Is there some way to add support for latex symbols as markers?
I think it would be an extension of the current methods for plotting
markers- since I dont think all the color, edge, line style etc
properties would be relevant (or even possible). However, it would
allow arbitrary symbols (at least whatever latex can do) to be used,
which would be really useful.
The current marker set is fine for most simple plots- but when there
are a few different symbols it quickly becomes tricky to find a set
which can easily be distinguished from each other. The other problem
is that when preparing a graph for publication, it is occasionally
necessary to be able to refer to or quote the symbols in the caption
or the main text- and latex symbols in the graphs would make this look
a bit better.
I've had a quick look at how the marker symbols are implemented, and
it is my impression that it would be reasonably hard to implement a
new symbol of choice. On the other hand, since I am already using
latex to produce all the text in the graph, it seems it should be
fairly straightforward (with some careful attention to the
positioning...) to use the same text-drawing code which is used for
the legend, axes labels etc, to put the markers on the plot.
That's a very interesting idea. I actually think that with the recent textpath functionality that Jae-Joon added, we may be able to tie text and markers together without too much pain. Then it can advantage of all the performance optimizations in draw_markers. Each of the marker styles now contains a function that draws a path for the marker and then passes that to draw_marker. We could add one that draws an arbitrary text path, and then passes that along. I propose that Line.set_marker supports a new marker style "\.\.\." which would render whatever "..." is as math text.
Were you offering to try to produce a patch yourself? Either way, it would be great to file an enhancement request in the tracker so this idea doesn't get lost. It's a good one.
Mike
tcb wrote:
···
Hi,
Is there some way to add support for latex symbols as markers?
I think it would be an extension of the current methods for plotting
markers- since I dont think all the color, edge, line style etc
properties would be relevant (or even possible). However, it would
allow arbitrary symbols (at least whatever latex can do) to be used,
which would be really useful.
The current marker set is fine for most simple plots- but when there
are a few different symbols it quickly becomes tricky to find a set
which can easily be distinguished from each other. The other problem
is that when preparing a graph for publication, it is occasionally
necessary to be able to refer to or quote the symbols in the caption
or the main text- and latex symbols in the graphs would make this look
a bit better.
I've had a quick look at how the marker symbols are implemented, and
it is my impression that it would be reasonably hard to implement a
new symbol of choice. On the other hand, since I am already using
latex to produce all the text in the graph, it seems it should be
fairly straightforward (with some careful attention to the
positioning...) to use the same text-drawing code which is used for
the legend, axes labels etc, to put the markers on the plot.
Is there any interest in this?
thanks,
tcb
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Michael Droettboom
Science Software Branch
Operations and Engineering Division
Space Telescope Science Institute
Operated by AURA for NASA
I'm not sure about the textpath functionality. Most of the 'easy'
marker types have been specified already (triangles, squares etc). Are
the latex symbols defined somewhere that you could easily extract a
path description of them, and then pass that to the textpath code you
have? This would be perfect, since you could then apply the properties
changes already there (like color, size, linewidth etc), and you
wouldnt necessarily need latex to render the markers.
Even if you could manage to make a path description for (all) the
markers, they might not exactly correspond to the latex symbols which
would be one of the main aims- for eg. using text.usetex with the pdf
backend you could match the fonts in your graph to your latex document
and it would all look very nice
I agree that the best approach would be to make a new marker style
'\.\.\.' and pass the string inside to whatever renders the math text.
I hadn't consider making a patch myself- but perhaps I'll take a look
and see if something can be done (any pointers on the use of the math
text code would be appreciated...)- either way I will file an
enhancement request to keep track of it.
thanks,
tcb
···
On Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 1:03 PM, Michael Droettboom <mdroe@...31...> wrote:
That's a very interesting idea. I actually think that with the recent
textpath functionality that Jae-Joon added, we may be able to tie text and
markers together without too much pain. Then it can advantage of all the
performance optimizations in draw_markers. Each of the marker styles now
contains a function that draws a path for the marker and then passes that to
draw_marker. We could add one that draws an arbitrary text path, and then
passes that along. I propose that Line.set_marker supports a new marker
style "\.\.\." which would render whatever "..." is as math text.
Were you offering to try to produce a patch yourself? Either way, it would
be great to file an enhancement request in the tracker so this idea doesn't
get lost. It's a good one.
Mike
tcb wrote:
Hi,
Is there some way to add support for latex symbols as markers?
I think it would be an extension of the current methods for plotting
markers- since I dont think all the color, edge, line style etc
properties would be relevant (or even possible). However, it would
allow arbitrary symbols (at least whatever latex can do) to be used,
which would be really useful.
