This introduces the__all__ variable to pyplot, whose only purpose is to limit what is imported on a wildcard importfrom matplotlib.pyplot import *.

While wildcard imports are not recommended in general - and I don't want to change this, there appears to be still a lot offrom pylab import * oripython --pylab usage around. I assume that's because it's so convenient for quick interactive use. While we probably cannot change people completely, it may be a good idea to have a more limited and thus less dangerous wildcard import to help push people away from pylab. In particular we should only import relevant plotting functions here (no numpy, no mlab, no colormap functions)

Note: This is currently a proof of concept and requires additional work.

This affectspylab since pylab usesfrom matplotlib.pyplot import *, which is an unintended side-effect.
The hard-coded part of functions in__all__ needs some cleanup. Possible some are missing, while others are not neccesary.

But before working futher on the details, I would like to reach a general consensus on the idea.

PR Checklist

Has Pytest style unit tests
Code isFlake 8 compliant
New features are documented, with examples if plot related
Documentation is sphinx and numpydoc compliant
Added an entry to doc/users/next_whats_new/ if major new feature (follow instructions in README.rst there)
Documented in doc/api/api_changes.rst if API changed in a backward-incompatible way

timhoffm added the status: work in progress label

Nov 4, 2018

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timhoffm commentedNov 4, 2018

Note: CI for 3.5 is currently failing due to non-deterministic dict order. This can be worked around or defered until mpl 3.1, which will be python 3.6+ only. Not going to spend time on this before the general idea is discussed.

timhoffm added this to thev3.1 milestone

Nov 4, 2018

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ImportanceOfBeingErnest commentedNov 4, 2018

You can be certain that a lot of people do things like

axes().add_artist(Rectangle((.5,.5),.2,.3, color=cm.magma(.4)))

having startedipython --pylab.

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timhoffm commentedNov 4, 2018

Except for thecm.magma, which would have to be discussed, this is fine by me.

This is about defining a reasonable subset of pylab that should ease most use-cases while limiting the number of imported functions.

timhoffm modified the milestones:v3.1.0,v3.2.0

Feb 15, 2019

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dpshelio commentedMay 24, 2019

I've found out about this problem today. Very confusing the fact that one can access the wholematpltolib and other things likesys andtime when imported everything frompyplot. It's very confusing seen scripts like:

frommatplotlib.pyplotimport*...matplotlib.pyplot.savefig('myimage.png')

I really support this change!

timhoffm modified the milestones:v3.2.0,v3.3.0

Aug 7, 2019

timhoffm modified the milestones:v3.3.0,v3.4.0

Apr 11, 2020

timhoffm marked this pull request as draft

July 14, 2020 21:20

QuLogic modified the milestones:v3.4.0,v3.5.0

Jan 21, 2021

timhoffm modified the milestones:v3.5.0,unassigned

Jul 8, 2021

story645 modified the milestones:unassigned,needs sorting

Oct 6, 2022

github-actionsbot added the status: needs rebase label

Oct 18, 2022

tacaswell force-pushed thepyplot-all branch from8b91533 to8af6e67Compare

December 5, 2022 23:33

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Dec 5, 2022

tacaswell modified the milestones:future releases,v3.7.0

Dec 5, 2022

tacaswell marked this pull request as ready for review

December 5, 2022 23:33

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tacaswell commentedDec 5, 2022

I took the liberty of rebasing this and think it is ready to review.

tacaswell modified the milestones:v3.7.0,v3.8.0

Dec 9, 2022

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tacaswell commentedJan 19, 2023

I think this needs a behavior change note indicating that we restricted the namespace, but otherwise 👍

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Jan 19, 2023

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I think this makes sense. Will also help with#22149.

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timhoffm commentedJan 20, 2023

Happy to see this moving. Please be aware that this may not yet be ready

Note: This is currently a proof of concept and requires additional work.
This affectspylab since pylab usesfrom matplotlib.pyplot import *, which is an unintended side-effect.
The hard-coded part of functions in__all__ needs some cleanup. Possible some are missing, while others are not neccesary.

I'm sorry I don't have the time to work on this. Anybody can take over the PR and (force) push.

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jklymak commentedJan 24, 2023

Lets move to draft, but definitely anyone should feel free to put back...

jklymak marked this pull request as draft

January 24, 2023 17:19

QuLogic mentioned this pull request

Mar 9, 2023

Generate pyplot wrappers at runtime#25422

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github-actionsbot added the status: needs rebase label

Mar 30, 2023

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github-actionsbot commentedMay 30, 2023

Since this Pull Request has not been updated in 60 days, it has been marked "inactive." This does not mean that it will be closed, though it may be moved to a "Draft" state. This helps maintainers prioritize their reviewing efforts. You can pick the PR back up anytime - please ping us if you need a review or guidance to move the PR forward! If you do not plan on continuing the work, please let us know so that we can either find someone to take the PR over, or close it.