Re: [matplotlib-devel] Enhancement to matplotlib's PyQt4 backend
Hi Pierre,
On Sat, Jun 6, 2009 at 11:49 AM, Pierre Raybaut wrote:
> 2009/4/28 Dave Peterson :
> > Darren Dale wrote:
> >
> > On Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 12:19 PM, Pierre Raybaut
> > wrote:
> >>
> >> 2009/4/28 John Hunter :
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > On Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 8:18 AM, Pierre Raybaut >
> >> > wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> Hi all,
> >> >>
> >> >> I would like to contribute to matplotlib with this enhancement for
> the
> >> >> PyQt4 backend: the idea is to add a toolbar button to configure
> figure
> >> >> options (axes, curves, ...).
> >> >>
> >> >> It's based on a tiny module called formlayout to generate PyQt4 form
> >> >> dialog automatically.
> >> >>
> >> >> Some screenshots:
> >> >> http://code.google.com/p/formlayout/
> >> >>
> >> >> So, if you're interested (all the following is GPL2):
> >> >>
> >> >> *matplotlib patch*
> >> >>
> >> >> In FigureManagerQT.__init__, added:
> >> >> self.canvas.axes = self.canvas.figure.add_subplot(111)
> >> >>
> >> >> In NavigationToolbar2QT._init_toolbar, added:
> >> >> a = self.addAction(self._icon("customize.png"), 'Customize',
> >> >> self.edit_parameters)
> >> >> a.setToolTip('Edit curves line and axes parameters')
> >> >>
> >> >> Added the following method in NavigationToolbar2QT:
> >> >> def edit_parameters(self):
> >> >>from figureoptions import figure_edit
> >> >>figure_edit(self.canvas, self)
> >> >>
> >> >> *additionnal modules and data*
> >> >>
> >> >> formlayout.py (http://code.google.com/p/formlayout/)
> >> >> figureoptions.py (http://code.google.com/p/PyQtShell/)
> >> >> customize.png (http://code.google.com/p/PyQtShell/)
> >> >
> >> > Hi Pierre -- this looks very nice (the last link is broken though , I
> >> > get a
> >> > 404 error). We would be happy to include this in matplotlib or as a
> >>
> >> Here is the last link:
> >> http://code.google.com/p/pyqtshell/
> >>
> >> > toolkit. To contribute it to to mpl, the license needs to be
> >> > matplotlib
> >> > compatible
> >> > (http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/devel/coding_guide.html#licenses)
> but
> >> > we
> >> > have more licensing flexibility in a toolkit, though we prefer to keep
> >> > everything BSD compatible where possible. And of course you would
> need
> >> > to
> >> > agree to maintain it :-) but I think many users would appreciate a GUI
> >> > plot
> >> > configuration dialog.
> >>
> >> I was not aware of this license restriction in matplotlib... I fully
> >> understand the motivation, of course, but still: I wrote all this on
> >> my free time which means no PyQt4 commercial license, so it can't be
> >> anything but GPL. Sorry...
> >
> > I think you have overlooked a subtlety of PyQt4's license. The author of
> > PyQt4 wrote on the enthought-dev mailing list:
> >
> > "PyQt is GPL but has exceptions that allow it to be used with BSD code -
> > hence it's Ok for TraitsBackendQt to be BSD.
> >
> > However, the exception imposes additional conditions which, to all
> intents
> > and purposes, infects the code with the GPL. To be fair to people that
> > should be made clear in any text.
> >
> > It's still a good idea for TraitsBackendQt to use a BSD license because
> it
> > allows commercial (ie. non-GPL) users to use it without problems."
> >
> > Darren
> >
> > I think it might be worth contacting the PyQt folks (Phil Thompson) about
> > this. I think there might be some differences here because Phil was the
> > author of TraitsBackendQt and thus his efforts didn't quite fall under
> the
> > "develop under a free license, your results needs to be GPL" clause
> Qt/PyQt
> > have in their licensing.
> >
> > -- Dave
> >
> >
>
> Hi all,
>
> Dave, you are absolutely right.
>
> Last week-end, I found myself surfing on PyQt's website and I told to
> myself: what about re-reading the license? (always a pleasure) And
> surprisingly, I found out that anyone using the GPL version of PyQt
> can release source code under a very permissive license (like MIT or
> BSD) thanks to the PyQt-GPL Exception, as long as PyQt itself is not
> part of the distributed package (otherwise the whole package has to be
> licensed under GPL) - and with other little restrictions. It was a
> surprise because I've read here and there a lot of things on PyQt
> license and the general idea was "if you write PyQt code without the
> commercial license, your code *must* be licensed under GPL" - I can
> tell now that it's not true (to be absolutely certain about it, I even
> asked to Phil Thompson to confirm this, and he did).
