Anatomy of a Matplotlib Plot
Before diving into advanced visualizations, it’s important to understand how a typical Matplotlib plot is structured.
Each plot consists of several key components that work together to display data clearly and effectively.
Figure and Axes
- Figure: The overall canvas or container for all visual elements.
- Axes: The actual plotting area inside the figure. This includes the x-axis, y-axis, grid, and the plotted data.
In most basic plots, you’ll work with a single figure containing one set of axes.
Common Plot Elements
Each plot may include:
- A title at the top (
plt.title()) - Labels on the x-axis and y-axis (
plt.xlabel(),plt.ylabel()) - Ticks: the numerical markers along the axes
- The data representation (line, bar, pie, etc.)
- A legend if there are multiple series
- Gridlines (optional) to improve readability
Multiple Subplots
You can place more than one plot inside a single figure using subplots.
Each subplot has its own axes but shares the overall figure space.
You’ll learn more about subplots later, but for now, remember that a single figure can contain multiple axes — each representing its own plot.
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