Figurestead

Experimental scientific figures for Python: line, scatter, histogram, strip-summary and heatmap figures with explicit labels and themes.

Python 0.9.0a6

Requires Python >=3.10, Matplotlib >=3.7, NumPy >=1.24 and Pillow >=10. Preparation candidate: the command below is for this version after publication. For the currently published release, use Python 0.9.0a5. To review now, install the exact retained candidate wheel or sdist. In a fresh virtual environment:

python -m pip install figurestead==0.9.0a6

from figurestead import PlotSpec, line, save_figure

figure, axes = line(
    [0, 1, 2], [[0, 1, 0]],
    theme="lavender_fog_notebook",
    spec=PlotSpec(title="Synthetic response", xlabel="Time (s)",
                  ylabel="Response (a.u.)", note="Synthetic example; not measurements."),
)
save_figure(figure, "response.png", dpi=150)
save_figure(figure, "response.svg")

The destination directory must exist. save_figure stages and replaces a single output file only after a successful save. Rendering errors propagate and leave an existing destination unchanged. For streams or intentionally external SVG images, use Matplotlib's figure.savefig and manage those outputs directly.

Carried forward from a5: measured note and sample-count placement, warnings when explicit histogram edges exclude observations, and optional signatures fitted only where there is measured spare space. Callers supplying axes own their margins; an insufficient source-note footer raises sizing guidance. See the frozen layout and export contract for the behavior incorporated into this version.

Numeric NaN/infinity category identities reject before string coercion; literal string labels remain valid. Appended labeled lines retain truthful accumulated legends; anonymous scatter/strip layers do not acquire scientific labels.

New in the a6 candidate: opt-in monotone interpolation preserves each interval's endpoint bounds; ordinary line drawing limits marker-protection work to nearby candidates while preserving marker interiors and continuous authored rhythm. The categorical-matrix extension measures all required decorations, including rotated labels and the status legend after native colorbar removal. Insufficient space raises sizing guidance rather than silently exporting clipped content. These repairs do not change observations, normalization, palette values or the bounded line-identity profile. Performance gains depend on geometry and density. The auxiliary compile_terminal_scene rejects unsupported contracts rather than silently claiming fidelity; it remains finite-only and is not NaN-gap transport.

Inspect exports at their intended size. Shared Python/browser semantics do not imply identical pixels or matching renderer coverage. Reference themes have a bounded three-series line designation, not universal accessibility or physical print qualification.

Line behavior and limits · Source · Issue tracker

MIT licensed.