I used to have a rule…
When I was a beginner learning data visualization, I used to have a rule — never, ever visit the Matplotlib documentation.
Nothing good ever came out of there. When I was on its pages, my eyes would process English words but, somehow, they were interpreted into my brain like I was deciphering a foreign language. Then I would stumble upon some masterpieces like these, and I would think, do I even use the same library?
Even if you are a seasoned programmer, I am sure you’ve faced similar challenges while learning Maplotlib. It is no easy library. There are so many classes and so damn many ways of doing the simplest tasks — utter confusion.
If you are in that position or want to step up your Matplotlib game, I’ve got the guide you need. I will show you to reach deep into the roots of the Matplotlib jungle, set a fire on it, and fly out on a jetpack.
Let’s start!
Matplotlib artists
Though exceptional programmers wrote Matplotlib, it consists of base classes called Artists.
Every circle-annotated component of the plot is implemented as a separate class that inherits from the base artist. But this ability to represent everything as a class has its pros and cons.