Improve color cycle usage #5674

mdboom · 2015-12-14T16:44:24Z

Addresses #5489 and #5577 and the minutes from the meeting on 2015-11-30.

WeatherGod · 2015-12-14T17:03:44Z

lib/matplotlib/colors.py

+            clist = rcParams['axes.color_cycle']
+            prop_cycler = cycler('color', clist)
+
+        cycler = cls._get_property_cycler()


clobbering cycler.

Sorry -- this is some weird merge thing. Will fix.

WeatherGod · 2015-12-14T17:18:20Z

Just for the record, I am still very hesitant on this idea, particularly because is it specific to colors, to the exclusion of any other property type. If this was generalized to be able to access one or more members from the cycler, I might warm up to the idea, but I still feel that this is wrong somehow.

Perhaps it would make more sense to allow some sort of interpolation feature into rcParams (a la configobject)? That way, users could define rcParam entries that are just simply list of values and they would also define the prop_cycle string using those entries. Then, they have complete access to the original list of values for use while also allowing prop_cycle to be dynamically defined in the rcParams. This also does not preclude my counter-proposal of attaching labels to iterations of the prop_cycler for reuse in subsequent plots. The currently proposed approach would make such a feature more difficult to implement in the future, I think.

WeatherGod · 2015-12-14T17:32:17Z

lib/matplotlib/colors.py

+For example:
+
+    - `[0]`: The first color in the cycle
+    - `[1]`: The second color in the cycle


Should probably note that negative indexes are not allowed (as evidenced by the regex used).

Agreed. I should also mention the fact that it wraps around.

mdboom · 2015-12-14T20:39:08Z

lib/matplotlib/colors.py

+            clist = rcParams['axes.color_cycle']
+            prop_cycler = cycler('color', clist)
+
+        colors = prop_cycler.by_key()['color']


As @tacaswell mentioned, this can be done in a backward compatible way (that doesn't require the latest version of cycler as this does).

mdboom · 2015-12-16T14:27:27Z

Perhaps it would make more sense to allow some sort of interpolation feature into rcParams (a la configobject)? That way, users could define rcParam entries that are just simply list of values and they would also define the prop_cycle string using those entries. Then, they have complete access to the original list of values for use while also allowing prop_cycle to be dynamically defined in the rcParams.

I'm not opposed to that idea, but the point here is to have a super convenient syntax for accessing a color cycle. The use case is very common here, where people currently have a few things that are "grouped" that they want to plot all in the same color. Currently people tend to use the single character color names for this, but in doing so, they lose any advantage of having a nice set of colors that are specifically designed to have high contrast from each other, look good in print and screen etc.

plt.plot(x, y, 'b')
plt.scatter(x0, y0, s0, color='b')

We could also solve this by having some sort of grouping context:

with same_color():
   plt.plot(x, y)
   plt.scatter(x0, y0, s0)

but that is asking users to change their habits a lot and would be significantly more invasive to implement.

As nice as the cycler concept is, it does break down when trying to combine filled and unfilled things.

This also does not preclude my counter-proposal of attaching labels to iterations of the prop_cycler for reuse in subsequent plots.

I still like that suggestion in theory, but in practice it creates ambiguity about whether the user wants just the color or the whole set of styles from the current cycler "dictionary". I'd argue there's still a strong use for the former which this PR is trying to address.

tacaswell · 2015-12-29T22:47:47Z

lib/matplotlib/sankey.py

+            else:
+                fc = kwargs.pop('fc', kwargs.pop('facecolor', None))
+                lw = kwargs.pop('lw', kwargs.pop('linewidth', None))
+        if fc is None:


There is a path through this where fc is never defined.

Oops. Fixed.

tacaswell · 2015-12-30T14:54:18Z

lib/matplotlib/axes/_axes.py

-            colors = ('b', 'g', 'r', 'c', 'm', 'y', 'k', 'w')
+            get_next_color = self._get_patches_for_fill.get_next_color
+        else:
+            color_cycler = itertools.cycle(colors)


[bikeshed]color_cycle instead of color_cycler as it is a cycle object not a cycler object (sorry, I am really bad at naming things)[/bikeshed]

mdboom · 2015-12-30T18:50:20Z

I guess we need to figure out what to do with this one:

Include for 2.0
Postpone for post-2.0 when a better solution emerges

Either way we need to do something to address the problem we've created by making it harder to address the colors in the default color cycle.

WeatherGod · 2015-12-30T18:57:26Z

Well, my vote is that this should be for 2.1 because it is a new feature. I also reject the notion that accessing the color cycle is any harder than it was before. Before, if one were doing that, they would have had to use rcParams['axes.color_cycle']. It is still possible to do that (albeit with a deprecation warning now).

