Python ASCII plots in terminal

Question

With Octave I am able to plot arrays to the terminal, for example, plotting an array with values for the function x^2 gives this output in my terminal:

   10000 ++---------+-----------+----------+-----------+---------++
         ++         +           +          +           +         ++
         |+         :           :          :           :         +|
         |++        :           :          :           :        ++|
         | +        :           :          :           :        + |
         | ++       :           :          :           :       ++ |
    8000 ++.+..................................................+.++
         |  ++      :           :          :           :      ++  |
         |   ++     :           :          :           :     ++   |
         |    +     :           :          :           :     +    |
         |    ++    :           :          :           :    ++    |
         |     +    :           :          :           :    +     |
    6000 ++....++..........................................++....++
         |      ++  :           :          :           :  ++      |
         |       +  :           :          :           :  +       |
         |       ++ :           :          :           : ++       |
         |        ++:           :          :           :++        |
    4000 ++........++..................................++........++
         |          +           :          :           +          |
         |          ++          :          :          ++          |
         |          :++         :          :         ++:          |
         |          : ++        :          :        ++ :          |
         |          :  ++       :          :       ++  :          |
    2000 ++.............++........................++.............++
         |          :    ++     :          :     ++    :          |
         |          :     +++   :          :   +++     :          |
         |          :       ++  :          :  ++       :          |
         |          :        +++:          :+++        :          |
         +          +          ++++      ++++          +          +
       0 ++---------+-----------+----------+-----------+---------++
         0        20000       40000      60000       80000     100000

Is there some way I can do something similar in Python, specifically with matplotlib? bashplotlib seems to offer some of this functionality but appears to be quite basic compared to Octave's offering.

I have not played with gnuplot's ascii mode, but from this page it looks similar to what you want: cs.hmc.edu/~vrable/gnuplot/using-gnuplot.html If you want to use gnuplot from python, you could have python write a script file for gnuplot and then use subprocess to call gnuplot on the script file that you just wrote. Not too elegant, but it should work. — DanHickstein
– DanHickstein, Commented Dec 1, 2013 at 23:39

Datageek · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-14 15:44:04Z

As few answers already suggested the gnuplot is a great choice.

However, there is no need to call a gnuplot subprocess, it might be much easier to use a python gnuplotlib library.

Example (from: https://github.com/dkogan/gnuplotlib):

>>> import numpy as np
>>> import gnuplotlib as gp

>>> x = np.linspace(-5,5,100)

>>> gp.plot( x, np.sin(x) )
[ graphical plot pops up showing a simple sinusoid ]


>>> gp.plot( (x, np.sin(x), {'with': 'boxes'}),
...          (x, np.cos(x), {'legend': 'cosine'}),

...          _with    = 'lines',
...          terminal = 'dumb 80,40',
...          unset    = 'grid')

