test on hold

Hello, I would like to know if there is a mean for

    > testing on the hold status of a figure, i.e. to know if
    > hold is 'on' or 'off' ?

    > In fact, I use frequently the ISHOLD function in Matlab
    > and I can't find a similar one in Matplotlib.

A sin of omission. I just added it to CVS. If you don't have CVS
access, in the meantime, you can either use the ax._ishold variable to
inspect the axes hold status, or add the following

to matplotlib.axes.Axes:

    def ishold(self):
        'return the HOLD status of the axes'
        return self._hold

and to matplotlib.matlab

    def ishold(b=None):
       """
       Return the hold status of the current axes
       """
       return gca().ishold()

Should cure what ails ya ...

JDH