Synopsis

Take a data structure in Perl, and automatically write a Python3 script using matplotlib to generate an image. The Python3 script is saved in /tmp, to be edited at the user's discretion. Requires python3 and matplotlib installations.

Single Plots

Simplest use case:

use Matplotlib::Simple 'plot';
plot({
   'output.filename' => '/tmp/gospel.word.counts.png',
   'plot.type'       => 'bar',
   data              => {
      Matthew => 18345,
      Mark    => 11304,
      Luke    => 19482,
      John    => 15635,
   }
});

where xlabel, ylabel, title, etc. are axis methods in matplotlib itself. plot.type, data, input.file are all specific to MatPlotLib::Simple.

gospel word counts

Multiple Plots

Having a plots argument as an array lets the module know to create subplots:

use Matplotlib::Simple 'plot';
plot({
    'output.filename'   => 'svg/pies.png',
    plots             => [
    {
            data    => {
             Russian => 106_000_000,  # Primarily European Russia
             German => 95_000_000,    # Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.
            },
            'plot.type' => 'pie',
            title       => 'Top Languages in Europe',
            suptitle    => 'Pie in subplots',
        },
        {
            data    => {
             Russian => 106_000_000,  # Primarily European Russia
             German => 95_000_000,    # Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.
            },
            'plot.type' => 'pie',
            title       => 'Top Languages in Europe',
        },
    ],
    ncols    => 2,
});

which produces the following subplots image:

pies

bar, barh, boxplot, hexbin, hist, hist2d, imshow, pie, plot, scatter, and violinplot all match the methods in matplotlib itself. =head1 Examples/Plot Types

Consider the following helper subroutines to generate data to plot:

sub linspace { # mostly written by Grok
   my ($start, $stop, $num, $endpoint) = @_; # endpoint means include $stop
   $num = defined $num ? int($num) : 50; # Default to 50 points
   $endpoint = defined $endpoint ? $endpoint : 1; # Default to include endpoint
   return () if $num < 0; # Return empty array for invalid num
   return ($start) if $num == 1; # Return single value if num is 1
   my (@result, $step);

   if ($endpoint) {
       $step = ($stop - $start) / ($num - 1) if $num > 1;
       for my $i (0 .. $num - 1) {
         $result[$i] = $start + $i * $step;
       }
  } else {
     $step = ($stop - $start) / $num;
     for my $i (0 .. $num - 1) {
        $result[$i] = $start + $i * $step;
     }
  }
   return @result;
}

sub generate_normal_dist {
    my ($mean, $std_dev, $size) = @_;
    $size = defined $size ? int $size : 100; # default to 100 points
    my @numbers;
    for (1 .. int($size / 2) + 1) {# Box-Muller transform
        my $u1 = rand();
        my $u2 = rand();
        my $z0 = sqrt(-2.0 * log($u1)) * cos(2.0 * 3.141592653589793 * $u2);
        my $z1 = sqrt(-2.0 * log($u1)) * sin(2.0 * 3.141592653589793 * $u2); # Scale and shift to match mean and std_dev
        push @numbers, ($z0 * $std_dev + $mean, $z1 * $std_dev + $mean);
    } # Trim to exact size if needed
    @numbers = @numbers[0 .. $size - 1] if @numbers > $size;
    @numbers = map {sprintf '%.1f', $_} @numbers;
    return \@numbers;
}
sub rand_between {
    my ($min, $max) = @_;
    return $min + rand($max - $min)
}

Barplot/bar/barh

Plot a hash or a hash of arrays as a boxplot

Options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
color:mpltype:`color` or list of :mpltype:`color`, optional; The colors of the bar faces. This is an alias for *facecolor*. If both are given, *facecolor* takes precedence # if entering multiple colors, quoting isn't needed`color => ['red', 'orange', 'yellow', 'green', 'blue', 'indigo', 'fuchsia'],` or a single color for all bars `color => 'red'`
edgecolor:mpltype:`color` or list of :mpltype:`color`, optional; The colors of the bar edges`edgecolor => 'black'`
key.orderdefine the keys in an order (an array reference)`'key.order' => ['Sun','Mon','Tue','Wed','Thu','Fri','Sat'],`
linewidthfloat or array, optional; Width of the bar edge(s). If 0, don't draw edges. Only does anything with defined `edgecolor``linewidth => 2,`
logbool, default: False; If *True*, set the y-axis to be log scale.`log = 'True',`
stackedstack the groups on top of one another; default 0 = off`stacked => 1,`
widthfloat only, default: 0.8; The width(s) of the bars. `width` will be deactivated with grouped, non-stacked bar plots`width => 0.4,`
xerrfloat or array-like of shape(N,) or shape(2, N), optional. If not *None*, add horizontal / vertical errorbars to the bar tips. The values are +/- sizes relative to the data: - scalar: symmetric +/- values for all bars # - shape(N,): symmetric +/- values for each bar # - shape(2, N): Separate - and + values for each bar. First row # contains the lower errors, the second row contains the upper # errors. # - *None*: No errorbar. (Default)`yerr => {'USA' => [15,29], 'Russia' => [199,1000],}`
yerrsame as xerr, but better with bar