[ ascii plot printed on STDOUT]
   1 +-+---------+----------+-----------+-----------+----------+---------+-+
     +     +|||+ +          +         +++++   +++|||+          +           +
     |     |||||+                    +     +  +||||||       cosine +-----+ |
 0.8 +-+   ||||||                    +     + ++||||||+                   +-+
     |     ||||||+                  +       ++||||||||+                    |
     |     |||||||                  +       ++|||||||||                    |
     |     |||||||+                +        |||||||||||                    |
 0.6 +-+   ||||||||               +         +||||||||||+                 +-+
     |     ||||||||+              |        ++|||||||||||                   |
     |     |||||||||              +        |||||||||||||                   |
 0.4 +-+   |||||||||              |       ++||||||||||||+                +-+
     |     |||||||||             +        +||||||||||||||                  |
     |     |||||||||+            +        |||||||||||||||                  |
     |     ||||||||||+           |       ++||||||||||||||+           +     |
 0.2 +-+   |||||||||||          +        |||||||||||||||||           +   +-+
     |     |||||||||||          |        +||||||||||||||||+          |     |
     |     |||||||||||         +         ||||||||||||||||||         +      |
   0 +-+   +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++   +-+
     |       +        ||||||||||||||||||+         |       ++||||||||||     |
     |       |        +|||||||||||||||||          +        |||||||||||     |
     |       +        ++||||||||||||||||          |        +||||||||||     |
-0.2 +-+      +        |||||||||||||||||          +        |||||||||||   +-+
     |        |        ++||||||||||||||+           |       ++|||||||||     |
     |        +         |||||||||||||||            +        ++||||||||     |
     |         |        +||||||||||||||            +         |||||||||     |
-0.4 +-+       +        ++||||||||||||+             |        +||||||||   +-+
     |          +        |||||||||||||              +        |||||||||     |
     |          |        +|||||||||||+               +       ++|||||||     |
-0.6 +-+        +        ++||||||||||                |        +|||||||   +-+
     |           +        |||||||||||                +        ++||||||     |
     |           +        +|||||||||+                 +        |||||||     |
     |            +       ++||||||||                  +       +++|||||     |
-0.8 +-+          +      + ++||||||+                   +      + +|||||   +-+
     |             +    +   +||||||                     +    +  ++||||     |
     +           +  +  ++   ++|||++     +           +   ++  +  + ++|||     +
  -1 +-+---------+----------+-----------+-----------+----------+---------+-+
    -6          -4         -2           0           2          4           6

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 12:26:15Z

25

As @Benjamin Barenblat pointed out, there is currently no way using matplotlib. If you really want to use a pure python library, you may check ASCII Plotter. However, as I commented above, I would use gnuplot as suggested e.g. in this question.

To use gnuplot directly from python you could either use Gnuplot.py (I haven't tested this yet) or use gnuplot with the scripting interface. Latter can be realised (as suggested here) like:

import numpy as np
x=np.linspace(0,2*np.pi,10)
y=np.sin(x)
import subprocess
gnuplot = subprocess.Popen(["/usr/bin/gnuplot"], 
                           stdin=subprocess.PIPE)
gnuplot.stdin.write("set term dumb 79 25\n")
gnuplot.stdin.write("plot '-' using 1:2 title 'Line1' with linespoints \n")
for i,j in zip(x,y):
   gnuplot.stdin.write("%f %f\n" % (i,j))
gnuplot.stdin.write("e\n")
gnuplot.stdin.flush()

This gives a plot like

    1 ++--------+---A******---------+--------+---------+---------+--------++
      +         + **      +A*       +        +         +      Line1 **A*** +
  0.8 ++        **           *                                            ++
      |       **              **                                           |
  0.6 ++     A                  *                                         ++
      |     *                    *                                         |
  0.4 ++   *                                                              ++
      |  **                       A                                        |
  0.2 ++*                          *                                      ++
      |*                            *                                      |
    0 A+                             *                              A     ++
      |                               *                            *       |
 -0.2 ++                               *                          *       ++
      |                                 A*                      **         |
 -0.4 ++                                  *                    *          ++
      |                                    **                 *            |
 -0.6 ++                                     *               A            ++
      |                                       *            **              |
 -0.8 ++                                                 **               ++
      +         +         +         +        + A****** **        +         +
   -1 ++--------+---------+---------+--------+--------A+---------+--------++
      0         1         2         3        4         5         6         7

Some styling options can be found e.g. here.

edited May 23, 2017 at 12:26

CommunityBot

11 silver badge

answered Dec 5, 2013 at 21:49

Jakob

21k8 gold badges81 silver badges99 bronze badges

3 Comments

pjvandehaar Over a year ago

The last line should be replaced with: gnuplot.stdin.write("exit\n"); gnuplot.stdin.flush(); gnuplot.wait()

sffc Over a year ago

In Python 3, it is necessary to wrap the strings passed to gnuplot.stdin in bytes, like this: gnuplot.stdin.write(bytes("set term dumb 79 25\n", "utf-8"))

AllanLRH Over a year ago

You can also just use gnuplot.stdin.write(b"set term dumb 79 25\n") to encode the string as bytes — tested at MacOS High Sierra 10.3.3 using in interactive Ipython terminal and Python 3.6.

nicoguaro · Accepted Answer · 2014-10-15 18:36:30Z

24

You can also try Sympy's TextBackend for plots, see doc. Or just use textplot.

