Nabble boxplot email

email.txt

Dear matplotlib developers, 

I am attaching an updated boxplot method for axes.py that I would like 
to suggest as a replacement for the present one in 0.90. My code does 
not change any of the existing functionality, and simply adds a few 
options to the existing code: 

* I wanted to be able to draw boxplots entirely in black. 

* When plotting several boxes on the same axes, where some boxes are 
very small in comparison to others, the box outline and notch can 
totally mask the median line information. So I added an option to draw 
*no* box if the box is sufficiently small so that the median line is 
clear. The inner whisker limits provide the only information about q1 
and q3 in this case. 

* I personally don't find the adaptive notch size very attractive for 
publication-quality plots. I added a feature to keep the notch size 
fixed (notch==2). This means that very small boxes will foul up, so if 
the fixed notch size is smaller than the box height then the "no box" 
option is automatically forced on. Fixed notch size is set using the 
'notchsize' parameter. 

* I wanted to include an additional (and optional) line in the box for 
the mean average of the data (but not associated with an additional 
notch). 

* I wanted to make the boxes white-fillable in case they are placed 
over background lines. 

* I wanted to set my own axes limits externally, and prevent ticks on 
the plot so that I can label the graphs myself and add additional 
info. 

The attached PNG graphic exemplifies these suggestions with the new 
code for a plot that is appearing in an IEEE journal article (please 
ignore the black triangle that has nothing to do with the 
boxplotting). All the new features involve optional parameters to the 
method signature, defaulting in their absence to the existing 
functionality. 

The code for the method includes an updated docstring that reflects 
how these features are used. Note that I've also made a few minor 
edits to the existing parts of the docstring text for clarity: in 
particular, regarding the return value, as the existing statement 
apparently was not updated when the method was changed to return a 
dictionary. 

Please feel to discuss these ideas with me. 
Regards, 
Rob