[IPython-dev] rant: "%matplotlib inline"
Brian Blais
bblais at gmail.com
Fri Jul 3 22:21:33 EDT 2015
If you compare it to other scientific packages they might get exposed to, say:
* Matlab (or octave)
* Mathematica
* Stata
then there is this sense that something like plotting is "just
included". I have found, especially for those students who have never
written a script for anything before, or had any experience with
programming, and have only worked in Excel that every bit of extra
syntax is a barrier. Python is a great language precisely because
there isn't a lot of extra syntactical clutter. as a programmer, I
don't have any issue with %matplotlib inline (except when I forget it,
and lose a few seconds wondering what I missed). From a newbie point
of view, it is distracting, I find. I'd prefer to have a way to
globally (i.e. through the config, perhaps) say "I'm working in
science mode here, so make all of the plots inline".
I understand the concerns of the development team, and agree with them
for the most part. I think much of this is probably a philosophical
difference (leading to a practical difference).
Is there a way, for example, to programmatically edit the config file
easily? That way a simple script could be written to go through some
of the more common defaults, to personalize it for a particular case.
bb
On Fri, Jul 3, 2015 at 9:37 PM, Alan G Isaac <alan.isaac at gmail.com> wrote:
> I just want to make sure that I understand this.
> Is the claim that having to remember to enter
> %matplotlib inline
> is too confusing for students who need to show
> matplotlib figures inline in their notebook.
> Is that the claim?
>
> I ask because I teach some economics courses
> with IPython notebooks, and my students typically
> have had little or no previous Python exposure.
> I have never had a complaint about this.
> (Additionally, I find they syntax nice and explicit.)
>
> I do sometimes email students the contents of a
> notebook configuration cell, which they can then
> copy and paste to get started. But not always.
> In the end, I find myself doubting this really
> presents a serious issue for teaching.
>
> fwiw,
> Alan Isaac
>
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