The current marker set is fine for most simple plots- but when there
are a few different symbols it quickly becomes tricky to find a set
which can easily be distinguished from each other. The other problem
is that when preparing a graph for publication, it is occasionally
necessary to be able to refer to or quote the symbols in the caption
or the main text- and latex symbols in the graphs would make this look
a bit better.
I've had a quick look at how the marker symbols are implemented, and
it is my impression that it would be reasonably hard to implement a
new symbol of choice. On the other hand, since I am already using
latex to produce all the text in the graph, it seems it should be
fairly straightforward (with some careful attention to the
positioning...) to use the same text-drawing code which is used for
the legend, axes labels etc, to put the markers on the plot.
Is there any interest in this?
thanks,
tcb
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your
developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay
ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference
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--
Michael Droettboom
Science Software Branch
Operations and Engineering Division
Space Telescope Science Institute
Operated by AURA for NASA
I'm not sure about the textpath functionality. Most of the 'easy'
marker types have been specified already (triangles, squares etc). Are
the latex symbols defined somewhere that you could easily extract a
path description of them, and then pass that to the textpath code you
have? This would be perfect, since you could then apply the properties
changes already there (like color, size, linewidth etc), and you
wouldnt necessarily need latex to render the markers.
Even if you could manage to make a path description for (all) the
markers, they might not exactly correspond to the latex symbols which
would be one of the main aims- for eg. using text.usetex with the pdf
backend you could match the fonts in your graph to your latex document
and it would all look very nice
I agree that the best approach would be to make a new marker style
'\.\.\.' and pass the string inside to whatever renders the math text.
I hadn't consider making a patch myself- but perhaps I'll take a look
and see if something can be done (any pointers on the use of the math
text code would be appreciated...)- either way I will file an
enhancement request to keep track of it.
The functionality in textpath.py is able to turn any text (including math with the internal render and externally-rendered LaTeX) into a path on-the-fly. It should exactly match the rest of the text, as long as the usetex option is passed along correctly. Look at textpath.text_to_path.get_text_path:
convert text *s* to path (a tuple of vertices and codes for matplotlib.math.Path).
*prop*
font property
*s*
text to be converted
*usetex*
If True, use matplotlib usetex mode.
*ismath*
If True, use mathtext parser. Effective only if usetex == False.
There's an example of its usage at the bottom of the same file.
It would be great if you wanted to look into this further. Let me know if I can provide any more pointers.
Mike
···
thanks,
tcb
On Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 1:03 PM, Michael Droettboom <mdroe@...31...> wrote:
That's a very interesting idea. I actually think that with the recent
textpath functionality that Jae-Joon added, we may be able to tie text and
markers together without too much pain. Then it can advantage of all the
performance optimizations in draw_markers. Each of the marker styles now
contains a function that draws a path for the marker and then passes that to
draw_marker. We could add one that draws an arbitrary text path, and then
passes that along. I propose that Line.set_marker supports a new marker
style "\.\.\." which would render whatever "..." is as math text.
Were you offering to try to produce a patch yourself? Either way, it would
be great to file an enhancement request in the tracker so this idea doesn't
get lost. It's a good one.
Mike
tcb wrote:
Hi,
Is there some way to add support for latex symbols as markers?
I think it would be an extension of the current methods for plotting
markers- since I dont think all the color, edge, line style etc
properties would be relevant (or even possible). However, it would
allow arbitrary symbols (at least whatever latex can do) to be used,
which would be really useful.
The current marker set is fine for most simple plots- but when there
are a few different symbols it quickly becomes tricky to find a set
which can easily be distinguished from each other. The other problem
is that when preparing a graph for publication, it is occasionally
necessary to be able to refer to or quote the symbols in the caption
or the main text- and latex symbols in the graphs would make this look
a bit better.
I've had a quick look at how the marker symbols are implemented, and
it is my impression that it would be reasonably hard to implement a
new symbol of choice. On the other hand, since I am already using
latex to produce all the text in the graph, it seems it should be
fairly straightforward (with some careful attention to the
positioning...) to use the same text-drawing code which is used for
the legend, axes labels etc, to put the markers on the plot.
Is there any interest in this?
thanks,
tcb
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA
is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your
developing skills, take BlackBerry mobile applications to market and stay
ahead of the curve. Join us from November 9 - 12, 2009. Register now! http://p.sf.net/sfu/devconference
_______________________________________________
Matplotlib-devel mailing list
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--
Michael Droettboom
Science Software Branch
Operations and Engineering Division
Space Telescope Science Institute
Operated by AURA for NASA
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Come build with us! The BlackBerry(R) Developer Conference in SF, CA
is the only developer event you need to attend this year. Jumpstart your
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_______________________________________________
Matplotlib-devel mailing list
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Michael Droettboom
Science Software Branch
Operations and Engineering Division
Space Telescope Science Institute
Operated by AURA for NASA
