matplotlib

1# Matplotlib
2 
3## Overview
4 
5Matplotlib is Python's foundational visualization library for creating static, animated, and interactive plots. This skill provides guidance on using matplotlib effectively, covering both the pyplot interface (MATLAB-style) and the object-oriented API (Figure/Axes), along with best practices for creating publication-quality visualizations.
6 
7## When to Use This Skill
8 
9This skill should be used when:
10- Creating any type of plot or chart (line, scatter, bar, histogram, heatmap, contour, etc.)
11- Generating scientific or statistical visualizations
12- Customizing plot appearance (colors, styles, labels, legends)
13- Creating multi-panel figures with subplots
14- Exporting visualizations to various formats (PNG, PDF, SVG, etc.)
15- Building interactive plots or animations
16- Working with 3D visualizations
17- Integrating plots into Jupyter notebooks or GUI applications
18 
19## Core Concepts
20 
21### The Matplotlib Hierarchy
22 
23Matplotlib uses a hierarchical structure of objects:
24 
251. **Figure** - The top-level container for all plot elements
262. **Axes** - The actual plotting area where data is displayed (one Figure can contain multiple Axes)
273. **Artist** - Everything visible on the figure (lines, text, ticks, etc.)
284. **Axis** - The number line objects (x-axis, y-axis) that handle ticks and labels
29 
30### Two Interfaces
31 
32**1. pyplot Interface (Implicit, MATLAB-style)**
33```python
34import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
35 
36plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4])
37plt.ylabel('some numbers')
38plt.show()
39```
40…