How do I prepare data for plotting with Matplotlib?

How do I prepare data for plotting with Matplotlib?

To prepare data for Matplotlib, you typically need to organize your data into a format that can be easily plotted, such as lists, NumPy arrays, or Pandas DataFrames.

Can you show me an example using a Pandas DataFrame?

Sure! First, you can create a DataFrame using Pandas. For example:

import pandas as pd

data = {'x': [1, 2, 3, 4], 'y': [10, 20, 25, 30]}
df = pd.DataFrame(data)

This creates a DataFrame with two columns, 'x' and 'y', which you can then plot.

How do I plot this DataFrame using Matplotlib?

You can plot the DataFrame using Matplotlib like this:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot(df['x'], df['y'])
plt.xlabel('X-axis')
plt.ylabel('Y-axis')
plt.title('My Plot')
plt.show()

This will create a simple line plot of your data.

What if I want to customize the plot's appearance?

You can customize the plot by changing colors, line styles, markers, and adding grid lines. For example:

plt.plot(df['x'], df['y'], color='red', linestyle='--', marker='o')
plt.grid(True)

This will change the line color to red, use a dashed line style, and add circular markers.