boxfill

# Boxfill (Gfb) module

class vcs.boxfill.Gfb(Gfb_name=None, Gfb_name_src='default')[source]

The boxfill graphics method (Gfb) displays a two-dimensional data array by surrounding each data value by a colored grid box.

This class is used to define a boxfill table entry used in VCS, or it can be used to change some or all of the attributes in an existing boxfill table entry.

General use of a boxfill:
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# Constructor
a=vcs.init()
# Show predefined boxfill graphics methods
a.show('boxfill')
# Change the VCS color map
a.setcolormap("AMIP")
# Plot data 's' with boxfill 'b' and 'default' template
a.boxfill(s,b,'default')
Updating a boxfill:
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# Updates the VCS Canvas at user's request
a.update()
# Set VCS Canvas to automatic update mode
a.mode=1
# Use update function to update the VCS Canvas
a.mode=0
Create a new instance of boxfill:
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#  Copies content of 'quick' to 'new'
box=a.createboxfill('new','quick')
#  Copies content of 'default' to 'new'
box=a.createboxfill('new')
Modifying an existing boxfill:
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fill=a.getboxfill('quick')

# Set index using fillarea
box.fillareaindices=(7,fill,4,9,fill,15)
# list fillarea attributes
fill.list()
# change style
fill.style='hatch'
# change color
fill.color='black'
# change style index
fill.index=3
Overview of boxfill attributes:

  • Listing all the boxfill attribute values:

    box.list()

  • Setting boxfill attribute values:

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    box.projection='linear'
lon30={-180:'180W',-150:'150W',0:'Eq'}
box.xticlabels1=lon30
box.xticlabels2=lon30
# Will set them both
box.xticlabels(lon30, lon30)
box.xmtics1=''
box.xmtics2=''
# Will set them both
box.xmtics(lon30, lon30)
box.yticlabels1=lat10
box.yticlabels2=lat10
# Will set them both
box.yticlabels(lat10, lat10)
box.ymtics1=''
box.ymtics2=''
# Will set them both
box.ymtics(lat10, lat10)
box.datawc_y1=-90.0
box.datawc_y2=90.0
box.datawc_x1=-180.0
box.datawc_x2=180.0
# Will set them all
box.datawc(-90, 90, -180, 180)
box.xaxisconvert='linear'
box.yaxisconvert='linear'
# Will set them both
box.xyscale('linear', 'area_wt')
box.level_1=1e20
box.level_2=1e20
box.color_1=0
box.color_2=255
# Will set them both
box.colors(0, 255 )
# 'linear' - compute or specify legend
box.boxfill_type='linear'
# 'log10' - plot using log10
box.boxfill_type='log10'
# 'custom' - use custom values to display legend evenly
box.boxfill_type='custom'
# Hold the legend values
box.legend=None
# Show left overflow arrow
box.ext_1='n'
# Show right overflow arrow
box.ext_2='y'
# Will set them both
box.exts('n', 'y' )
box.missing='black'

  • Setting the boxfill levels:

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    # Case 1: Levels are all contiguous:
box.levels=([0,20,25,30,35,40],)
box.levels=([0,20,25,30,35,40,45,50])
box.levels=[0,20,25,30,35,40]
box.levels=(0.0,20.0,25.0,30.0,35.0,40.0,50.0)

# Case 2: Levels are not contiguous:
box.levels=([0,20],[30,40],[50,60])
box.levels=([0,20,25,30,35,40],[30,40],[50,60])

  • Setting the fillarea color indices:

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    # Three different methods for setting color indices:
box.fillareacolors=([22,33,44,55,66,77])
box.fillareacolors=(16,19,33,44)
box.fillareacolors=None

  • Setting the fillarea style:

    box.fillareastyle = 'solid'
box.fillareastyle = 'hatch'
box.fillareastyle = 'pattern'

  • Setting the fillarea hatch or pattern indices:

    box.fillareaindices=([1,3,5,6,9,20])
box.fillareaindices=(7,1,4,9,6,15)

