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Displaying Plots Inside Loops

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In the early stages of some programming projects, I often like to explore the problem visually: to run a series of simulations with different values of the input parameters and create a series of graphs in order to gain some intuition about the problem. A convenient approach is to embed some plotting commands in a loop.

For example, suppose I want to see what the first ten Bessel functions look like. It seems that the following script should do what I want:

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
from scipy.special import jn                # Import Bessel function.

r = np.linspace(0,20,101)

for n in range(10):
    plt.plot(r, jn(n,r))                    # Draw nth Bessel function.
    plt.title("Bessel function J[%d](r)." % n)
    input("Press <Enter> to continue.")     # Wait for user input to continue.
    plt.cla()                               # Clear axes for next plot.

However, when I run the script, all I see is an empty plot window, even though I have to hit <Enter> ten times at the command prompt!

This behavior is due to the way Python handles events in the graphical user interface (GUI) used to display plots. Basically, Python creates the figure, but moves on to the next command before giving me a chance to look at it. What I need is some way to force Python to display the plot until I am ready to move on. (Asking for input at the command line does not accomplish this.)

plt.waitforbuttonpress()

PyPlot provides the perfect function: plt.waitforbuttonpress(). Referring to its documentation, we see that this function is a “blocking call to interact with the figure.” In other words, Python is not allowed to execute any other commands until the user interacts with the figure. The documentation also explains that there is an optional timeout argument, and the function returns different values depending on what happens:

  • True — The user pressed a key on the keyboard.
  • False — The user clicked the mouse.
  • None — The (optional) timer elapsed.

Clicking the mouse on buttons like “Zoom” or “Save Figure” do not return a value. Only a mouse click within the actual plot causes the function to return False.

The following loop will force Python to display each plot until I press a button on the keyboard or click with the mouse:

for n in range(10):
    plt.plot(r, jn(n,r))                # Draw nth Bessel function.
    plt.title("Bessel function J[%d](r)." % n)
    plt.waitforbuttonpress()            # Display plot and wait for user input.
    plt.cla()                           # Clear axes for next plot.

When I run the script, I can see each Bessel function, but if I try to zoom in on the figure, Python advances to the next plot. I can get around this by placing the command inside an “infinite” loop and taking advantage of the different return values of the function:

for n in range(10):
    plt.plot(r, jn(n,r))                    # Draw nth Bessel function.
    plt.title("Bessel function J[%d](r)." % n)
    while True:
        if plt.waitforbuttonpress(): break  # Exit loop if user presses a key.
    plt.cla()                               # Clear axes for next plot.

At each iteration of the while loop, Python waits for the result of plt.waitforbuttonpress(). If I click the mouse to zoom or move the axes, the return value is False, so the loop executes again. However, if I press a key on the keyboard, the return value is True and Python breaks out of the loop. I can use the mouse to interact with each plot as much as I like, then press a key to move on to the next one when I am ready.

You can accomplish the same task in fewer lines with a different while loop:

while not plt.waitforbuttonpress(): pass

This while loop does nothing at each iteration (pass) and continues to cycle so long as the return value of plt.waitforbuttonpress() evaluates to False.

Exercises

Rewrite the script so that Python will display each plot for 5 seconds unless the user presses a key or clicks the mouse (inside the active portion of the plot window), at which point the countdown timer resets.

Rewrite the script so that Python will display each plot until the user presses a key on the keyboard or there are 10 seconds of inactivity — whichever comes first.

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