an example of multiple plots, showing many options:

single, simple plot

use Matplotlib::Simple 'plot';
plot({
    'output.filename'           => 'output.images/single.barplot.png',
    data    => { # simple hash
        Fri => 76, Mon  => 73, Sat => 26, Sun => 11, Thu    => 94, Tue  => 93, Wed  => 77
    },
    'plot.type' => 'bar',
    xlabel      => '# of Days',
    ylabel      => 'Count',
    title       => 'Customer Calls by Days'
});

where xlabel, ylabel, title, etc. are axis methods in matplotlib itself. plot.type, data, input.file are all specific to MatPlotLib::Simple.

single barplot

multiple plots

plot({
    'input.file'        => $tmp_filename,
    execute             => 0,
    'output.filename'   => 'output.images/barplots.png',
    plots                   => [
    { # simple plot
            data    => { # simple hash
                Fri => 76, Mon  => 73, Sat => 26, Sun => 11, Thu    => 94, Tue  => 93, Wed  => 77
            },
            'plot.type' => 'bar',
           'key.order'      => ['Sun','Mon','Tue','Wed','Thu','Fri','Sat'],
            suptitle            => 'Types of Plots', # applies to all
            color               => ['red', 'orange', 'yellow', 'green', 'blue', 'indigo', 'fuchsia'],
            edgecolor       => 'black',
            set_figwidth    => 40/1.5, # applies to all plots
            set_figheight   => 30/2, # applies to all plots
            title               => 'bar: Rejections During Job Search',
            xlabel          => 'Day of the Week',
            ylabel          => 'No. of Rejections'
        },
        { # grouped bar plot
            'plot.type' => 'bar',
            data    => {
                1941 => {
                   UK      => 6.6,
                   US      => 6.2,
                   USSR    => 17.8,
                   Germany => 26.6
                },
                1942 => {
                  UK      => 7.6,
                  US      => 26.4,
                  USSR    => 19.2,
                  Germany => 29.7
                },
                1943 => {
                  UK      => 7.9,
                  US      => 61.4,
                  USSR    => 22.5,
                  Germany => 34.9
                },
                1944 => {
                  UK      => 7.4,
                  US      => 80.5,
                  USSR    => 27.0,
                  Germany => 31.4
                },
                1945 => {
                  UK      => 5.4,
                  US      => 83.1,
                  USSR    => 25.5,
                  Germany => 11.2 #Rapid decrease due to war's end <br />
                },
            },
            stacked => 0,
            title       => 'Hash of Hash Grouped Unstacked Barplot',
            width       => 0.23,
            xlabel  => 'r"$\it{anno}$ $\it{domini}$"', # italic
            ylabel  => 'Military Expenditure (Billions of $)'
        },
         { # grouped bar plot
            'plot.type' => 'bar',
            data    => {
                1941 => {
                  UK      => 6.6,
                  US      => 6.2,
                  USSR    => 17.8,
                  Germany => 26.6
                },
                1942 => {
                  UK      => 7.6,
                  US      => 26.4,
                  USSR    => 19.2,
                  Germany => 29.7
                },
                1943 => {
                  UK      => 7.9,
                  US      => 61.4,
                  USSR    => 22.5,
                  Germany => 34.9
                },
                1944 => {
                  UK      => 7.4,
                  US      => 80.5,
                  USSR    => 27.0,
                  Germany => 31.4
                },
                1945 => {
                  UK      => 5.4,
                  US      => 83.1,
                  USSR    => 25.5,
                   Germany => 11.2 #Rapid decrease due to war's end 
                },
            },
            stacked => 1,
            title       => 'Hash of Hash Grouped Stacked Barplot',
            xlabel  => 'r"$\it{anno}$ $\it{domini}$"', # italic
            ylabel  => 'Military Expenditure (Billions of $)'
        },
        {# grouped barplot: arrays indicate Union, Confederate which must be specified in options hash
            data                    => { # 4th plot: arrays indicate Union, Confederate which must be specified in options hash
             'Antietam'             => [ 12400, 10300 ],
             'Gettysburg'           => [ 23000, 28000 ],
             'Chickamauga'          => [ 16000, 18000 ],
             'Chancellorsville' => [ 17000, 13000 ],
             'Wilderness'           => [ 17500, 11000 ],
             'Spotsylvania'     => [ 18000, 12000 ],
             'Cold Harbor'          => [ 12000, 5000  ],
             'Shiloh'               => [ 13000, 10700 ],
             'Second Bull Run'  => [ 10000, 8000  ],
             'Fredericksburg'       => [ 12600, 5300  ],
            },
            'plot.type' => 'barh',
            color       =>  ['blue', 'gray'], # colors match indices of data arrays
            label       => ['North', 'South'], # colors match indices of data arrays
            xlabel  => 'Casualties',
            ylabel  => 'Battle',
            title       => 'barh: hash of array'
        },
        { # 5th plot: barplot with groups
            data    => {
                1942 => [ 109867,  310000, 7700000 ], # US, Japan, USSR
                1943 => [ 221111,  440000, 9000000 ],
                1944 => [ 318584,  610000, 7000000 ],
                1945 => [ 318929, 1060000, 3000000 ],
            },
            color       => ['blue', 'pink', 'red'], # colors match indices of data arrays
            label       => ['USA', 'Japan', 'USSR'], # colors match indices of data arrays
            'log'       => 1,
            title       => 'grouped bar: Casualties in WWII',
            ylabel  => 'Casualties',
            'plot.type' => 'bar'
        }, <br />
        { # nuclear weapons barplot
            'plot.type'     => 'bar',
            data => {
                'USA'               => 5277, # FAS Estimate
                'Russia'            => 5449, # FAS Estimate
                'UK'                => 225, # Consistent estimate
                'France'            => 290, # Consistent estimate
                'China'         => 600, # FAS Estimate
                'India'         => 180, # FAS Estimate
                'Pakistan'      => 130, # FAS Estimate
                'Israel'            => 90, # FAS Estimate
                'North Korea'   => 50, # FAS Estimate
            },
            title       => 'Simple hash for barchart with yerr',
            xlabel  => 'Country',
            yerr                        => {
                'USA'               => [15,29],
                'Russia'            => [199,1000],
                'UK'                => [15,19],
                'France'            => [19,29],
                'China'         => [200,159],
                'India'         => [15,25],
                'Pakistan'      => [15,49],
                'Israel'            => [90,50],
                'North Korea'   => [10,20],
            },
            ylabel  => '# of Nuclear Warheads',
            'log'                       => 'True', #    linewidth               => 1,
        }
    ],
    ncols   => 3,
    nrows   => 4
});