  • Using the fillarea secondary object (Ex):

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    f=createfillarea('fill1')
#To Create a new instance of fillarea use:
# Copies 'quick' to 'new'
fill=a.createfillarea('new','quick')
# Copies 'default' to 'new'
fill=a.createfillarea('new')

  • Attribute descriptions:

    • Universally considered attributes:

      boxfill_type(str)

      Type of boxfill legend. One of ‘linear’, ‘log10’, or ‘custom’. See examples above for usage. Relevant attributes per type noted in attribute descriptions.

      missing(int)

      Color to use for missing value or values not in defined ranges.

    • boxfill_type ‘linear’/’log10’ relevant attributes:

      level_1(float)

      Used in conjunction with boxfill_type linear/log10. Sets the value of the legend’s first level

      level_2(float)

      Used in conjunction with boxfill_type linear/log10, sets the value of the legend’s end level.

      color_1(float)

      Used in conjunction with boxfill_type linear/log10, sets the first value of the legend’s color range.

      color_2(float)

      Used in conjunction with boxfill_type linear/log10. Sets the last value of the legend’s color range.

      legend({float:str})

      Used in conjunction with boxfill_type linear/log10. replaces the legend values in the dictionary keys with their associated string.

      ext_1(str)

      Draws an extension arrow on right side of a boxfill (values less than first range value)

      ext_2(str)

      Draws an extension arrow on left side of a boxfill (values greater than last range value)

    • boxfill_type ‘custom’ relevant attributes:

      levels(list of floats)

      Used in conjunction with boxfill_type custom. Sets the levels range to use. Can be either a list of contiguous levels, or list of tuples indicating first and last value of the range.

      fillareacolors(list)

      Used in conjunction with boxfill_type custom. Specifies colors to use for each level.

    • More boxfill attributes:

    xmtics1(str/{float:str})

    (Ex: ‘’) dictionary with location of intermediate tics as keys for 1st side of y axis

    xmtics2(str/{float:str})

    (Ex: ‘’) dictionary with location of intermediate tics as keys for 2nd side of y axis

    ymtics1(str/{float:str})

    (Ex: ‘’) dictionary with location of intermediate tics as keys for 1st side of y axis

    ymtics2(str/{float:str})

    (Ex: ‘’) dictionary with location of intermediate tics as keys for 2nd side of y axis

    xticlabels1(str/{float:str})

    (Ex: ‘*’) values for labels on 1st side of x axis

    xticlabels2(str/{float:str})

    (Ex: ‘*’) values for labels on 2nd side of x axis

    yticlabels1(str/{float:str})

    (Ex: ‘*’) values for labels on 1st side of y axis

    yticlabels2(str/{float:str})

    (Ex: ‘*’) values for labels on 2nd side of y axis

    projection(str/vcs.projection.Proj)

    (Ex: ‘default’) projection to use, name or object

    datawc_x1(float)

    (Ex: 1.E20) first value of xaxis on plot

    datawc_x2(float)

    (Ex: 1.E20) second value of xaxis on plot

    datawc_y1(float)

    (Ex: 1.E20) first value of yaxis on plot

    datawc_y2(float)

    (Ex: 1.E20) second value of yaxis on plot

    datawc_timeunits(str)

    (Ex: ‘days since 2000’) units to use when displaying time dimension auto tick

    datawc_calendar(int)

    (Ex: 135441) calendar to use when displaying time dimension auto tick, default is proleptic gregorian calendar

colors(color1=0, color2=255)[source]

Sets the color_1 and color_2 properties of the object.

Note

color_1 and color_2 control which parts of the colormap to use for the plot. It defaults to the full range of the colormap (0-255), but if you use fewer colors, it will break up your data into precisely that many discrete colors.

Example
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>>> a=vcs.init()
>>> array=[range(10) for _ in range(10)]
>>> ex=a.createboxfill()
>>> ex.colors(0, 64) # use colorcells 0-64 of colormap
>>> a.plot(ex, array)
<vcs.displayplot.Dp object at 0x...>
Parameters

  • color1 (int) – Sets the color_1 value on the object.

