.. _glossary:
********
Glossary
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.. glossary::
AGG
The Anti-Grain Geometry (`Agg `_) rendering
engine, capable of rendering high-quality images
Cairo
The `Cairo graphics `_ engine
dateutil
The `dateutil `_ library
provides extensions to the standard datetime module
EPS
Encapsulated Postscript (`EPS
`_)
FreeType
`FreeType `_ is a font rasterization
library used by matplotlib which supports TrueType, Type 1, and
OpenType fonts.
GDK
The Gimp Drawing Kit for GTK+
GTK
The GIMP Toolkit (`GTK `_) graphical user interface
library
JPG
The Joint Photographic Experts Group (`JPEG
`_) compression method and
file format for photographic images
numpy
`numpy `_ is the standard numerical
array library for python, the successor to Numeric and numarray.
numpy provides fast operations for homogeneous data sets and
common mathematical operations like correlations, standard
deviation, fourier transforms, and convolutions.
PDF
Adobe's Portable Document Format (`PDF
`_)
PNG
Portable Network Graphics (`PNG
`_), a raster
graphics format that employs lossless data compression which is more
suitable for line art than the lossy jpg format. Unlike the gif format,
png is not encumbered by requirements for a patent license.
PS
Postscript (`PS `_) is a
vector graphics ASCII text language widely used in printers and
publishing. Postscript was developed by adobe systems and is
starting to show its age: for example is does not have an alpha
channel. PDF was designed in part as a next-generation document
format to replace postscript
pgi
`pgi ` exists as a relatively
new Python wrapper to GTK3 and acts as a pure python alternative to
PyGObject. pgi still exists in its infancy, currently missing many
features of PyGObject. However Matplotlib does not use any of these
missing features.
PyGObject
`PyGObject `_ provides Python wrappers for the
:term:`GTK` widgets library
pyqt
`pyqt `_ provides python
wrappers for the :term:`Qt` widgets library and is required by
the matplotlib Qt5Agg and Qt4Agg backends. Widely used on linux
and windows; many linux distributions package this as
'python-qt5' or 'python-qt4'.
python
`python `_ is an object oriented interpreted
language widely used for scripting, application development, web
application servers, scientific computing and more.
Qt
`Qt `__ is a cross-platform
application framework for desktop and embedded development.
Qt4
`Qt4 `__ is the previous,
but most widely used, version of Qt cross-platform application
framework for desktop and embedded development.
Qt5
`Qt5 `__ is the current
version of Qt cross-platform application
framework for desktop and embedded development.
raster graphics
`Raster graphics
`_, or bitmaps,
represent an image as an array of pixels which is resolution
dependent. Raster graphics are generally most practical for
photo-realistic images, but do not scale easily without loss of
quality.
SVG
The Scalable Vector Graphics format (`SVG
`_). An XML based vector
graphics format supported by many web browsers.
TIFF
Tagged Image File Format (`TIFF
`_) is a
file format for storing images, including photographs and line
art.
Tk
`Tk `_ is a graphical user interface for Tcl
and many other dynamic languages. It can produce rich, native
applications that run unchanged across Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
and more.
vector graphics
`vector graphics
`_ use geometrical
primitives based upon mathematical equations to represent images
in computer graphics. Primitives can include points, lines,
curves, and shapes or polygons. Vector graphics are scalable,
which means that they can be resized without suffering from
issues related to inherent resolution like are seen in raster
graphics. Vector graphics are generally most practical for
typesetting and graphic design applications.
wxpython
`wxpython `_ provides python wrappers
for the :term:`wxWidgets` library for use with the WX and WXAgg
backends. Widely used on linux, OS-X and windows, it is often
packaged by linux distributions as 'python-wxgtk'
wxWidgets
`WX `_ is cross-platform GUI and
tools library for GTK, MS Windows, and MacOS. It uses native
widgets for each operating system, so applications will have the
look-and-feel that users on that operating system expect.