How do I plot with matplotlib, called from a function?

Question

I currently have a main script, calling a function. Part of that functions functionality is plotting two graphs. The script works if I include show() at the end, but it is a bit annoying that either the script pauses until I close the graph or I have to wait to look at the graphs until the program is finished. Hence I feel like I need to use ion()/ioff(). The code snippet below works if I call the function from the shell, but not if I call it from the script.

#Plot the graphs.
ion()
firstplot = plot(GridAround[Mode], LogTheory[Mode], '.')
secondplot = plot(GridAround[Mode], NormalApprox[Mode])
draw()
ioff()

My question is simply: How do I plot from within a function, without using show() (which will pause the script or only show the graphs at the end)?

I apologize in advance, this question surely must have an answer somewhere on the web, but after a couple of hours of searching, I have not been able to find it.

As it turns out, a solution that makes it work for me is: fig = figure() plot(blah) fig.show() This does not halt the execution of the code, and allows the figure to be shown. However, the documentation on figure.show() is as far as I can tell virtually non-existent. — Har
– Har, Commented May 17, 2011 at 12:06

GWW · Accepted Answer · 2011-05-16 15:15:49Z

1

You can use a different rendering backend, however, you will need to save the plot as a file with savefig instead of using show

import matplotlib
matplotlib.use('Agg')

answered May 16, 2011 at 15:15

GWW

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2 Comments

Har Over a year ago

Saving the images is a solution, but not a very good one for my purposes. However, figure.show() seems to be doing what I want.

GWW Over a year ago

@Har: I'm glad you figured it out, I guess I misinterpreted what you were asking about.

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