Python Data Visualization Transcripts
Chapter: Matplotlib
Lecture: Figure overview
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One of the confusing concepts for new users to matplot lib is how the figure API interacts with the axes API.
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So an axes actually represents a single plot, whereas a figure is the broader container for one or more axes. This example from the matplotlib,
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documentation helps put it in context. So a lot of the things you think of with a figure makes sense. There's a title, there's a legend.
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We can have grids, we can have spines as well as in this example, a line or scatter plot. We also have X axis and Y axis labels and
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ticks. And those intuitively makes sense. But what is not clear to the new user is that this plot is actually an
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axis and that the figure is a container for one or more axes.
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And this concept is really important and I think we'll drive it home as we go through some more examples.