[matplotlib-devel] Refactoring the axes module

[Nelle V. <nel...@gm...>]

Hello pythonistas,

We've just finished refactoring the axes module at the scipy sprint, and
before merging we would like to inform developers of the changes. The axes
module contained more than 9k loc, and a few classes. It used to be a file.

Now, it became a folder called "axes". This module contains several private
submodules:
- _base.py: this private module contains a new class _AxesBase, that
inherits from Artist. This new class contains all the methods except
the plotting and labelling methods. It is now 3k loc
- _axes.py contains the Axes class. This class inherists from _AxesBase,
and contains all the methods concerning plotting and labelling. It is now
6k loc
- _subplots.py contains all the subplots directive.

The API has not changed: only the private methods from axes are not
directly importable from axes anymore. All tests pass (travis shows a
failed test on py3k, which I am not able to reproduce on my computer). The
pull request can be seen here: https://github.com/matplotlib/matplotlib
/pull/1931

Once this is merged, you may need to remove cleanly the previous installed
version of matplotlib. Indeed, installing a package replaces the old files,
but does not delete them. Thus, installing this new submodule will not
remove the axes.py file. Hence, a manual deletion of this file is necessary.

Thanks,
N