multi-set form. Options for a set that has no data are an error'set.options' => 'marker = "v", alpha = 0.4'

xlabel and ylabel default to the names of the keys used for x and y; set them explicitly to override. The colorbar is labelled with the name of the color key itself, and takes cbdrawedges and cbpad from #color-bars-colorbars.

single, simple plot

scatter(
    fh            => $fh,
    data          => {
        X => [@x],
        Y => [map {sin($_)} @x]
    },
    execute       => 0,
    'output.file' => 'output.images/single.scatter.png',
);

makes the following image:

single scatter

options

multiple plots

plt(
    fh => $fh,
    'output.file' => 'output.images/scatterplots.png',
    execute           => 0,
    nrows             => 2,
    ncols             => 3,
    set_figheight     => 8,
    set_figwidth      => 16,
    suptitle          => 'Scatterplot Examples',            # applies to all
    plots             => [
        {    # single-set scatter; no label
            data => {
                X => @e,    # x-axis
                Y => @b,    # y-axis
                Z => @a     # color
            },
            title     => '"Single Set Scatterplot: Random Distributions"',
            color_key => 'Z',
            'set.options' => 'marker = "v"'
            , # arguments to ax.scatter: there's only 1 set, so "set.options" is a scalar
            text        => [ '100, 100, "text1"', '100, 100, "text2"', ],
            'plot.type' => 'scatter',
        },
        {     # multiple-set scatter, labels are "X" and "Y"
            data => {
                X => {    # 1st data set; label is "X"
                    A => @a,    # x-axis
                    B => @b,    # y-axis
                },
                W => {    # 2nd data set; label is "Y"
                    A => generate_normal_dist( 100, 15, 210 ),    # x-axis
                    B => generate_normal_dist( 100, 15, 210 ),    # y-axis
                }
            },
            'plot.type'   => 'scatter',
            title         => 'Multiple Set Scatterplot',
            'set.options' =>
            {    # arguments to ax.scatter, for each set in data
              X => 'marker = ".", color = "red"',
              W => 'marker = "d", color = "green"'
            },
        },
        {          # multiple-set scatter, labels are "X" and "Y"
            data => {    # 8th plot,
                X => {    # 1st data set; label is "X"
                    A => @e,    # x-axis
                    B => @b,    # y-axis
                    C => @a,    # color
                },
                Y => {    # 2nd data set; label is "Y"
                    A => generate_normal_dist( 100, 15, 210 ),    # x-axis
                    B => generate_normal_dist( 100, 15, 210 ),    # y-axis
                    C => generate_normal_dist( 100, 15, 210 ),    # color
                },
            },
            'plot.type'   => 'scatter',
            title         => 'Multiple Set Scatter w/ colorbar',
            'set.options' => {    # arguments to ax.scatter, for each set in data
                X => 'marker = "."',    # point
                Y => 'marker = "d"'     # diamond
            },
            color_key => 'C', # an inner key, present in both sets
        }
    ]
);

which makes the following figure:

scatterplots

venn_proportional_area

Draw an area-proportional Venn diagram, where the size of each region is scaled to the number of elements it contains. This plot type wraps the Lhttps://pypi.org/project/matplotlib-venn/ library, so that library must be installed in addition to matplotlib:

python3 -m pip install matplotlib-venn

data is a hash of array references; each key is a set and its array is the set's members (duplicates within a set are collapsed, exactly like a mathematical set). Because matplotlib_venn only draws proportional-area diagrams for two or three sets, data must contain either 2 or 3 keys. By default the sets are labelled and ordered alphabetically by key; use key.order to override that.

options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
alphaopacity of the set regions, 0–1 (default 0.4)alpha => 0.5
key.orderarray ref giving the order (and hence label positions) of the sets'key.order' => ['Right','Left']
set_colorsarray ref of colors, one per setset_colors => [qw(skyblue lightgreen salmon)]
titlethe subplot titletitle => 'Gospels vs. Synoptics'

single, simple plot

venn_proportional_area is a single-plot wrapper around plt, so it can be called directly:

venn_proportional_area(
    'output.file' => 'output.images/single.venn.png',
    title         => 'Gospels vs. Synoptics',
    data          => {
        Gospels  => [qw(Matthew Mark Luke John)],
        Synoptic => [qw(Matthew Mark Luke)],
    },
);

which makes the image:

single venn

multiple plots

Like every other plot type, it can also be one panel among several via plt and the plots array; here a two-set diagram sits beside a colored three-set diagram:

plt(
    'output.file' => 'output.images/venn.png',
    ncols         => 2,
    suptitle      => 'Proportional-area Venn diagrams',
    plots => [
        {
            'plot.type' => 'venn_proportional_area',
            title       => 'Two sets',
            data        => {
                Perl   => [qw(regex hashes CPAN sigils)],
                Python => [qw(regex hashes pip indentation)],
            },
        },
        {
            'plot.type'  => 'venn_proportional_area',
            title        => 'Three sets with colors',
            set_colors   => [qw(skyblue lightgreen salmon)],
            alpha        => 0.5,
            data         => {
                Mammals => [qw(bat whale dog cat human platypus)],
                Aquatic => [qw(whale shark octopus platypus)],
                Legged  => [qw(dog cat human bat platypus shark)],
            },
        },
    ],
);

which makes the following figure:

venn diagrams

violin

Plot a hash of array refs as violins: one kernel-density silhouette per key, with the quartile box, the whiskers and a red dot at the mean drawn over it. Where a boxplot summarises a distribution in five numbers, a violin shows its shape, so bimodal data that a boxplot would hide is visible.