which produces the plot:

barplots

boxplot

Plot a hash of arrays as a series of boxplots

options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
`color`a single color for all plots`color => 'pink'`
`colors`a hash, where each data point and color is a hash pair`colors => { A => 'orange', E => 'yellow', B => 'purple' },`
`key.order`order that the keys in the entry hash will be plotted`key.order = ['A', 'E', 'B']`
`orientation`orientation of the plot, by default `vertical``orientation = 'horizontal'`
`showcaps`Show the caps on the ends of whiskers; default `True``showcaps => 'False',`
`showfliers`Show the outliers beyond the caps; default `True``showfliers => 'False'`
`showmeans`show means; default = `True``showmeans => 'False'`
`whiskers`show whiskers, default = 1` whiskers => 0,`

single, simple plot

my $x = generate_normal_dist( 100, 15, 3 * 10 );
my $y = generate_normal_dist( 85,  15, 3 * 10 );
my $z = generate_normal_dist( 106, 15, 3 * 10 );

single plots are simple

plot({
    'output.filename' => 'output.images/single.boxplot.png',
    data              => {                                     # simple hash
        E => [ 55,    @{$x}, 160 ],
        B => [ @{$y}, 140 ],

        #       A => @a
    },
    'plot.type'  => 'boxplot',
    title        => 'Single Box Plot: Specified Colors',
    colors       => { E => 'yellow', B => 'purple' },
    'input.file' => $tmp_filename,
    execute      => 0,
});

which makes the following image:

