from matplotlib import pyplot as plt
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
Are the above statements equivalent? Which is more readable/better form?
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4 Answers
Even though they are equivalent, I think there is a pretty good argument that the second form import matplotlib.pyplot as plt is objectively more readable:
It is generally customary to use
import matplotlib.pyplot as pltand suggested in the matplotlib documentation (see http://matplotlib.org/users/pyplot_tutorial.html etc...) so this will be more familiar to most readers.import matplotlib.pyplot as pltis shorter but no less clear.import matplotlib.pyplot as pltgives an unfamiliar reader a hint that pyplot is a module, rather than a function which could be incorrectly assumed from the first form.
3 Comments
megashigger
Hey, I'm trying to get a hang of the terminology. Is "pyplot" alone the module and "matplotlib" also a module? Or is "matplotlib.pyplot" the module? Thanks!
Eric Appelt
matplotlib is a package, essentially a collection of related modules. At its simplest, a package can be just a directory containing the module files with an empty
__init__.py file that tells python that the directory is to be treated as a package. A module B within package A (i.e. in the file structure A/B.py is imported as import A.B
Anton
@EricAppelt Is the syntax
A.B the same with attributes of an object?They both work the same so it is up to you which you prefer, personally I don't like typing so I would prefer the second.
from matplotlib import pyplot as plt
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt1
print(dir(plt) == dir(plt1))
True
answered May 31, 2015 at 13:38
Padraic Cunningham
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Comments
Just noticed one case that makes the two statements work differently to me
import matplotlib
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
matplotlib.use('Qt5Agg')
plt.plot(list(range(10)))
The above code works well. But if I write the second line in the other way,
import matplotlib
from matplotlib import pyplot as plt
matplotlib.use('Qt5Agg')
plt.plot(list(range(10)))
This above doensn't work and the process stops at "matplotlib.use('Qt5Agg')". Process finished with exit code -1073741571 (0xC00000FD)
This happens in IDE like Spyder console or Pycharm console. I feel it's related to the backend used though I didn't have a clear clue.
1 Comment
Axel Bregnsbo
I see a similar problem in PyCharm 2021.3 and PyCharm 2022: when doing
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt it works, but if I do from matplotlib import pyplot as plt I get a gui window that is blank and title Not Responding. My Colleagues also run PyCharm, but do not have this problem.Yes, both are the same.
It depends on you what you prefer to import.
Personally, I like to write:
from matplotlib import pyplot as plt
because it looks clearer and cleaner to me.
