Re: [Matplotlib-users] Problem viewing mplot3d figure

[Miguel C. <mig...@gm...>]

On Mon, Nov 22, 2010 at 5:56 PM, Benjamin Root <ben...@ou...> wrote:

>
> Miguel,
>
> This is a known issue with mplot3d.  The issue is that the polygons are
> essentially abstracted 2-D objects that are using the same backend
> architecture as the core 2-D plotting software.  I think your example script
> is probably the *best* example of the problem that I have seen and does a
> very good job of illustrating the problem.
>
> The crux of the problem is that each polygon is assigned a z-order for
> layering, and this z-order is determined by (i think) the center-of-mass
> location of the polygon and how it relates the location of the centers of
> mass of the other objects.  In most graphing situations, this is a good
> enough hack, but there are too many use-cases where it falls apart.
>
> Because we are limited to a single z-order value for each object, and
> compositing is done through a 2-D rendering engine, this problem will likely
> not get solved any time soon, unfortunately.  The fix would probably require
> a complete rewrite of the mpl drawing engine or maybe the utilization of
> OpenGL?
>
> Sorry I can't be more helpful in fixing your problem, it has been a
> aggravating issue for me as well.  Thank you for your excellent example
> script.
>
> Ben Root
>
>
Thank you for your quick (and kind) reply.

I understand that matplotlib is originally 2d - I was hoping, with this new
3d toolkit, to ditch mayavi and use matplotlib for everything :), but that's
ok.

Thanks again,

Miguel