matplotlib
Table of Contents
Description
Matplotlib is a popular Python library used for data visualization. It provides an object-oriented API to embed plots into applications. The most commonly used module in Matplotlib is pyplot, which simplifies creating plots such as line charts, bar charts, histograms, scatter plots, and more.
Prerequisites
- Basic knowledge of Python functions and lists
- Familiarity with NumPy or Pandas (for plotting data)
- Understanding of chart types like line and bar charts
Examples
Here's a simple example of a data science task using Python:
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
# Line Chart Example
x = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
y = [10, 20, 25, 30, 40]
# Basic line plot
plt.plot(x, y, label="Growth", color="blue", marker='o')
plt.title("Line Chart Example") # Add title
plt.xlabel("Time") # X-axis label
plt.ylabel("Value") # Y-axis label
plt.legend() # Show legend
plt.grid(True) # Add grid
plt.show()
# Bar Chart Example
categories = ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D']
values = [20, 35, 30, 10]
plt.bar(categories, values, color='green')
plt.title("Bar Chart Example")
plt.xlabel("Categories")
plt.ylabel("Values")
plt.show()
Real-World Applications
Data Reporting
Visualizing trends over time (line charts)
Category-based summaries (bar charts)
Business Intelligence
Monthly sales tracking
Product-wise revenue comparison
Where topic Is Applied
Healthcare
- Number of patients over time
- Comparison of test types or diseases per region
Finance
- Stock price trends (line plots)
- Revenue comparison by department (bar charts)
Resources
Data Science topic PDF
Harvard Data Science Course
Free online course from Harvard covering data science foundations
Interview Questions
➤ Matplotlib is a data visualization library in Python used to create static, animated, and interactive plots.
➤ Line plots, bar charts, scatter plots, histograms, pie charts.
➤ It displays the plot window. Without it, the plot may not appear in some environments.
➤ Use plt.xlabel("X Label") and plt.ylabel("Y Label").
➤ Yes, using parameters like color, linestyle, and marker.