Data visualization

There are several Python libraries that can be used for data visualizations. Matplotlib is a good place to start, but other libraries such as Seaborn can create more attractive visualizations, and Plotly can create interactive visualizations.

Matplotlib

Matplotlib is a Python library for data visualization. That’s it. If you have data, Matplotlib can probably be used to visualize it. The library is integrated directly into pandas, so if you use pandas, you likely also use Matplotlib.

Matplotlib has a very steep learning curve and is not intuitive at all. I consider it a necessary evil if you are learning about Python data science. No matter how much data visualization I do with Matplotlib, it never becomes easy, and I memorize very little. I say all of this not to badmouth Matplotlib, but so that you will not feel negativity toward yourself if you struggle with the library. We all struggle with the library.

Setup

As with pandas and NumPy, if...