| Original author(s) | John Hunter |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 1.1.0 / 6 October 2011 |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Type | Plotting |
| License | matplotlib licence |
| Website | matplotlib.sourceforge.net |
matplotlib is a plotting library for the Python programming language and its NumPy numerical mathematics extension. It provides an object-oriented API which allows plots to be embedded into applications using generic GUI toolkits, like wxPython, Qt, or GTK. There is also a procedural "pylab" interface based on a state machine (like OpenGL), designed to closely resemble that of MATLAB.
matplotlib is written and maintained primarily by John Hunter, and is distributed under a BSD-style license.
Currently[update], matplotlib has support for Python versions 2.4 through 2.7.[1] It does not yet support Python 3.x, but there is an official py3k port under continuous development.[2]
The package pylab combines pyplot with NumPy into a single namespace.[3]
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The pylab interface makes matplotlib easy to learn for experienced MATLAB users, resulting in a viable alternative for many MATLAB users as a teaching tool for numerical mathematics and signal processing.
Some of the advantages of the combination of Python, NumPy, and matplotlib over MATLAB include:
Several toolkits are available which extend matplotlib functionality. Some are separate downloads, others ship with the matplotlib source code but have external dependencies.[4]