Here it is an example

from sympy import symbols
from sympy.plotting import textplot
x = symbols('x')
textplot(x**2,0,5)

with the output

24.0992 |                                                      / 
        |                                                    ..  
        |                                                   /    
        |                                                 ..     
        |                                               ..       
        |                                              /         
        |                                            ..          
        |                                          ..            
12.0496 | ---------------------------------------..--------------
        |                                     ...                
        |                                   ..                   
        |                                 ..                     
        |                              ...                       
        |                           ...                          
        |                        ...                             
        |                   .....                                
        |              .....                                     
      0 | .............                                          
          0                      2.5                        5

edited Oct 15, 2014 at 18:36

answered Oct 15, 2014 at 3:59

nicoguaro

3,8701 gold badge36 silver badges59 bronze badges

2 Comments

Thomas Browne Over a year ago

This is sweet, but how would I plot a timeseries with this (or an arbitrary list of values) rather than a parametric function? Does sympy/texplot support such a thing?

nicoguaro Over a year ago

I don't know, I have never used that way. Probably, there is a workaround defining a function that returns the values that one has as "time series".

Nico Schlömer · Accepted Answer · 2020-03-05 15:34:52Z

I just released termplotlib which should hopefully make your life a lot easier here. For line plots, you need to install gnuplot and termplotlib,

pip install termplotlib

After this, line plots are generated with just

import termplotlib as tpl
import numpy

x = numpy.linspace(0, 2 * numpy.pi, 10)
y = numpy.sin(x)

fig = tpl.figure()
fig.plot(x, y, label="data", width=50, height=15)
fig.show()

    1 +---------------------------------------+
  0.8 |    **     **                          |
  0.6 |   *         **           data ******* |
  0.4 | **                                    |
  0.2 |*              **                      |
    0 |                 **                    |
      |                                   *   |
 -0.2 |                   **            **    |
 -0.4 |                     **         *      |
 -0.6 |                              **       |
 -0.8 |                       **** **         |
   -1 +---------------------------------------+
      0     1    2     3     4     5    6     7

j08lue · Accepted Answer · 2016-04-14 13:41:20Z

16

If you just need a quick overview and your x-axis is equally spaced, you could also just make some quick ascii output yourself.

In [1]: y = [20, 26, 32, 37, 39, 40, 38, 35, 30, 23, 17, 10,  5,  2,  0,  1,  3,
   ....:         8, 14, 20]

In [2]: [' '*(d-1) + '*' for d in y]
Out[2]: 
['                   *',
 '                         *',
 '                               *',
 '                                    *',
 '                                      *',
 '                                       *',
 '                                     *',
 '                                  *',
 '                             *',
 '                      *',
 '                *',
 '         *',
 '    *',
 ' *',
 '*',
 '*',
 '  *',
 '       *',
 '             *',
 '                   *']

If your y-data are not integers, offset and scale them so they are in a range that works. For example, the above numbers are basically ( sin(x)+1 )*20.

answered Apr 14, 2016 at 13:41

j08lue

1,7162 gold badges21 silver badges39 bronze badges

1 Comment

Shadi Over a year ago

This reminds me of my first C++ class plotting diamonds :D

user12517643 · Accepted Answer · 2019-12-11 10:47:22Z

Another alternative is the drawilleplot package. https://github.com/gooofy/drawilleplot

pip3 install drawilleplot

I find this to be a really nice method, as you only need to change the Matplotlib backend to enable it.

import matplotlib
matplotlib.use('module://drawilleplot')

After that, can use Matplotlib just as you normally would.

