9 b] Explain formatting of strings and Plotting in Matplotlib.
Format Strings
Before we actually plot something, let’s quickly discuss format strings. They are a neat way to specify colors, marker types, and line styles. A format string is specified as [color][marker][line], where each item is optional. If the color argument is the only argument of the format string, you can use matplotlib.colors. Matplotlib recognizes the following formats, among others:
- RGB or RGBA float tuples (for example, (0.2, 0.4, 0.3) or (0.2, 0.4, 0.3, 0.5))
- RGB or RGBA hex strings (for example, ‘#0F0F0F’ or ‘#0F0F0F0F’)
The following table is an example of how a color can be represented in one particular format:
All the available line styles are illustrated in the following diagram. In general, solid lines should be used. We recommend restricting the use of dashed and dotted lines to either visualize some bounds/targets/goals or to depict uncertainty, for example, in a forecast:
To conclude, format strings are a handy way to quickly customize colors, marker types, and line styles. It is also possible to use arguments, such as color, marker, and linestyle
Plotting in Matplotlib.
Plots in Matplotlib have a hierarchical structure that nests Python objects to create a tree-like structure. Each plot is encapsulated in a Figure object. This Figure is the top-level container of the visualization. It can have multiple axes, which are basically individual plots inside this top-level container.
The two main components of a plot are as follows:
- Figure
The Figure is an outermost container that allows you to draw multiple plots within it. It not only holds the Axes object but also has the ability to configure the Title. - Axes
The axes is an actual plot, or subplot, depending on whether you want to plot single or multiple visualizations. Its sub-objects include the x-axis, y-axis, spines, and legends.