  • color2 (int) – Sets the color_2 value on the object.

datawc(dsp1=1e+20, dsp2=1e+20, dsp3=1e+20, dsp4=1e+20)[source]

Sets the data world coordinates for object

Example
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>>> a=vcs.init()
>>> ex=a.createboxfill('boxfill_dwc')
>>> ex.datawc(0.0, 0.1, 1.0, 1.1) # sets datawc y1, y2, x1, x2
>>> ex.datawc_y1, ex.datawc_y2, ex.datawc_x1, ex.datawc_x2
(0.0, 0.1, 1.0, 1.1)
Parameters

  • dsp1 (float) – Sets the datawc_y1 property of the object.

  • dsp2 (float) – Sets the datawc_y2 property of the object.

  • dsp3 (float) – Sets the datawc_x1 property of the object.

  • dsp4 (float) – Sets the datawc_x2 property of the object.

property ext_1

Turns on extensions arrows for values before the first level

property ext_2

Turns on extensions arrows for values after the last level

exts(ext1='n', ext2='y')[source]

Sets the ext_1 and ext_2 values on the object.

Example
Parameters

  • ext1 (str or bool) – Sets the ext_1 value on the object. ‘y’ sets it to True, ‘n’ sets it to False. True or False can be used in lieu of ‘y’ and ‘n’.

  • ext2 (str or bool) – Sets the ext_2 value on the object. ‘y’ sets it to True, ‘n’ sets it to False. True or False can be used in lieu of ‘y’ and ‘n’.

getlevels(varmin, varmax)[source]

Given a minimum and a maximum, will generate levels for the boxfill starting at varmin and ending at varmax.

Example
>>> b=vcs.createboxfill()
>>> lvls = b.getlevels(0,100) # 257 levels from 0-100
>>> b.levels = list(lvls) # set boxfill's levels attribute
Parameters

  • varmin (float) – The smallest number desired for the boxfill’s levels attribute.

  • varmax – The largest number desired for the boxfill’s levels attribute.

Returns

A numpy array of 257 floats, evenly distributed from varmin to varmax.

Return type

numpy.ndarray

property levels

Sets the levels on a graphic method, optionally turns on/off extensions arrows

list()[source]

Lists the current values of object attributes

Example
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>>> a=vcs.init()
>>> obj=a.getboxfill() # default
>>> obj.list() # print boxfill attributes
---------- ... ----------
...
rename(newname)[source]

Renames the boxfill in the VCS name table.

Note

This function will not rename the ‘default’ boxfill. If rename is called on the ‘default’ boxfill, newname is associated with default in the VCS name table, but the boxfill’s name will not be changed, and will behave in all ways as a ‘default’ boxfill.

Example
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>>> b=vcs.createboxfill('bar')
>>> l=vcs.listelements('boxfill') # list of boxfills
>>> 'bar' in l # shows l contains new boxfill
True
>>> b.rename('foo')
>>> l=vcs.listelements('boxfill') # new list of boxfills
>>> 'foo' in l # new name is in list
True
>>> 'bar' in l # old name is not
False
Parameters

newname (str) – The new name you want given to the boxfill

script(script_filename, mode='a')[source]

Saves out a copy of the boxfill graphics method, in JSON or Python format to a designated file.

Note

If the the filename has a ‘.py’ at the end, it will produce a Python script. If no extension is given, then by default a .json file containing a JSON serialization of the object’s data will be produced.

Warning

VCS Scripts Deprecated. SCR script files are no longer generated by this function.

Example
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>>> a=vcs.init()
>>> ex=a.getboxfill()
>>> ex.script('filename.py') # append to 'filename.py'
>>> ex.script('filename','w') # make/overwrite 'filename.json'
Parameters

  • script_filename (str) – Output name of the script file. If no extension is specified, a .json object is created.