single boxplot

multiple plots

plot({
    'output.filename' => 'output.images/boxplot.png',
    execute           => 0,
    'input.file'      => $tmp_filename,
    plots             => [
        {
            data => {
                A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
                E => [ @{$y} ],
                B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
            },
            title       => 'Simple Boxplot',
            ylabel      => 'ylabel',
            xlabel      => 'label',
            'plot.type' => 'boxplot',
            suptitle    => 'Boxplot examples'
        },
        {
            color => 'pink',
            data  => {
                A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
                E => [ @{$y} ],
                B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
            },
            title       => 'Specify single color',
            ylabel      => 'ylabel',
            xlabel      => 'label',
            'plot.type' => 'boxplot'
        },
        {
            colors => {
                A => 'orange',
                E => 'yellow',
                B => 'purple'
            },
            data => {
                A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
                E => [ @{$y} ],
                B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
            },
            title       => 'Specify set-specific color; showfliers = False',
            ylabel      => 'ylabel',
            xlabel      => 'label',
            'plot.type' => 'boxplot',
            showmeans   => 'True',
            showfliers  => 'False',
            set_figwidth => 12
        },
        {
            colors => {
                A => 'orange',
                E => 'yellow',
                B => 'purple'
            },
            data => {
                A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
                E => [ @{$y} ],
                B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
            },
            title       => 'Specify set-specific color; showmeans = False',
            ylabel      => 'ylabel',
            xlabel      => 'label',
            'plot.type' => 'boxplot',
            showmeans   => 'False',
        },
        {
            colors => {
                A => 'orange',
                E => 'yellow',
                B => 'purple'
            },
            data => {
                A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
                E => [ @{$y} ],
                B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
            },
            title       => 'Set-specific color; orientation = horizontal',
            ylabel      => 'ylabel',
            xlabel      => 'label',
            orientation => 'horizontal',
            'plot.type' => 'boxplot',
        },
        {
            colors => {
                A => 'orange',
                E => 'yellow',
                B => 'purple'
            },
            data => {
                A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
                E => [ @{$y} ],
                B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
            },
            title       => 'Notch = True',
            ylabel      => 'ylabel',
            xlabel      => 'label',
            notch       => 'True',
            'plot.type' => 'boxplot',
        },
        {
            colors => {
                A => 'orange',
                E => 'yellow',
                B => 'purple'
            },
            data => {
                A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
                E => [ @{$y} ],
                B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
            },
            title         => 'showcaps = False',
            ylabel        => 'ylabel',
            xlabel        => 'label',
            showcaps      => 'False',
            'plot.type'   => 'boxplot',
            set_figheight => 12,
        },
    ],
    ncols => 3,
    nrows => 3,
});

which makes the following plot:

boxplot

hexbin

Plot a hash of arrays as a hexbin see https://matplotlib.org/stable/api/asgen/matplotlib.pyplot.hexbin.html

options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
cb_logscalecolorbar log scale `from matplotlib.colors import LogNorm`default 0, any value > 0 enables
cmapThe Colormap instance or registered colormap name used to map scalar data to colorsdefault `gist_rainbow`
key.orderdefine the keys in an order (an array reference)`'key.order' => ['X-rays', 'Yak Butter'],`
marginalsinteger, by default off = 0`marginals => 1`
mincntint >= 0, default: None; If not None, only display cells with at least mincnt number of points in the cell.`mincnt => 2`
vmaxThe normalization method used to scale scalar data to the [0, 1] range before mapping to colors using cmap`'asinh', 'function', 'functionlog', 'linear', 'log', 'logit', 'symlog'` default `linear`
vminThe normalization method used to scale scalar data to the [0, 1] range before mapping to colors using cmap`'asinh', 'function', 'functionlog', 'linear', 'log', 'logit', 'symlog'` default `linear`
xbinsinteger that accesses horizontal gridsizedefault is 15
xscale.hexbin'linear', 'log'}, default: 'linear': Use a linear or log10 scale on the horizontal axis`'xscale.hexbin' => 'log'`
ybinsinteger that accesses vertical gridsizedefault is 15
yscale.hexbin'linear', 'log'}, default: 'linear': Use a linear or log10 scale on the vertical axis`'yscale.hexbin' => 'log'`

single, simple plot

plot({
    data    => {
        E   => generate_normal_dist(100, 15, 3*210),
        B   => generate_normal_dist(85, 15, 3*210)
    },
    'output.filename'   => 'output.images/single.hexbin.png',
    'plot.type' => 'hexbin',
    set_figwidth => 12,
    title           => 'Simple Hexbin',
});

which makes the following plot:

single hexbin

multiple plots

plot({
    'input.file'      => $tmp_filename,
    execute           => 0,
    'output.file' => 'output.images/hexbin.png',
    plots             => [
        {
            data => {
            E => @e,
            B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'Simple Hexbin',
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hexbin',
            title       => 'colorbar logscale',
            cb_logscale => 1
        },
        {
            cmap => 'jet',
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'cmap is jet',
            xlabel       => 'xlabel',
        },
         {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'key.order'  => ['E', 'B'],
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'Switch axes with key.order',
        },
         {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'vmax set to 25',
            vmax         => 25
        },
         {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'vmin set to -4',
            vmin         => -4
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'mincnt set to 7',
            mincnt       => 7
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'xbins set to 9',
            xbins        => 9
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'ybins set to 9',
            ybins        => 9
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'marginals = 1',
            marginals    => 1
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'xscale.hexbin = 1',
            'xscale.hexbin' => 'log'
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'hexbin',
            title        => 'yscale.hexbin = 1',
            'yscale.hexbin' => 'log'
        },
    ],
    ncols        => 4,
    nrows        => 3,
    scale        => 5,
    suptitle     => 'Various Changes to Standard Hexbin: All data is the same'
});

which produces the following image:

