Just an thought regarding the whole PyLab concept... >>> import this The Zen of Python, by Tim Peters
Beautiful is better than ugly. Explicit is better than implicit. [snip]... If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea. If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea. Namespaces are one honking great idea -- let's do more of those! >>> I have to agree... When I started to work with Python, I used "from pylab import *" all too often, eventually I realized I didn't know where things were coming from. Documentation has recently improved greatly, but still, it's nice to know what's driving the functions/classes you are working with. Python is a great tool for <your application here>. The modules matplotlib, numpy, scipy, etc.. will also undoubtedly find their place in more than just a 'pylab' environment. Having taught others a little about python, I can say the use of "from pylab import *" definitely resulted in confusion down the road... For the Original Poster, I would offer this advice. Use Ipython with your own profile. Make sure you maintain namespaces, such that you call: import numpy as np import matplotlib as mpl import scipy as sp etc... See here for creating profiles: http://ipython.scipy.org/doc/manual/html/config/customization.html Using the namespaces results in significantly more clarity at the cost of a few extra keystrokes. (People will have opinions on this) Then, once working in Ipython... I always keep (at least) these pages handy: http://docs.scipy.org/doc/numpy/reference/index.html http://docs.scipy.org/doc/scipy/reference/index.html http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/api/index.html Good luck! -- View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/pylab-tp24910613p24922147.html Sent from the matplotlib - users mailing list archive at Nabble.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Let Crystal Reports handle the reporting - Free Crystal Reports 2008 30-Day trial. Simplify your report design, integration and deployment - and focus on what you do best, core application coding. Discover what's new with Crystal Reports now. http://p.sf.net/sfu/bobj-july _______________________________________________ Matplotlib-users mailing list Matplotlib-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/matplotlib-users