>
> So, I switched all the code I was referring to in my original e-mail
> to MIT license.
> I guess now it could be integrated to matplotlib Qt4 backend?
>
> formlayout (generate option dialogs):
> http://code.google.com/p/formlayout/
>
> pydee (IDE which integrates matplotlib and the option dialog):
> http://code.google.com/p/pydee/
> Meanwhile, thanks to the brand new Google-code Mercurial support, you
> may browse the source code if you like:
>
> http://code.google.com/p/pydee/source/browse/pydee
Re: [matplotlib-devel] crazy ideas for MPL
On Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 9:51 PM, Andrew Straw wrote: > Gael Varoquaux wrote: >> On Wed, Jul 01, 2009 at 08:39:30AM -0500, John Hunter wrote: >> >>> Anyone interested? And if so, feel free to suggest topics or weigh in >>> on some I listed. >>> >> >> Actually, I have something I would like to discuss, but never really >> could pull myself together to do it. I don't have time right now, but I >> am still going to jot down the ideas. >> >> The axes and figure paradigm inherited from matlab works well for simple >> things, but when I want to more complex layouts, I actually end up >> struggling with calls to axes with numerical parameters to adjust. In >> addition, if I have a function that creates a plot with multiple axes, >> like the figure on: >> http://neuroimaging.scipy.org/site/doc/manual/html/neurospin/activation_map.html >> I may want to reuse that function to create more complex figures, >> stacking several of these views, with possibly other plots. >> >> It seems to me having a level of granularity between the figure, and the >> axes would help me a lot achieving these goals. I haven't had time to >> hash out an API, or even solid concepts. For people who know LaTeX well, >> let me draw an analogy: the figure is the page, the axis is the >> character, what we are lacking in a 'minipage'. I would like a container >> that can be stacked into a figure, and that can either hold axes, or >> similar containers. That way, I could specify subplot, or axis relative >> to this container, rather than relative to the whole figure, and it makes >> it really easy for me to insert figures in larger figures. >> >> One possible API would be 'subfigure', which would have a signature >> similar to 'axes', but of course things would need to be thought a bit >> more in detail: do we want clf to erase the figure and not the subfigure? >> I believe so. Do we want subplot to divide the subfigure, rather than the >> figure? I believe so too. How do we go back to full figure without >> erasing the subfigures it contains? I think subfigure(None) might work. >> How do I select a subfigure I already created? Maybe by passing it a >> subfigure instance, like the way axes work. >> >> Also, Chaco has the notion of containers, in which you can stack plots or >> other containers. They have an additional feature which is that they >> enable you to stack plot (these would be axes, in matplotlib terms) and >> do an automatic layout of the plots. Very handy to have an extensible >> canvas to display information on. Some sparse documentation: >> http://code.enthought.com/projects/chaco/docs/html/api/containers.html >> >> I have been trying to find time to think about this for more than a year, >> and haven't. This is why I am sending unfinished thoughts. I do believe >> more thinking has to be done, and the subfigure proposition may not hold >> at all. Also, I fear I do not have time to implement this. >> > I also have some not very fleshed out thoughts: my main feeling about > MPL is that there's just too much layout happening to keep using the > non-systematic delegation/notification "system" currently in place while > allowing the devs to maintain their sanity and day jobs. I don't mean to > disparage MPL -- it is quite a fantastic piece of code -- but there is a > lack of abstraction of layout hierarchies and layout dependencies that > makes development difficult. > > Therefore, I'd suggest that before adding on too many more nice > features, we revisit the core layout and delegation system -- in the end > it will make everything much easier. So, perhaps a useful thing would be > for as many MPL devs as possible to sit together and discuss how we > could do this. My thought right now would be to investigate the use of > traits to codify the layout abstractions. > > Any effort like this will also obviously benefit from having an > extensive test suite. I think all that's needed to get the tests at > http://mpl-buildbot.code.astraw.com/waterfall to pass is that someone > checks in new images made with the current MPL. I'd like to do this, but > I'm really short on time at the moment. So, please, someone -- beat me > to it -- it won't be hard! > > Those are my 2 cents. Hope to see you all at SciPy 2009! > > -Andrew While we're dreaming big re-architecting dreams, I'll throw out an idea related to Gael's suggestion: artist containers at the sub-axis level. This would be a drawable / hideable container for an arbitrary grouping of Artists that could be directly added to one (or more) Axes. For those familiar with IDL, the IDLgrContainer in their object graphics system is what I have in mind. I also concur with Andrew's assessment that interactive and layout event handling is holding back some extra fun in interactive apps. I have mixed feelings about using Traits; in my experience with writing (only one) app, I felt like I had to subsume everything, my data modeling included, under the Traits paradigm, such that I was no longer writin
