biggles – Simple, Elegant Python Plotting

Last Updated on July 10, 2021

Biggles is a simple, object-oriented plotting library for creating publication-quality 2D scientific plots.  You declare a container and then add components in order to make a plot.

Biggles provides a set of objects useful in the creation of scientific plots. Since the goal is complete customization, plots are created by composing sets of simple objects. Biggles objects break into two categories, containers and components. A common set of keywords controls the style of these objects.

Biggles is intended for technical users with sophisticated plotting needs.

Biggles requires NumPy and plotutils.

Features include:

  • Supports multiple output formats (postscript, x11, png, svg, gif).
  • Quickly make plots during interactive work using:
    • plot: Make simple plots of lines and points in 2D.
    • plot_hist: Make simple histograms.
  • Containers – things like plots and tables, and can be turned into graphical output. They include: FramedArray, FramedPlot, HammerAitoffPlot, Plot and Table.
  • Components can’t be visualized on their own, but only when added to containers. They include:
    • lines: Curve, DataArc, DataLine/Line, ErrorBarsX/Y, LineX/Y, LowerLimit, UpperLimit, Slope, SymmetricErrorBarsX/Y, PlotArc, PlotLine, Geodesic.
    • points/polygons: Circle(s), Ellipse(s), Polygon, Point(s), DataBox, PlotBox.
    • filled regions: Countour(s), Density, Histogram, FillAbove, FillBelow, FillBetween.
    • labels: DataLabel/Label, PlotKey, PlotLabel.
    • inset panels: DataInset, PlotInset/Inset.
  • Understands simple TeX which recognizes subscripts, superscripts, and many math symbol definitions.
  • High-level, elegant, object-oriented interface.

Website: biggles-plot.github.io
Support: Documentation
Developer: Mike Nolta and contributors
License: GNU GPL v2.0

Biggles is written in C. Learn C with our recommended free books and free tutorials.

Return to Python Visualization Packages Home Page


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