hexbin

hist

Plot a hash of arrays as a series of histograms

options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
`alpha`default 0.5; same for all sets
`bins`# nt or sequence or str, default: :rc:`hist.bins`If *bins* is an integer, it defines the number of equal-width bins in the range. If *bins* is a sequence, it defines the bin edges, including the left edge of the first bin and the right edge of the last bin; in this case, bins may be unequally spaced. All but the last (righthand-most) bin is half-open
`color`a hash, where keys are the keys in data, and values are colors`X => 'blue'`
`log`if set to > 1, the y-axis will be logarithmic
`orientation`{'vertical', 'horizontal'}, default: 'vertical'

single, simple plot

my @e = generate_normal_dist( 100, 15, 3 * 200 );
my @b = generate_normal_dist( 85,  15, 3 * 200 );
my @a = generate_normal_dist( 105, 15, 3 * 200 );

plot({
    'input.file'      => $tmp_filename,
    execute           => 0,
    'output.filename' => 'output.images/single.hist.png',
    data              => {
        E => @e,
        B => @b,
        A => @a,
    },
    'plot.type'       => 'hist'
});

which makes the following simple plot:

single hist

multiple plots

plot({
    'input.file'      => $tmp_filename,
    execute           => 0,
    'output.file' => 'output.images/histogram.png',
   set_figwidth => 15,
   suptitle          => 'hist Examples',
    plots             => [
        { # 1st subplot
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b,
                A => @a,
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hist',
            alpha       => 0.25,
            bins        => 50,
            title       => 'alpha = 0.25',
            color       => {
                B => 'Black',
                E => 'Orange',
                A => 'Yellow',
            },
            scatter => '['
              . join( ',', 22 .. 44 ) . '],['  # x coords
              . join( ',', 22 .. 44 )          # y coords
              . '], label = "scatter"',
            xlabel   => 'Value',
            ylabel   => 'Frequency',
        },
        { # 2nd subplot
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b,
                A => @a,
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hist',
            alpha       => 0.75,
            bins        => 50,
            title       => 'alpha = 0.75',
            color       => {
                B => 'Black',
                E => 'Orange',
                A => 'Yellow',
            },
            xlabel   => 'Value',
            ylabel   => 'Frequency',
        },
        { # 3rd subplot
            add               => [ # add secondary plots/graphs/methods
            { # 1st additional plot/graph
                data              => {
                    'Gaussian'       => [
                        [40..150],
                        [map {150 * exp(-0.5*($_-100)**2)} 40..150]
                    ]
                },
                'plot.type' => 'plot',
                'set.options' => {
                    'Gaussian' =>  'color = "red", linestyle = "dashed"'
                }
            }
            ],
           data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b,
                A => @a,
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hist',
            alpha       => 0.75,
            bins        => {
                A => 10,
                B => 25,
                E => 50
            },
            title => 'Varying # of bins',
            color => {
                B => 'Black',
                E => 'Orange',
                A => 'Yellow',
            },
            xlabel       => 'Value',
            ylabel       => 'Frequency',
        },
        {# 4th subplot
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b,
                A => @a,
            },
            'plot.type' => 'hist',
            alpha       => 0.75,
            color       => {
                B => 'Black',
                E => 'Orange',
                A => 'Yellow',
            },
            orientation  => 'horizontal',    # assign x and y labels smartly
            title        => 'Horizontal orientation',
            ylabel       => 'Value',
            xlabel       => 'Frequency',                #               'log'                   => 1,
        },
    ],
    ncols => 3,
    nrows => 2,
});

histogram

hist2d

options

single, simple plot

multiple plots

imshow

Plot 2D array of numbers as an image

options

OptionDescriptionExample
----------------------
`cblabel`colorbar label`cblabel => 'sin(x) * cos(x)',`
`cbdrawedges`draw edges for colorbar
`cblocation`'left', 'right', 'top', 'bottom'`cblocation => 'left',`
`cborientation`None, or 'vertical', 'horizontal'
`cmap`# The Colormap instance or registered colormap name used to map scalar data to colors.
`vmax`float
`vmin`float

single, simple plot

my @imshow_data;
foreach my $i (0..360) {
    foreach my $j (0..360) {
        push @{ $imshow_data[$i] }, sin($i * $pi/180)*cos($j * $pi/180);
    }
}
plot({
    data              => \@imshow_data,
    execute           => 0,
   'input.file'      => $tmp_filename,
    'output.filename' => 'output.images/imshow.single.png',
    'plot.type'       => 'imshow',
    set_xlim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
    set_ylim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
});

which makes the following image:

