# Rust plotting library using Python (Matplotlib)
[](https://codecov.io/gh/cpmech/plotpy)
This package implements a plotting library, with its own functions. However, internally, this package generates a Python script with Matplotlib commands. Then, this package runs the script using `process::Command`.
For convenience, we use `Vector` and `Matrix` from [Russell Lab](https://github.com/cpmech/russell).
Documentation:
- [API reference (docs.rs)](https://docs.rs/plotpy)
## Installation
Install some libraries:
```bash
sudo apt-get install \
liblapacke-dev \
libopenblas-dev \
python3-matplotlib
```
Add this to your Cargo.toml (choose the right version):
```toml
[dependencies]
plotpy = "*"
```
## Examples
### Contour
```rust
use plotpy::{Contour, Plot};
use russell_lab::generate3d;
use std::path::Path;
fn main() -> Result<(), &'static str> {
// generate (x,y,z) matrices
let n = 21;
let (x, y, z) = generate3d(-2.0, 2.0, -2.0, 2.0, n, n, |x, y| x * x - y * y);
// configure contour
let mut contour = Contour::new();
contour
.set_colorbar_label("temperature")
.set_colormap_name("terrain")
.set_selected_level(0.0, true);
// draw contour
contour.draw(&x, &y, &z);
// add contour to plot
let mut plot = Plot::new();
plot.add(&contour);
plot.set_labels("x", "y");
// save figure
plot.save(Path::new("/tmp/plotpy/readme_contour.svg"))?;
Ok(())
}
```
