Development [LWN.net]

Matplotlib announces a major release

By Forrest Cook
June 4, 2008

Matplotlib is a cross-platform numerical plotting and analysis library for Python:

matplotlib is a python 2D plotting library which produces publication quality figures in a variety of hardcopy formats and interactive environments across platforms. matplotlib can be used in python scripts, the python and ipython shell (ala matlab or mathematica), web application servers, and six graphical user interface toolkits. matplotlib tries to make easy things easy and hard things possible. You can generate plots, histograms, power spectra, bar charts, errorcharts, scatterplots, etc, with just a few lines of code.

Matplotlib version 0.71 was last examined on LWN in January, 2005. Recently, major release version 0.98.0 was announced:

matplotlib 0.98.0 is a major release which requires python2.4 and numpy 1.1. It contains significant improvements and may require some advanced users to update their code; see migration and API_CHANGES. We are supporting a maintenance branch of the older code available at matplotlib 0.91.3.

The major changes in matplotlib 0.98.0 include a complete rewrite of the transformation infrastructure and new support for user-defined transformations and projections. The full list of changes is available in the CHANGELOG file. The new matplotlib release coincides with the new release (version 1.1.0) of NumPy, the fundamental package needed for scientific computing with Python:

"This is the first minor release since the 1.0 release in October 2006. There are a few major changes, which introduce some minor API breakage. In addition this release includes tremendous improvements in terms of bug-fixing, testing, and documentation."

Looking forward to upcoming and in-progress matplotlib development, the Goals document explains a number of new matplotlib capabilities that are in the planning and development stages.

If you need to create any number of scientific data plots, matplotlib is an excellent choice for the job. It truly lives up to the claim of being easy to use. The latest matplotlib source code is available for download here.

Comments (2 posted)

System Applications

Backup Software

bkupcj 0.3.2 released (SourceForge)

Version 0.3.2 bkupcj of has been announced. "bkupcj is a software for automatically backup your files to usb disk, samba partition or local directory. bkupcj creates mirrors of original directories, isn't incremental in order to optimize disk space. bkupcj can also be used like a cron-job."

Comments (1 posted)

Database Software

Core team statement on replication in PostgreSQL

The PostgreSQL core team has issued a statement on replication in PostgreSQL. "The Postgres core team met at PGCon to discuss a few issues, the largest of which is the need for simple, built-in replication for PostgreSQL. Historically the project policy has been to avoid putting replication into core PostgreSQL, so as to leave room for development of competing solutions, recognizing that there is no "one size fits all" replication solution. However, it is becoming clear that this policy is hindering acceptance of PostgreSQL to too great an extent, compared to the benefit it offers to the add-on replication projects."

Full Story (comments: 3)

SQLObject 0.9.7 released

Version 0.9.7 of SQLObject has been announced, it is a bug fix release. "SQLObject is an object-relational mapper. Your database tables are described as classes, and rows are instances of those classes. SQLObject is meant to be easy to use and quick to get started with. SQLObject supports a number of backends: MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Firebird, Sybase, MSSQL and MaxDB (also known as SAPDB)."