imshow single

multiple plots

plot({
    plots  => [
        {
            data => \@imshow_data,
            'plot.type'       => 'imshow',
            set_xlim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
            set_ylim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
            title             => 'basic',
        },
        {
            cblabel           => 'sin(x) * cos(x)',
            data => \@imshow_data,
            'plot.type'       => 'imshow',
            set_xlim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
            set_ylim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
            title             => 'cblabel',
        },
        {
            cblabel           => 'sin(x) * cos(x)',
            cblocation        => 'left',
            data              => \@imshow_data,
            'plot.type'       => 'imshow',
            set_xlim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
            set_ylim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
            title             => 'cblocation = left',
        },
        {
            cblabel           => 'sin(x) * cos(x)',
            data              => \@imshow_data,
            add               => [ # add secondary plots
            { # 1st additional plot
                data              => {
                    'sin(x)'       => [
                        [0..360],
                        [map {180 + 180*sin($_ * $pi/180)} 0..360]
                    ],
                    'cos(x)'       => [
                        [0..360],
                        [map {180 + 180*cos($_ * $pi/180)} 0..360]
                    ],
                },
                'plot.type' => 'plot',
                'set.options' => {
                    'sin(x)'    =>  'color = "red", linestyle = "dashed"',
                    'cos(x)'    =>  'color = "blue", linestyle = "dashed"',
                }
            }
            ],
            'plot.type'       => 'imshow',
            set_xlim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
            set_ylim          => '0, ' . scalar @imshow_data,
            title             => 'auxiliary plots',
        },
    ],
    execute         => 0,
   'input.file'    => $tmp_filename,
    'output.file'   => 'output.images/imshow.multiple.png',
    ncols           => 2,
    nrows           => 2,
    set_figheight   => 6*3,# 4.8
    set_figwidth    => 6*4 # 6.4
});

which makes the following image:

imshow multiple

pie

options

single, simple plot

plot({
    'output.file' => 'output.images/single.pie.png',
    data              => {                                 # simple hash
        Fri => 76,
        Mon => 73,
        Sat => 26,
        Sun => 11,
        Thu => 94,
        Tue => 93,
        Wed => 77
    },
    'plot.type'  => 'pie',
    title        => 'Single Simple Pie',
    'input.file' => $tmp_filename,
    execute      => 0,
});

which makes the image:

single pie

multiple plots

plot({
    'output.file' => 'output.images/pie.png',
    plots             => [
        {
            data => {
                'Russian' => 106_000_000,    # Primarily European Russia
                'German'  =>
                  95_000_000,    # Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.
                'English' => 70_000_000,      # UK, Ireland, etc.
                'French' => 66_000_000, # France, Belgium, Switzerland, etc.
                'Italian'   => 59_000_000,    # Italy, Switzerland, etc.
                'Spanish'   => 45_000_000,    # Spain
                'Polish'    => 38_000_000,    # Poland
                'Ukrainian' => 32_000_000,    # Ukraine
                'Romanian'  => 24_000_000,    # Romania, Moldova
                'Dutch'     => 22_000_000     # Netherlands, Belgium
            },
            'plot.type' => 'pie',
            title       => 'Top Languages in Europe',
            suptitle    => 'Pie in subplots',
        },
        {
            data => {
                'Russian' => 106_000_000,     # Primarily European Russia
                'German'  =>
                  95_000_000,    # Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.
                'English' => 70_000_000,      # UK, Ireland, etc.
                'French' => 66_000_000, # France, Belgium, Switzerland, etc.
                'Italian'   => 59_000_000,    # Italy, Switzerland, etc.
                'Spanish'   => 45_000_000,    # Spain
                'Polish'    => 38_000_000,    # Poland
                'Ukrainian' => 32_000_000,    # Ukraine
                'Romanian'  => 24_000_000,    # Romania, Moldova
                'Dutch'     => 22_000_000     # Netherlands, Belgium
            },
            'plot.type' => 'pie',
            title       => 'Top Languages in Europe',
            autopct     => '%1.1f%%',
        },
        {
            data => {
                'United States'  => 86,
                'United Kingdom' => 33,
                'Germany'        => 29,
                'France'         => 10,
                'Japan'          => 7,
                'Israel'         => 6,
            },
            title         => 'Chem. Nobels: swap text positions',
            'plot.type'   => 'pie',
            autopct       => '%1.1f%%',
            pctdistance   => 1.25,
            labeldistance => 0.6,
        }
    ],
    'input.file' => $tmp_filename,
    execute      => 0,
   set_figwidth  => 12,
    ncols        => 3,
});

pie

plot

single, simple

plot({
    'input.file'      => $tmp_filename,
    execute           => 0,
    'output.filename' => 'output.images/plot.single.png',
    data              => {
        'sin(x)' => [
            [@x],                     # x
            [ map { sin($_) } @x ]    # y
        ],
        'cos(x)' => [
            [@x],                     # x
            [ map { cos($_) } @x ]    # y
        ],
    },
    'plot.type' => 'plot',
    title       => 'simple plot',
    set_xticks  =>
    "[-2 * $pi, -3 * $pi / 2, -$pi, -$pi / 2, 0, $pi / 2, $pi, 3 * $pi / 2, 2 * $pi"
     . '], [r\'$-2\pi$\', r\'$-3\pi/2$\', r\'$-\pi$\', r\'$-\pi/2$\', r\'$0$\', r\'$\pi/2$\', r\'$\pi$\', r\'$3\pi/2$\', r\'$2\pi$\']',
    'set.options' => {    # set options overrides global settings
        'sin(x)' => 'color="blue", linewidth=2',
        'cos(x)' => 'color="red",  linewidth=2'
    }
});

