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Archive for September, 2008

CairoPlot 1.1

CairoPlot is on GitHub!

CairoPlot now has a Mailing List! For more information, refer to: this post.

v1.1 is out!!

CairoPlot is an API written in Python and uses PyCairo to plot 6 kinds of graphics.
Lots of changes happened since last post, CairoPlot now has a Logo, it’s not just me anymore, we have an all new repository and lots of new functions and options. Read the rest of the post to see all the changes.

LOGO

As you all must’ve seen on the beginning of this text, CairoPlot now has a logo! Actually I did two but I ended up choosing this one. What do you guys think?

CONTRIBUTOR

It’s not just me anymore! I’m happy to say that this release had GREAT help from João S. O. Bueno. It was his idea to change the code into object oriented style which turned out to be a great option for the project.

NEW REPOSITORY

I’d like to apologize to everyone who’s been using v1.0 since June. Many changes happened and no one even knew they were there. By the time the repositories where changed, João had just started helping the project and lots of things were incomplete. After that, one change lead to the other and the only stable release came out now. Again, I’m sorry but I believe you all will be pleased by the changes.
To visit the new repository, just hit CairoPlot Launchpad.

HOW TO DOWNLOAD

CairoPlot is on GitHub!

HOW TO HELP

I believe CairoPlot can grow a lot more, so if you think you can help, please contact me at alf.rodrigo@gmail.com.

NEWS

Now for the exciting ChangeLog.
All the old functions are still supported with some little but important changes.

overall changes

Every chart now has an associated class and a function.
The functions where kept to maintain backward compatibility and allow for easy use of the api.
The classes, however, provide much more customization as access to the cairo context or its surface.
All functions still have the background parameter, but now it supports colors (in tuple form, red = (255, 0, 0)) and Cairo Linear Gradients. The None option is still present and will generate the gray to white gradient of the previous version.

more output options

CairoPlot now outputs images on the following formats: pdf, ps, png and svg thanks to João.

dot_line_plot

Dot Line Plot kept most of its functions but got a little more customizable.

dot_line_plot (name,
               data,
               width,
               height,
               background = None,
               border = 0,
               axis = False,
               grid = False,
               dots = False,
               h_labels = None,
               v_labels = None,
               h_bounds = None,
               v_bounds = None)

dots – new parameter added to determine whether or not the dots are needed;
h_legend and v_legend – got renamed to h_labels and v_labels;
Note: As this function’s been present since the last version, please refer to the latest post for more detailed information.

pie_plot

The old Pizza Plot got renamed and revamped into the all new Pie Plot

pie_plot(name,
           data,
           width,
           height,
           background = None,
           gradient = False,
           shadows = False,
           colors = None)

gradient – Whether or not the slices are painted with gradient colors;
shadows – Now, it’s possible to draw a shadow behind the pie;
colors – And the user can pass a pre-selected list of colors for the slices;
Note: As this function’s been present since the last version, please refer to the latest post for more detailed information.

gantt_chart

No cosmetic changes on this one, but as the rest of the api, it got refactored on OO and the overall changes also apply.

gantt_chart(name,
            pieces,
            width,
            height,
            h_labels,
            v_labels,
            colors)

h_legend and v_legend – got renamed to h_labels and v_labels;
Note: As this function’s been present since the last version, please refer to the latest post for more detailed information.

donut_plot

Used to plot donut graphics.

donu_plot(name,
                data,
                width,
                height,
                background = None,
                gradient = False,
                shadows = False,
                colors = None,
                inner_radius = -1)

name – Name of the desired output file;
data – The list, list of lists or dictionary holding the data to be plotted;
width, height – Dimensions of the output image;
background – A 3 element tuple representing the rgb color expected for the background or a new cairo linear gradient. If left None, a gray to white gradient will be generated;
gradient – Whether or not the slices are painted with gradient colors;
shadows – It’s possible to draw a shadow behind the donut;
colors – Pre-selected list of colors for the slices;
inner_radius – The radius of the donut’s inner circle;

Example of use:

teste_data = {"carl" : 123, "fawn" : 489, "susan" : 890 , "lavon" : 235}
CairoPlot.donut_plot("donut_teste.png", teste_data, 500, 500)

Result:

function_plot

Used to plot function graphics.

function_plot (name,
                    data,
                    width,
                    height,
                    background = None,
                    border = 0,
                    axis = False,
                    grid = False,
                    dots = False,
                    h_labels = None,
                    v_labels = None,
                    h_bounds = None,
                    v_bounds = None,
                    step = 1,
                    discrete = False)

name – Name of the desired output file.;
data – The function to be plotted;
width, height – Dimensions of the output image;
background – A 3 element tuple representing the rgb color expected for the background or a new cairo linear gradient. If left None, a gray to white gradient will be generated;
border – Distance in pixels of a square border into which the graphics will be drawn;
axis – Whether or not the axis are to be drawn;
grid – Whether or not the grids is to be drawn;
dots – new parameter added to determine whether or not the dots are needed;
h_labels, v_labels – lists of strings containing the horizontal and vertical labels for the axis;
h_bounds, v_bounds – tuples containing the lower and upper value bounds for the data to be plotted;
step – the horizontal distance from one point to the other. The smaller, the smoother the curve will be;
discrete – whether or not the function should be plotted in discrete format.