violin and violinplot are the same subroutine under two names, and both accept the two data shapes described under #boxplot — a hash of array refs, or a bare array ref for a single violin. Non-numeric and undefined values are dropped silently. Each x-axis label carries the number of points that went into it, so a violin drawn from very few points announces itself.

options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
colora single color for every violincolor => 'red'
colorsa hash pairing each data key with its own color; every key in data must appearcolors => { E => 'yellow', B => 'purple', A => 'green' }
key.orderdetermine key order display on x-axis'key.order' => ['B', 'A', 'E']
logscalean array of the axes to put on a log scale; only x and y are accepted. Note this is an array reference, not the log => 1 scalar that bar takeslogscale => ['y']
orientation'vertical', 'horizontal'}, default: 'vertical'orientation => 'horizontal'
whiskersdraw the quartile bar and whiskers over the silhouette; on by default, 0 leaves the bare violinwhiskers => 0

single, simple plot

plt(
    'output.file' => 'output.images/single.violinplot.png',
    data              => {                                     # simple hash
        A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
        E => [ @{$y} ],
        B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
    },
    'plot.type'  => 'violinplot',
    title        => 'Single Violin Plot: Specified Colors',
    colors       => { E => 'yellow', B => 'purple', A => 'green' },
    fh => $fh,
    execute      => 0,
);

which makes:

single violinplot

multiple plots

plt(
    fh                => $fh,
    execute           => 0,
    'output.file'     => 'output.images/violin.png',
    plots             => [
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'violinplot',
            title        => 'Basic',
            xlabel       => 'xlabel',
            set_figwidth => 12,
            suptitle     => 'Violinplot'
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type' => 'violinplot',
            color       => 'red',
            title       => 'Set Same Color for All',
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type' => 'violinplot',
            colors      => {
                E => 'yellow',
                B => 'black'
            },
            title => 'Color by Key',
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            orientation => 'horizontal',
            'plot.type' => 'violinplot',
            colors      => {
                E => 'yellow',
                B => 'black'
            },
            title => 'Horizontal orientation',
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            whiskers    => 0,
            'plot.type' => 'violinplot',
            colors      => {
                E => 'yellow',
                B => 'black'
            },
            title => 'Whiskers off',
        },
    ],
    ncols => 3,
    nrows => 2,
);

violin

wide

Summarise several runs of the same curve. Every run is drawn as a faint line, the mean of the runs as a solid one, and one standard deviation either side of the mean as a translucent ribbon. This is the plot for repeated measurements — replicate experiments, repeated simulations, one trace per subject — where a plot of every line on top of the others would be an unreadable thicket and a plot of the mean alone would hide how much the runs disagree.

The runs do not have to share an x grid: each group's runs are interpolated onto 101 evenly spaced points spanning that group's own x range before the mean and the standard deviation are taken, so runs of different lengths, or sampled at different x values, can be summarised together. A run is first sorted by x, so it may be entered in any order; and it counts towards the mean and the ribbon only between its own first and last x, so a run that stops early narrows the summary to the runs that continue rather than being held flat at its last value.

Entering data

1. Labelled groups (hash). Each key is a group and becomes the legend label; its value is an array of runs, and each run is a [ \@x, \@y ] pair — the same pair #plot uses:

my @x = 0 .. 100;
my %runs;
foreach my $group ('Clinical', 'HGI') {
    my $shift = $group eq 'HGI' ? 1 : 0;
    foreach my $replicate (1 .. 3) {
        push @{ $runs{$group} }, [
            [@x],                                                       # x
            [ map { $shift + sin($_/10) + rand_between(-0.2, 0.2) } @x ] # y
        ];
    }
}
wide(
    'output.file' => 'output.images/single.wide.png',
    data          => \%runs,
    color         => {          # one color per group
        Clinical => 'blue',
        HGI      => 'green',
    },
    title         => 'Visualization of similar lines plotted together',
    xlabel        => 'time',
    ylabel        => 'signal',
);

which makes the image:

wide single

2. One unlabelled group (array). Drop the enclosing hash and pass one group's array of runs directly; color is then a single color rather than a hash:

wide(
    'output.file' => 'output.images/single.array.png',
    data          => $runs{Clinical},
    color         => 'red',
);

A group with a single run is legal — it just produces a line with a zero-width ribbon — which is convenient when one group has replicates and another does not.