which makes the following "plot" plot:

plot single

multiple sub-plots

my $pi = atan2( 0, -1 );
my @x  = linspace( -2 * $pi, 2 * $pi, 100, 1 );
plot({
    'input.file'      => $tmp_filename,
    execute           => 0,
    'output.filename' => 'output.images/plot.png',
    plots             => [
        {    # plot 1
            data => {
                'sin(x)' => [
                    [@x],                     # x
                    [ map { sin($_) } @x ]    # y
                ],
                'cos(x)' => [
                    [@x],                     # x
                    [ map { cos($_) } @x ]    # y
                ],
            },
            'plot.type' => 'plot',
            title       => 'simple plot',
            set_xticks  =>
    "[-2 * $pi, -3 * $pi / 2, -$pi, -$pi / 2, 0, $pi / 2, $pi, 3 * $pi / 2, 2 * $pi"
              . '], [r\'$-2\pi$\', r\'$-3\pi/2$\', r\'$-\pi$\', r\'$-\pi/2$\', r\'$0$\', r\'$\pi/2$\', r\'$\pi$\', r\'$3\pi/2$\', r\'$2\pi$\']',
            'set.options' => {    # set options overrides global settings
                'sin(x)' => 'color="blue", linewidth=2',
                'cos(x)' => 'color="red",  linewidth=2'
            },
            set_xlim => "$x[0], $x[-1]",    # set min and max as a string
        },
        {                                   # plot 2
            data => {
                'csc(x)' => [
                    [@x],                         # x
                    [ map { 1 / sin($_) } @x ]    # y
                ],
                'sec(x)' => [
                    [@x],                         # x
                    [ map { 1 / cos($_) } @x ]    # y
                ],
            },
            'plot.type' => 'plot',
            title       => 'simple plot',
            set_xticks  =>
    "[-2 * $pi, -3 * $pi / 2, -$pi, -$pi / 2, 0, $pi / 2, $pi, 3 * $pi / 2, 2 * $pi"
              . '], [r\'$-2\pi$\', r\'$-3\pi/2$\', r\'$-\pi$\', r\'$-\pi/2$\', r\'$0$\', r\'$\pi/2$\', r\'$\pi$\', r\'$3\pi/2$\', r\'$2\pi$\']',
            'set.options' => {    # set options overrides global settings
                'csc(x)' => 'color="purple", linewidth=2',
                'sec(x)' => 'color="green",  linewidth=2'
            },
            set_xlim => "$x[0], $x[-1]",    # set min and max as a string
            set_ylim => '-9,9',
        },
    ],
    ncols        => 2,
    set_figwidth => 12,
});

which makes

plot

scatter

options

single, simple plot

multiple plots

plot({
    'input.file'      => $tmp_filename,
    'output.file' => 'output.images/scatterplots.png',
    execute           => 0,
    nrows             => 2,
    ncols             => 3,
    set_figheight     => 8,
    set_figwidth      => 16,
    suptitle          => 'Scatterplot Examples',            # applies to all
    plots             => [
        {    # single-set scatter; no label
            data => {
                X => @e,    # x-axis
                Y => @b,    # y-axis
                Z => @a     # color
            },
            title     => '"Single Set Scatterplot: Random Distributions"',
            color_key => 'Z',
            'set.options' => 'marker = "v"'
            , # arguments to ax.scatter: there's only 1 set, so "set.options" is a scalar
            text        => [ '100, 100, "text1"', '100, 100, "text2"', ],
            'plot.type' => 'scatter',
        },
        {     # multiple-set scatter, labels are "X" and "Y"
            data => {
                X => {    # 1st data set; label is "X"
                    A => @a,    # x-axis
                    B => @b,    # y-axis
                },
                W => {    # 2nd data set; label is "Y"
                    A => generate_normal_dist( 100, 15, 210 ),    # x-axis
                    B => generate_normal_dist( 100, 15, 210 ),    # y-axis
                }
            },
            'plot.type'   => 'scatter',
            title         => 'Multiple Set Scatterplot',
            'set.options' =>
            {    # arguments to ax.scatter, for each set in data
              X => 'marker = ".", color = "red"',
              W => 'marker = "d", color = "green"'
            },
        },
        {          # multiple-set scatter, labels are "X" and "Y"
            data => {    # 8th plot,
                X => {    # 1st data set; label is "X"
                    A => @e,    # x-axis
                    B => @b,    # y-axis
                    C => @a,    # color
                },
                Y => {    # 2nd data set; label is "Y"
                    A => generate_normal_dist( 100, 15, 210 ),    # x-axis
                    B => generate_normal_dist( 100, 15, 210 ),    # y-axis
                    C => generate_normal_dist( 100, 15, 210 ),    # color
                },
            },
            'plot.type'   => 'scatter',
            title         => 'Multiple Set Scatter w/ colorbar',
            'set.options' => {    # arguments to ax.scatter, for each set in data
                X => 'marker = "."',    # diamond
                Y => 'marker = "d"'     # diamond
            },
            color_key => 'Z',
        }
    ]
});

