Can You Create AxesSubplot Objects Independently of Figures in Matplotlib?

Decoupling AxesSubplot Creation and Figure Addition

Problem:
Customizing matplotlib plots often requires the creation of AxesSubplot objects. However, these objects are typically bound to a Figure at their creation. This limits the ability to reuse AxesSubplots across multiple figures.

Question:
Is it possible to create AxesSubplot objects independently of Figure instances and then add them to different figures as needed?

Answer:

Yes, it is possible to decouple AxesSubplot creation and Figure addition in matplotlib. There are two main approaches:

Passing Functions with Axes Instances:

• Create a function that takes an Axes instance as an argument.
• Implement the plotting code within this function.
• Pass an existing or newly created Axes instance to the function.
• This allows for reuse of the same subplot in multiple figures by passing the same Axes instance to different function calls.

Appending Axes to Figures:

• Create an Axes instance independently of a Figure.
• Add the Axes instance to a Figure using the Figure.axes.append() method.
• Specify the desired geometry within the append() method.
• This approach allows for the reuse of Axes instances across multiple figures, regardless of the figure size or number of subplots.

Example Code:

Passing Functions with Axes Instances:

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

def plot_sin(ax):
    x = np.linspace(0, 6 * np.pi, 100)
    ax.plot(x, np.sin(x))
    ax.set_ylabel('Yabba dabba do!')

fig1, (ax1, ax2) = plt.subplots(nrows=2)
plot_sin(ax1)
plot_sin(ax2)

fig2 = plt.figure()
ax3 = fig2.add_subplot(111)
plot_sin(ax3)

plt.show()

Appending Axes to Figures:

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

fig1 = plt.figure()
ax1 = fig1.add_subplot(111)

fig2 = plt.figure()
ax2 = fig2.add_subplot(111)
fig2.axes.append(ax1)

plt.show()

The above is the detailed content of Can You Create AxesSubplot Objects Independently of Figures in Matplotlib?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!