Here is an examply from the package README (note the plots look better than what is pasted here.)

def f(t):
    return np.exp(-t) * np.cos(2*np.pi*t)

t1 = np.arange(0.0, 5.0, 0.1)
t2 = np.arange(0.0, 5.0, 0.02)

plt.figure()
plt.subplot(211)
plt.plot(t1, f(t1), 'bo', t2, f(t2), 'k')

plt.subplot(212)
plt.plot(t2, np.cos(2*np.pi*t2), 'r--')
plt.show()

plt.close()

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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢘⣧⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢺⡿⠂⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠙⣷⣦⣤⣼⣿⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠁⠉⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⢿⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠉⠛⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⡇⠀⠀⢀⣼⡁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
−0.5⠀⠀⠀⠀⠰⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣽⣦⠀⣸⠛⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠙⢿⠷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠉⠉⠋⠟⠙⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠛⠋⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠋⠟⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠋⠟⠙⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠙⠏⠋⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠋⠟⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠙⠙⠏⠋⠉⠉⠁

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀0⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀1⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀2⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀3⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀4⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀5
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡖⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⡒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⡒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⡆
⠀⠀⠀1.0⠀⠀⠉⡇⠀⠀⠀⠙⢂⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⠌⠉⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠊⠘⠆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⠆⠙⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠋⠑⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠠⠆⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡌⠀⠀⠠⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡚⠀⠀⠸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡖⠀⠀⠈⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡌⠀⠀⠰⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠞⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢓⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⠁⠀⠀⠀⢤⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢘⠃⠀⠀⠀⠳⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⠀⠀⠀⠀⢡⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢈⠁⠀⠀⠀⢦⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠤⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡌⠀⠀⠀⠀⠠⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡛⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⠆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡖⠀⠀⠀⠀⢈⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠰⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
⠀⠀⠀0.5⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⠅⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣤⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢐⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⠆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢈⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠰⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢘⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣬⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡴⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢈⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡈⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠾⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⡃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡅⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⡁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠐⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠠⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
⠀⠀⠀0.0⠀⠀⠘⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢛⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢨⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠳⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢘⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢶⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⡂⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡌⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠨⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠛⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⠄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢘⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡋⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠖⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⡅⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣅⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠐⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⠆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠰⠆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣨⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢨⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣴⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢙⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡘⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠴⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
−0.5⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠃⠀⠀⠀⢀⡅⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⡅⠀⠀⠀⠀⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠇⠀⠀⠀⢀⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⡃⠀⠀⠀⢀⡃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡆⠀⠀⠀⠠⠆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⠀⠀⠀⣨⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢩⡀⠀⠀⠸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠰⠀⠀⠀⣴⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢙⠀⠀⠀⡘⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⠀⠀⠀⠴⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢃⠀⢠⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢥⠀⠰⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠧⠀⢠⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢃⠀⣀⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢦⠀⠰⠂⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇
−1.0⠀⠀⠀⠀⠲⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠓⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠐⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠓⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠁⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠚⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠉⠉⠉⠋⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠋⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠋⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠋⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠋⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠋⠉⠉⠉

Plots look really nice in a terminal about 100 characters wide

Precisely what I was looking for. Useful to get rough plots during the ssh session by changing a single line of code.
Neat. Actually those Braille symbols aren't ASCII, but Unicode block Braille Patterns(U+2800..U+28FF), containing all possible patterns of a 2x3 and 2x4 dot braille cells.

Igor Kroitor · Accepted Answer · 2018-11-11 17:36:41Z

11

See also: asciichart (implemented in Node.js, Python, Java, Go and Haskell)

answered Nov 11, 2018 at 17:36

Igor Kroitor

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Abdul Saboor · Accepted Answer · 2021-02-10 19:54:40Z

7

You can just do plotting in matplotlib as usual and show it as ascii text (colored or gray) Use matplotlib2terminal.py

I displayed my own picture in terminal at very high resolution, you just need to zoom out terminal enough. It's colored me in Terminal

edited Feb 10, 2021 at 19:54

answered Feb 10, 2021 at 19:43

Abdul Saboor

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smci Over a year ago

Neat, you might want to add an 'Author: ' line and open-source license in that script (assuming you wrote it).

luator Aug 26 at 14:04

Is the script still available somewhere? The link in the answer is dead.

Benjamin Barenblat · Accepted Answer · 2013-11-30 07:10:21Z

6

If you’re constrained to matplotlib, the answer is currently no. Currently, matplotlib has many backends, but ASCII is not one of them.

answered Nov 30, 2013 at 7:10

Benjamin Barenblat

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