which makes the following figure:

scatterplots

violin

options

single, simple plot

plot({
    'output.file' => 'output.images/single.violinplot.png',
    data              => {                                     # simple hash
        A => [ 55, @{$z} ],
        E => [ @{$y} ],
        B => [ 122, @{$z} ],
    },
    'plot.type'  => 'violinplot',
    title        => 'Single Violin Plot: Specified Colors',
    colors       => { E => 'yellow', B => 'purple', A => 'green' },
    'input.file' => $tmp_filename,
    execute      => 0,
});

which makes:

single violinplot

multiple plots

plot({
    'input.file'      => $tmp_filename,
    execute           => 0,
    'output.file' => 'output.images/violin.png',
    plots             => [
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type'  => 'violinplot',
            title        => 'Basic',
            xlabel       => 'xlabel',
            set_figwidth => 12,
            suptitle     => 'Violinplot'
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type' => 'violinplot',
            color       => 'red',
            title       => 'Set Same Color for All',
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            'plot.type' => 'violinplot',
            colors      => {
                E => 'yellow',
                B => 'black'
            },
            title => 'Color by Key',
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            orientation => 'horizontal',
            'plot.type' => 'violinplot',
            colors      => {
                E => 'yellow',
                B => 'black'
            },
            title => 'Horizontal orientation',
        },
        {
            data => {
                E => @e,
                B => @b
            },
            whiskers    => 0,
            'plot.type' => 'violinplot',
            colors      => {
                E => 'yellow',
                B => 'black'
            },
            title => 'Whiskers off',
        },
    ],
    ncols => 3,
    nrows => 2,
});

violin

wide

options

single, simple plot

multiple plots

Advanced

Notes in Files

all files that can have notes with them, give notes about how the file was written. For example, SVG files have the following:

<dc:title>made/written by /mnt/ceph/dcondon/ui/gromacs/tut/dup.2puy/1.plot.gromacs.pl called using "plot" in /mnt/ceph/dcondon/perl5/perlbrew/perls/perl-5.42.0/lib/site_perl/5.42.0/x86_64-linux/Matplotlib/Simple.pm</dc:title>`

Speed

To improve speed, all data can be written into a single temp python3 file thus:

use File::Temp 'tempfile';
my ( $fh, $tmp_filename ) =  tempfile( DIR => '/tmp', SUFFIX => '.py', UNLINK => 0 );
close $fh;

all files will be written to $tmp_filename; be sure to put execute => 0

plot({
    data => {
        Clinical => [
            [
                [@xw],    # x
                [@y]      # y
            ],
            [ [@xw], [ map { $_ + rand_between( -0.5, 0.5 ) } @y ] ],
            [ [@xw], [ map { $_ + rand_between( -0.5, 0.5 ) } @y ] ]
        ],
        HGI => [
            [
                [@xw],                            # x
                [ map { 1.9 - 1.1 / $_ } @xw ]    # y
            ],
            [ [@xw], [ map { $_ + rand_between( -0.5, 0.5 ) } @y ] ],
            [ [@xw], [ map { $_ + rand_between( -0.5, 0.5 ) } @y ] ]
        ]
    },
    'output.filename' => 'output.images/single.wide.png',
    'plot.type'       => 'wide',
    color             => {
        Clinical => 'blue',
        HGI      => 'green'
    },
    title        => 'Visualization of similar lines plotted together',
    'input.file' => $tmp_filename,
    execute      => 0,
});
# the last plot should have C<< execute =E<gt> 1 >>
plot({
    data => [
        [
            [@xw],    # x
            [@y]      # y
        ],
        [ [@xw], [ map { $_ + rand_between( -0.5, 0.5 ) } @y ] ],
        [ [@xw], [ map { $_ + rand_between( -0.5, 0.5 ) } @y ] ]
    ],
    'output.filename' => 'output.images/single.array.png',
    'plot.type'       => 'wide',
    color             => 'red',
    title             => 'Visualization of similar lines plotted together',
    'input.file'      => $tmp_filename,
    execute           => 1,
});