options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
colorfor hash data, a hash of one color per group; for array data, a single color. Groups with no entry fall back to Matplotlib's b (blue), so a partial hash is allowedcolor => { Clinical => 'blue', HGI => 'green' }
show.legendon by default, and only the hash form has labels to show; 0 suppresses it'show.legend' => 0

wide accepts the usual axes options — title, xlabel, ylabel, set_xlim and the rest — but not logscale or key.order. For a log axis use Matplotlib's own set_yscale => '"log"'. Since there is no key.order, the groups are drawn in Perl's hash order, which is arbitrary and differs between runs: give each group an explicit color if you need the same picture twice.

single, simple plot

Both calls above go through the wide wrapper; naming the type explicitly to plt is equivalent and takes exactly the same options:

plt(
    'output.file' => 'output.images/single.wide.png',
    'plot.type'   => 'wide',
    data          => \%runs,
    color         => { Clinical => 'blue', HGI => 'green' },
);

multiple plots

As an element of plots, a wide panel is just another plot hash — here the labelled groups sit beside one group on its own:

plt(
    'output.file' => 'output.images/wide.png',
    ncols         => 2,
    suptitle      => 'Replicate runs, summarised',
    plots         => [
        {
            'plot.type' => 'wide',
            data        => \%runs,               # hash of groups of runs
            color       => { Clinical => 'blue', HGI => 'green' },
            title       => '"Two groups, mean +/- 1 s.d."', # comma: quoted
            xlabel      => 'time',
            ylabel      => 'signal',
        },
        {
            'plot.type'   => 'wide',
            data          => $runs{Clinical},    # just the runs, unlabelled
            color         => 'red',
            'show.legend' => 0,
            title         => 'One group with no legend',
        },
    ],
);

wide subplots

Because a wide panel collapses many lines into one summary, it also composes well with a plot type that shows the same data another way. Here the runs are summarised on the left and the distribution of their final values is drawn beside them:

my %endpoints;
foreach my $group (keys %runs) {
    @{ $endpoints{$group} } = map { $_->[1][-1] } @{ $runs{$group} };
}
plt(
    'output.file' => 'output.images/wide.and.violin.png',
    ncols         => 2,
    plots         => [
        {
            'plot.type' => 'wide',
            data        => \%runs,
            color       => { Clinical => 'blue', HGI => 'green' },
            title       => 'Runs over time',
        },
        {
            'plot.type' => 'violinplot',
            data        => \%endpoints,    # hash of arrays, same keys
            colors      => { Clinical => 'blue', HGI => 'green' },
            title       => 'Final values',
        },
    ],
);

wide and violin

The three images above are written by wide.example.pl in the git repository (it is not shipped in the CPAN distribution); re-run it from the repository root with perl -Ilib wide.example.pl to regenerate them.

Advanced

Notes in Files

all files that can have notes with them, give notes about how the file was written. For example, SVG files have the following:

<dc:title>made/written by /mnt/ceph/dcondon/ui/gromacs/tut/dup.2puy/1.plot.gromacs.pl called using "plot" in /mnt/ceph/dcondon/perl5/perlbrew/perls/perl-5.42.0/lib/site_perl/5.42.0/x86_64-linux/Matplotlib/Simple.pm</dc:title>`

Speed

To improve speed, all data can be written into a single temp python3 file thus:

use File::Temp;
my $fh = File::Temp->new( DIR => '/tmp', SUFFIX => '.py', UNLINK => 0 );

all files will be written to $fh->filename; be sure to put execute => 0 unless you want the file to be run, which is the last step.

plt(
    data => {
        Clinical => [
            [
                [@xw],    # x
                [@y]      # y
            ],
            [ [@xw], [ map { $_ + rand_between( -0.5, 0.5 ) } @y ] ],
            [ [@xw], [ map { $_ + rand_between( -0.5, 0.5 ) } @y ] ]
        ],
        HGI => [
            [
                [@xw],                            # x
                [ map { 1.9 - 1.1 / $_ } @xw ]    # y
            ],
            [ [@xw], [ map { $_ + rand_between( -0.5, 0.5 ) } @y ] ],
            [ [@xw], [ map { $_ + rand_between( -0.5, 0.5 ) } @y ] ]
        ]
    },
    'output.file' => 'output.images/single.wide.png',
    'plot.type'       => 'wide',
    color             => {
        Clinical => 'blue',
        HGI      => 'green'
    },
    title        => 'Visualization of similar lines plotted together',
    fh => $fh,
    execute      => 0,
);
# the last plot should have C<< execute =E<gt> 1 >>
plt(
    data => [
        [
            [@xw],    # x
            [@y]      # y
        ],
        [ [@xw], [ map { $_ + rand_between( -0.5, 0.5 ) } @y ] ],
        [ [@xw], [ map { $_ + rand_between( -0.5, 0.5 ) } @y ] ]
    ],
    'output.file' => 'output.images/single.array.png',
    'plot.type'       => 'wide',
    color             => 'red',
    title             => 'Visualization of similar lines plotted together',
    fh                => $fh,
    execute           => 1,
);

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

This software is free. It is licensed under the same terms as Perl itself