Now that you have learned the basics of a Matplotlib plot, in this chapter, we will be exploring the different kinds of 2D plots in Matplotlib.
A 2D plot is a plot where data is plotted on only the x and y-axis. 2D plots are mostly used in reporting and infographics and it is important to know how to plot such Matplotlib plots if you are a numerical analyst. The different types of 2D plots covered in this chapter are:
Let's get started!
A Matplotlib Line Plot can be made using the plot() function of Matplotlib pyplot.
For plotting a Matplotlib Line Plot, we will have to specify the data for the x-axis and y-axis as shown in the example below:
# Libraries/Modules import conventions
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
%matplotlib inline
# Dummy Data
X = [1, 2, 3, 4]
Y = [2, 4, 6, 8]
# plot() is used for plotting a line plot
plt.plot(X, Y)
# Adding title, xlabel and ylabel
plt.title('A Basic Line Plot') # Title of the plot
plt.xlabel('X-axis') # X-Label
plt.ylabel('Y-axis') # Y-Label
# show() is used for displaying the plot
plt.show()
To learn more about the different variations of a line plot, please make sure to read the chapter on ‘Basics of a Matplotlib Plot‘.
A Matplotlib Scatter Plot can be made using the scatter() function of Matplotlib pyplot.
For plotting a Matplotlib Scatter Plot, we will have to specify the data for the x-axis and y-axis as shown in the example below:
# Libraries/Modules import conventions
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
%matplotlib inline
# Making the random number generator always generate the same random numbers
np.random.seed(10)
# Dummy Data
x = np.arange(50)
y = x + 10 * np.random.randn(50)
# scatter() is used for plotting a scatter plot
plt.scatter(x, y)
# Adding title, xlabel and ylabel
plt.title('A Basic Scatter Plot') # Title of the plot
plt.xlabel('X-axis') # X-Label
plt.ylabel('Y-axis') # Y-Label
# show() is used for displaying the plot
plt.show()
The scatter() function also allows us to define the size and color of each point being plotted. For this, we need to provide a list/array that contains the size and color of each point in the scatter() function.
# Libraries/Modules import conventions
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
%matplotlib inline
# Making the random number generator always generate the same random numbers
np.random.seed(10)
# Dummy Data
x = np.arange(50)
y = x + 10 * np.random.randn(50)
# Defining sizes and colors
sizes = np.abs(np.random.randn(50)) * 100
colors = np.random.randint(0, 50, 50)
# scatter() is used for plotting a scatter plot
plt.scatter(x, y, s=sizes, c=colors)
# Adding title, xlabel and ylabel
plt.title('A Colorful Scatter Plot') # Title of the plot
plt.xlabel('X-axis') # X-Label
plt.ylabel('Y-axis') # Y-Label
# show() is used for displaying the plot
plt.show()
The above examples plotted data that were randomly generated to show you how to plot a scatter plot. Now, let us see how you can create your own lists and plot it as a scatter plot in Matplotlib.
# Libraries/Modules import conventions
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
%matplotlib inline
# Making the random number generator always generate the same random numbers
np.random.seed(10)
# Dummy Data
x = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
y = [2, 4, 6, 8, 10]
# Defining sizes and colors
sizes = [112, 380, 100, 12, 60]
colors = [4, 20, 11, 3, 1]
# scatter() is used for plotting a scatter plot
plt.scatter(x, y, s=sizes, c=colors)
# Adding title, xlabel and ylabel
plt.title('A Colorful Scatter Plot') # Title of the plot
plt.xlabel('X-axis') # X-Label
plt.ylabel('Y-axis') # Y-Label
# show() is used for displaying the plot
plt.show()
A Matplotlib Bar Plot can be made using the bar() and barh() functions of Matplotlib pyplot.
The bar() function is used to create a vertical Matplotlib Bar Plot and the barh() function is used to create a horizontal Matplotlib Bar Plot.
A vertical Matplotlib Bar Plot can be made using the bar() function of Matplotlib pyplot.
For plotting a vertical Matplotlib Bar Plot, we will have to specify the data for the x-axis and y-axis as shown in the example below:
# Libraries/Modules import conventions
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
%matplotlib inline
# Dummy Data
x = ['Year 1', 'Year 2', 'Year 3', 'Year 4','Year 5']
y = [235, 554, 582, 695, 545]
# bar() is used for plotting a vertical bar plot
plt.bar(x, y)
# Adding title, xlabel and ylabel
plt.title('A Vertical Bar Plot') # Title of the plot
plt.xlabel('X-axis') # X-Label
plt.ylabel('Y-axis') # Y-Label
# show() is used for displaying the plot
plt.show()
A stacked vertical Matplotlib Bar Plot can be plotted by plotting more than one vertical bar plot in the same Matplotlib figure.
