Rust plotting library using Python (Matplotlib)

This library implements high-level functions to generate plots and drawings. Although we use Python/Matplotlib, the goal is to provide a convenient Rust library that is different than Matplotlib. The difference happens because we want convenience for the Rust developer while getting the fantastic quality of Matplotlib 😀.

Internally, we use Matplotlib via a Python 3 script. First, we generate a python code in a directory of your choice (e.g., /tmp/plotpy), and then we call python3 using Rust's std::process::Command.

For more information (and examples), check out the plotpy documentation on docs.rs

See also the examples directory with the output of the integration tests.

Documentation

plotpy documentation on docs.rs

Installation

For convenience, we use Russell Lab.

Thus, we need the following some libraries (Debian/Ubuntu/Linux):

sudo apt-get install liblapacke-dev libopenblas-dev python3-pip3
pip3 install matplotlib

Note We use pip3 because the version of Matplotlib needs to be at least 3.3.0 and "old" Ubuntu comes with 3.1.2.

Then, add something like this to your Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
plotpy = "0.3"

Examples

Contour

use plotpy::{Contour, Plot, StrError};
use russell_lab::generate3d;

fn main() -> Result<(), StrError> {
    // 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("/tmp/plotpy/readme_contour.svg")?;
    Ok(())
}

Superquadric

use plotpy::{Plot, StrError, Surface};

fn main() -> Result<(), StrError> {
    // star
    let r = &[1.0, 1.0, 1.0];
    let c = &[-1.0, -1.0, -1.0];
    let k = &[0.5, 0.5, 0.5];
    let mut star = Surface::new();
    star.set_colormap_name("jet")
        .draw_superquadric(c, r, k, -180.0, 180.0, -90.0, 90.0, 40, 20)?;

    // pyramids
    let c = &[1.0, -1.0, -1.0];
    let k = &[1.0, 1.0, 1.0];
    let mut pyramids = Surface::new();
    pyramids
        .set_colormap_name("inferno")
        .draw_superquadric(c, r, k, -180.0, 180.0, -90.0, 90.0, 40, 20)?;

    // rounded cube
    let c = &[-1.0, 1.0, 1.0];
    let k = &[4.0, 4.0, 4.0];
    let mut cube = Surface::new();
    cube.set_solid_color("#ee29f2")
        .draw_superquadric(c, r, k, -180.0, 180.0, -90.0, 90.0, 40, 20)?;

    // sphere
    let c = &[0.0, 0.0, 0.0];
    let k = &[2.0, 2.0, 2.0];
    let mut sphere = Surface::new();
    sphere
        .set_colormap_name("rainbow")
        .draw_superquadric(c, r, k, -180.0, 180.0, -90.0, 90.0, 40, 20)?;

    // sphere (direct)
    let mut sphere_direct = Surface::new();
    sphere_direct.draw_sphere(&[1.0, 1.0, 1.0], 1.0, 40, 20)?;

    // add features to plot
    let mut plot = Plot::new();
    plot.add(&star)
        .add(&pyramids)
        .add(&cube)
        .add(&sphere)
        .add(&sphere_direct);

    // save figure
    plot.set_equal_axes(true)
        .set_figure_size_points(600.0, 600.0)
        .save("/tmp/plotpy/readme_superquadric.svg")?;
    Ok(())
}