What I am against is the assumption that color is the only thing that users will care about and the only thing that deserves a shortcut. This notation limits limits the possibilities for other properties, making any shorthand notations for them more difficult.

Perhaps it would make more sense to simply get rid of the deprecation warning?

mdboom · 2015-12-30T18:59:19Z

Before, if one were doing that, they would have had to use rcParams['axes.color_cycle']. It is still possible to do that (albeit with a deprecation warning now).

I was thinking more that users used to use 'b', 'r' and 'g' etc., as many of our own examples do.

mdboom · 2016-01-25T21:14:13Z

Note to self: This should also handle violinplot.

mdboom · 2016-04-11T21:45:07Z

Replaced by #6291.

mdboom added the status: needs review label Dec 14, 2015

mdboom added this to the next major release (2.0) milestone Dec 14, 2015

WeatherGod reviewed Dec 14, 2015
View reviewed changes

mdboom mentioned this pull request Dec 14, 2015

WIP: updated defult boxplot styles #5523

Closed

3 tasks

mdboom added 5 commits December 14, 2015 15:34

Use Vega collection10 colors instead

13e98b4

Fix matplotlib#5577: Use the color cycle in more places

cebbe40

Fix matplotlib#5489: feature for specifying N in color cycle

4386e35

Fix merge

8d8ccb6

PEP8

3724751

mdboom force-pushed the color-cycle-handling branch from aaedcb8 to c9b9b8a Compare December 14, 2015 20:37

mdboom reviewed Dec 14, 2015
View reviewed changes

mdboom force-pushed the color-cycle-handling branch 2 times, most recently from 84a80db to ced56dd Compare December 16, 2015 14:18

mdboom added 4 commits December 29, 2015 16:30

Update test images

e702bc3

Lookup color in backward-compatible way

1013ed8

Support [N] syntax in rcParams file

140d0ab

Handle bytes and unicode

91906bc

mdboom force-pushed the color-cycle-handling branch from ced56dd to 91906bc Compare December 29, 2015 21:30

tacaswell reviewed Dec 29, 2015
View reviewed changes

Fix logic

011f9fa

tacaswell reviewed Dec 30, 2015
View reviewed changes

Rename variable

350a66a

mdboom mentioned this pull request Jan 14, 2016

New cycler does not work with bar plots #5854

Closed

mdboom mentioned this pull request Jan 25, 2016

Non-default color_cycle not working in Pie plot #4975

Closed

tacaswell mentioned this pull request Jan 25, 2016

New rcParams requests #5618

Closed

mdboom mentioned this pull request Jan 26, 2016

Style changes omnibus PR #5774

Merged

mdboom mentioned this pull request Feb 9, 2016

Use colors from stylesheet for pie chart #5985

Closed

tacaswell mentioned this pull request Feb 14, 2016

Apply new default colours in more places #5995

Merged

mdboom mentioned this pull request Mar 7, 2016

Scatter markers do not follow new colour cycle #5990

Closed

mdboom mentioned this pull request Apr 11, 2016

Color cycle handling #6291

Merged

mdboom closed this Apr 11, 2016

mdboom removed the status: needs review label Apr 11, 2016

QuLogic modified the milestones: unassigned, 2.0 (style change major release) Apr 11, 2016

ImportanceOfBeingErnest mentioned this pull request Aug 26, 2019

scatter ignores marker cycler #15105

Open

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

Improve color cycle usage #5674

Improve color cycle usage #5674

mdboom commented Dec 14, 2015

WeatherGod Dec 14, 2015

mdboom Dec 14, 2015

WeatherGod commented Dec 14, 2015

WeatherGod Dec 14, 2015

mdboom Dec 14, 2015

mdboom Dec 14, 2015

mdboom commented Dec 16, 2015

tacaswell Dec 29, 2015

mdboom Dec 29, 2015

tacaswell Dec 30, 2015

mdboom Dec 30, 2015

mdboom commented Dec 30, 2015

WeatherGod commented Dec 30, 2015

mdboom commented Dec 30, 2015

mdboom commented Jan 25, 2016

mdboom commented Apr 11, 2016

Improve color cycle usage #5674

Improve color cycle usage #5674

Conversation

mdboom commented Dec 14, 2015

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

WeatherGod commented Dec 14, 2015

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

mdboom commented Dec 16, 2015

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

mdboom commented Dec 30, 2015

WeatherGod commented Dec 30, 2015

mdboom commented Dec 30, 2015

mdboom commented Jan 25, 2016

mdboom commented Apr 11, 2016