Example of use:

data = lambda x : x**2
CairoPlot.function_plot('function_teste.png', data, 400, 300, grid = True, h_bounds=(-10,10), step = 0.1)

Result:

bar_plot

Used to plot bar graphics.

bar_plot (name,
              data,
              width,
              height,
              background = None,
              border = 0,
              axis = False,
              grid = False,
              dots = False,
              h_labels = None,
              v_labels = None,
              h_bounds = None,
              v_bounds = None,
              step = 1,
              discrete = False)

name – Name of the desired output file.;
data – The function to be plotted;
width, height – Dimensions of the output image;
background – A 3 element tuple representing the rgb color expected for the background or a new cairo linear gradient. If left None, a gray to white gradient will be generated;
border – Distance in pixels of a square border into which the graphics will be drawn;
grid – Whether or not the grids is to be drawn;
rounded_corners – Whether or not the bars should have rounded corners;
three_dimension – Whether or not the bars should be drawn in pseudo 3D;
h_labels, v_labels – lists of strings containing the horizontal and vertical labels for the axis;
h_bounds, v_bounds – tuples containing the lower and upper value bounds for the data to be plotted;
colors – List containing the colors expected for each of the bars.

Examples of use:

data = [3,1,10,2]
CairoPlot.bar_plot ('bar_teste.png', data, 400, 300, border = 20, grid = True, rounded_corners = True)

Result:

REMEMBER!

CairoPlot is on GitHub!

So, I hope you liked it. It’s been a while I’ve been trying to finish this release and I’m very proud of what it has become. Don’t forget to download and test it. In case any bugs surface or if you have any questions or suggestion, don’t be afraid to use the bug tracker or the answers options on the site CairoPlot Launchpad.

Thanks for the interest.

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itunes 8 – The slowest ever

Today, Apple unveiled its new iPods (shuffle, nano, classic, touch) and, as expected, a brand new itunes with some new shiny functions.

The list of new functions is promising and features:

  • grid view: a whole new way of interacting and seeing your albums, providing easy access to all of them through thumbnails of their album covers;
  • new visualizer: great aesthetic change;
  • genius playlist and sidebar: after creating a new itunes account, itunes should get the ability to analyze your tunes and group them together, providing playlists of musics that “go great together”;

So, what’s the catch?
First of all, it is the SLOWEST itunes ever.

By the time I installed it, I jumped to see the grid view. It sure is awesome as it is pretty great to browse through your albums seeing all of its covers in a way that is much more practical than coverflow. The problem is that it takes time to load. My library only has one album and it is taking like 1 sec to open it…

I plugged my iPod and accessed the summary page (by clicking on the iPod name on the left side bar). It took an astounding 5 seconds to load. Not satisfied, I started clicking on the tabs (music, movies, tv shows, etc) and each one of them took 1 second to load.
I found out that, as always, coverflow was not available for inside iPod music browsing, as the new grid view isn’t too.

The genius options requires an itunes account, which I don’t have and didn’t create. What’s the point of needing an itunes account to search your own library for music “related” to the one you are listening? I get that the itunes account shouldn’t even be needed for the cases in which the software searches for related songs on the itunes store. The account should ONLY be needed when you try to buy something.

I have noticed in previous versions that itunes was a LOT slower in windows, but this time Apple did surprise me…

Last but not least, there have been a lot of users complaining about “blue screens of death” when they plug their iPods and iPhones (according to Gizmodo).

For all that reasons, I’ll be waiting for the 8.1 which I believe might be a little bit faster and a little less bugged.

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Nota: Como o wordpress não permite adicionar vídeos do Vimeo, o link do vídeo é o seguinte: Sigg Jones

Passeando pelo Abduzeedo encontrei o vídeo do Sigg Jones:

Quando o campeão peso pesado Sigg Jones bebe um estranho energético, ele perde controle de si mesmo e de toda a sua parte boa. Seu agente terá que corrigi-lo…

Sigg Jones é o nome de um curta feito em 3D Studio Max por três estudantes da Escola Supinfocom na França.

O clímax do filme se dá numa seqüência de luta sensacional. O estilo e a modelagem são extraordinários.

Extraído de Abduzeedo

Eu achei que o estilo de modelagem parece muito com o do novo filme de Star Wars.

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