  • mode (str) – Either ‘w’ for replace, or ‘a’ for append. Defaults to ‘a’, if not specified.

xmtics(xmt1='', xmt2='')[source]

Sets the xmtics1 and xmtics2 values on the object.

Note

The mtics attributes are not inherently plotted by the default template. The example below shows how to apply a custom template and enable it to plot mtics. To plot a the boxfill after setting the mtics and template, refer to vcs.Canvas.plot() or vcs.Canvas.boxfill().

Example
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>>> a=vcs.init()
>>> ex=vcs.createboxfill()
>>> ex.xmtics("lon5") # minitick every 5 degrees
>>> tmp=vcs.createtemplate() # custom template to plot minitics
>>> tmp.xmintic1.priority = 1 # plotting shows xmtics
Parameters

  • xmt1 (dict or str) – Value for xmtics1. Must be a str, or a dictionary object with float:str mappings.

  • xmt2 (dict or str) – Value for xmtics2. Must be a str, or a dictionary object with float:str mappings.

xticlabels(xtl1='', xtl2='')[source]

Sets the xticlabels1 and xticlabels2 values on the object

Example
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>>> a = vcs.init()
>>> import cdms2 # Need cdms2 to create a slab
>>> f = cdms2.open(vcs.sample_data+'/clt.nc') # open data file
>>> ex = a.createboxfill()
>>> ex.xticlabels({0: "Prime Meridian", -121.7680: "Livermore", 37.6173: "Moscow"})
>>> a.plot(ex, f('u')) # plot shows labels
<vcs.displayplot.Dp object at 0x...>
Parameters

  • xtl1 (dict or str) – Sets the object’s value for xticlabels1. Must be a str, or a dictionary object with float:str mappings.

  • xtl2 (dict or str) – Sets the object’s value for xticlabels2. Must be a str, or a dictionary object with float:str mappings.

xyscale(xat='linear', yat='linear')[source]

Sets xaxisconvert and yaxisconvert values for the object.

Example
>>> a=vcs.init()
>>> ex=a.createboxfill('boxfill_xys') # make a boxfill
>>> ex.xyscale(xat='linear', yat='linear')
Parameters

  • xat (str) – Set value for x axis conversion.

  • yat (str) – Set value for y axis conversion.

ymtics(ymt1='', ymt2='')[source]

Sets the xmtics1 and xmtics2 values on the object.

Note

The mtics attributes are not inherently plotted by the default template. The example below shows how to apply a custom template and enable it to plot mtics. To plot a the boxfill after setting the mtics and template, refer to vcs.Canvas.plot() or vcs.Canvas.boxfill().

Example
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>>> a=vcs.init()
>>> ex=vcs.createboxfill()
>>> ex.xmtics("lon5") # minitick every 5 degrees
>>> tmp=vcs.createtemplate() # custom template to plot minitics
>>> tmp.xmintic1.priority = 1 # plotting shows xmtics
Parameters

  • xmt1 (dict or str) – Value for xmtics1. Must be a str, or a dictionary object with float:str mappings.

  • xmt2 (dict or str) – Value for xmtics2. Must be a str, or a dictionary object with float:str mappings.

yticlabels(ytl1='', ytl2='')[source]

Sets the yticlabels1 and yticlabels2 values on the object

Example
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>>> a = vcs.init()
>>> import cdms2 # Need cdms2 to create a slab
>>> f = cdms2.open(vcs.sample_data+'/clt.nc') # open data file
>>> ex = a.createboxfill()
>>> ex.yticlabels({0: "Eq.", 37.6819: "L", 55.7558: "M"})
>>> a.plot(ex, f('u')) # plot shows labels
<vcs.displayplot.Dp object at 0x...>
Parameters

  • ytl1 (dict or str) – Sets the object’s value for yticlabels1. Must be a str, or a dictionary object with float:str mappings.

  • ytl2 (dict or str) – Sets the object’s value for yticlabels2. Must be a str, or a dictionary object with float:str mappings.