[IPOL discuss] matplotlib? [Re: courve 1D ...]

[Nicolas Limare]

> Well, the script is using matplotlib right now and it's not a complex
> program, so adapting it to possible changes of the API wouldn't be a great
> deal.

As long as there is someone to provide this maintenance service.

> There's no guarantee that the APIs of the components we're using in the
> server don't change. CherryPy, PIL or PySQLite can change also.

I think CherryPy, PIL and PySQLite are older, thus more stable. But
yes, every API will eventually change.

> It's true matplotlib needs all those packages, but other packages like,
> for example gnuplot, have similar or even more dependencies.

No, gnuplot comes with a "nox" command-line only version.
-> http://packages.debian.org/squeeze/gnuplot-nox

> This is what the script is doing right now on the dev. server and it works
> well.

Lots of packages are installed on the dev server, for
experimentation. Only the minimum is on the demo server. 

I just say I don't like this approach, collecting lots of tools for a 
minor task. So I won't make any effort maintaining it if something
breaks, if one day there is a bug someone else will have to manage it,
from the python code to the package management.

If it is used by more than one demo, the script must be integrated in
the demo codebase, /lib folder. Someone has to do it, I won't.

> And no alternative has been presented/built yet.

Collect the point coordinates, draw lines with PIL, you have the
curve. It is boring, the curve will not be pretty and have
coordinates, legends, and so on but it works and doesn't require a
gazillion of libraries to draw a curve.

-- 
Nicolas LIMARE - CMLA - ENS Cachan    http://www.cmla.ens-cachan.fr/~limare/
IPOL - image processing on line                          http://www.ipol.im/
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