The following example shows a stacked vertical Matplotlib Bar Plot:
# Libraries/Modules import conventions
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
%matplotlib inline
# Dummy Data
x = ['Year 1', 'Year 2', 'Year 3', 'Year 4','Year 5']
y1 = [235, 554, 582, 695, 545]
y2 = [100, 200, 500, 600, 800]
width = 0.35 # the width of the bars
# Making the plot for y1 list's data and plotting
p1 = plt.bar(x, y1, width)
# Stacking the y2 list's data at top and plotting
p2 = plt.bar(x, y2, width, bottom = y1)
# legend() is used for displaying the plot legend
plt.legend(['y1','y2'])
# Adding title, xlabel and ylabel
plt.title('A Stacked Vertical Bar Plot') # Title of the plot
plt.xlabel('X-axis') # X-Label
plt.ylabel('Y-axis') # Y-Label
# show() is used for displaying the plot
plt.show()
A horizontal Matplotlib Bar Plot can be made using the barh() function of Matplotlib pyplot.
For plotting a horizontal Matplotlib Bar Plot, we will have to specify the data for the x-axis and y-axis as shown in the example below:
# Libraries/Modules import conventions
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
%matplotlib inline
# Dummy Data
x = ['Year 1', 'Year 2', 'Year 3', 'Year 4','Year 5']
y = [235, 554, 582, 695, 545]
# bar() is used for plotting a vertical bar plot
plt.barh(x, y)
# Adding title, xlabel and ylabel
plt.title('A Horizontal Bar Plot') # Title of the plot
plt.xlabel('X-axis') # X-Label
plt.ylabel('Y-axis') # Y-Label
# show() is used for displaying the plot
plt.show()
A stacked horizontal Matplotlib Bar Plot can be plotted by plotting more than one horizontal bar plot in the same Matplotlib figure.
The following example shows a stacked horizontal Matplotlib Bar Plot:
# Libraries/Modules import conventions
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
%matplotlib inline
# Dummy Data
x = ['Year 1', 'Year 2', 'Year 3', 'Year 4','Year 5']
y1 = [235, 554, 582, 695, 545]
y2 = [100, 200, 500, 600, 800]
width = 0.35 # the width of the bars
# Making the plot for y1 list's data and plotting
p1 = plt.barh(x, y1, width)
# Stacking the y2 list's data at top and plotting
p2 = plt.barh(x, y2, width, left = y1)
# legend() is used for displaying the plot legend
plt.legend(['y1','y2'])
# Adding title, xlabel and ylabel
plt.title('A Stacked Horizontal Bar Plot') # Title of the plot
plt.xlabel('X-axis') # X-Label
plt.ylabel('Y-axis') # Y-Label
# show() is used for displaying the plot
plt.show()
A Matplotlib Pie Plot can be made using the pie() function of Matplotlib pyplot.
For plotting a horizontal Matplotlib Pie Plot, we will have to specify the data as well as the label associated with it as shown below:
# Libraries/Modules import conventions import matplotlib.pyplot as plt %matplotlib inline # Dummy data label = ['Year 1', 'Year 2', 'Year 3', 'Year 4','Year 5'] values = [235, 695, 554, 550, 545] # pie() is used for plotting a pie chart plt.pie(values, labels = label, startangle = 45) # show() is used for displaying the plot plt.show()
Whenever we need to highlight important information about a certain pie, we can use the ‘explode’ parameter of a Matplotlib Pie Chart.
# Libraries/Modules import conventions import matplotlib.pyplot as plt %matplotlib inline # Dummy data label = ['Year 1', 'Year 2', 'Year 3', 'Year 4','Year 5'] values = [235, 695, 554, 550, 545] # Defining a pie that is to explode outside of the pie chart Explode = (0, 0.1, 0, 0,0) # only "explode" the 2nd slice (i.e. 'Year 2') # pie() is used for plotting a pie chart and 'explode' property is used to explode a pie plt.pie(values, labels = label, explode = Explode, startangle = 45) # show() is used for displaying the plot plt.show()
A Matplotlib Histogram Plot can be made using the hist() function of Matplotlib pyplot.
For plotting a Matplotlib Histogram Plot, we will have to specify the data for the x-axis and y-axis as shown in the example below:
# Libraries/Modules import conventions
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
%matplotlib inline
# Making the random number generator always generate the same random numbers
np.random.seed(10)
# Preparing random data
x = np.random.normal(size = 1000)
# hist() is used for plotting a histogram
plt.hist(x, density = True, bins = 30)
# Adding title, xlabel and ylabel
plt.title('A Histogram Plot') # Title of the plot
plt.xlabel('X-axis') # X-Label
plt.ylabel('Y-axis') # Y-Label
# show() is used for displaying the plot
plt.show()
In this chapter, we learned to plot the following 2D plots: Matplotlib Line Plot, Matplotlib Scatter Plot, Matplotlib Bar Plot, Matplotlib Pie Plot and Matplotlib Histogram Plot.
Head over to the next chapter on 'Plotting 3D Plots in Matplotlib' and learn about the different 3D plots available in Matplotlib.
Do you want to learn Python, Data Science, and Machine Learning while getting certified? Here are some best selling Datacamp courses that we recommend you enroll in:
