lib.pylabtools.figsize : NameError when using Qt4Agg backend and %pylab magic.

[SylvainCorlay]

Hello,
When using the pylab magic with the QtAgg backend for matplotlib, function lib.pylabtools.figsize is not imported.

This is probably "by design" but it unfortunate that one has to change ones code when changing "%pylab inline" into "%pylab" to have the graphs pop up instead of being inline.

Way to reproduce:

1. In a new ipython notebook (do not start with --pylab inline)

In [1]: %pylab inline
Welcome to pylab, a matplotlib-based Python environment [backend: module://IPython.zmq.pylab.backend_inline].
For more information, type 'help(pylab)'.
In [2]: figsize(2,2)

No error occurs

2. In a new ipython notebook (do not start with --pylab inline)

In [1]: %pylab
Welcome to pylab, a matplotlib-based Python environment [backend: Qt4Agg].
For more information, type 'help(pylab)'.
In [2]: figsize(2,2)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NameError                                 Traceback (most recent call last)
<ipython-input-2-1d42e6d441df> in <module>()
----> 1 figsize(2,2)
    NameError: name 'figsize' is not defined

[ivanov]

I can confirm this behavior - not sure if we should make figsize available in both cases or neither case.

@fperez wrote that code almost exactly a year ago, but he'll have very limited connectivity in the coming weeks.

The relevant lines are in IPython/core/pylabtools.py:301-302.

I'd actually prefer to move this code out to matplotlib - because we don't want to start creating asymmetries where the code will run in IPython but not in Python, since by also attaching figsize to plt.figsize we are wrongly giving the impressions to users of the plt interface that figsize is a standard method there.

[takluyver]

...I confess I did think figsize was part of pyplot. You have a good point.
;-)

[takluyver]

@ivanov - what do you want to do about this?