Description
Compare the results of the following two code samples:
from pylab import *
fig = figure()
ax = fig.add_subplot(111)
ax.bar(range(3), [10, 20, 30])
ax.set_xticks(range(3))
ax.set_xticklabels(["supercalifragilisticexpialidocious",
"eventhoughthesoundofitissomethingquiteatrocious",
"ifyousayitloudenoughyouresuretosoundprecocious"])
fig.autofmt_xdate()
show()from pylab import *
import mpl_toolkits.axisartist as AA
fig = figure()
ax = fig.add_subplot(AA.Subplot(fig, 111))
ax.bar(range(3), [10, 20, 30])
ax.set_xticks(range(3))
ax.set_xticklabels(["supercalifragilisticexpialidocious",
"eventhoughthesoundofitissomethingquiteatrocious",
"ifyousayitloudenoughyouresuretosoundprecocious"])
fig.autofmt_xdate()
show()(The only difference between the samples is that the second one is using mpl_toolkits.axisartist)
The first example formats the tick labels so that they appear diagonally and thus do not overlap each other. The second does not.
I noticed on the AxisGrid page (http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/mpl_toolkits/axes_grid/index.html) the following message:
axes_grid and axisartist (but not axes_grid1) uses a custom Axes class (derived from the mpl’s original Axes class). As a side effect, some commands (mostly tick-related) do not work. Use axes_grid1 to avoid this, or see how things are different in axes_grid and axisartist (LINK needed)
Although this describes a problem simoilar to the one I'm seeing, it is not very helpful as it does not suggest any alternatives. (For the record, I am using axisartist so that I can configure the shape/colour of the axis border)