Saving/ returning plots

[EleniSmyrniou]

In plotting.py wouldn't it make more sense to return the fig and the axes?
That way the user can make modifications in the plot. This is arleady being done in plot_merge but not in plot_bore and plot_cpt

[RDWimmers]

We do not return the matplotlib.pyplot.Figure object in the plot_cpt and plot_bore methods because you can provide an Axes based on a user defined Figure. Therefore, the need of returning it becomes unnecessary. A Figure object is only created within the function when the user does not provide an Axes. If we decide to return the Figure the return type of the function change based on the user input.

[tlukkezen]

@EleniSmyrniou although we only return the axes in the plot_cpt and plot_bore functions, the Figure that is created under the hood is still active in matplotlib and can still be accessed by the general API

axes = plot_cpt(...)
pyplot.savefig(...)

This will allow you to save your figure until you create another Figure.

Returning just the axes allows for more flexibility in adjusting/appending to existing axes, while keeping a consistent function signature and it still allows you to access the Figure, so it seems like the best solution in our view.

For maximum control you can create your own Subplot figure and provide the axes as arguments to the plotting functions.

One thing that we could do is also provide this signature philosophy to the plot_merge function for consistency.

[EleniSmyrniou]

Ok thanks!