Re: [matplotlib-devel] Pull request

[Todd <tod...@gm...>]

On Tue, Oct 22, 2013 at 5:41 PM, Pierre Haessig <pie...@cr...>wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Le 22/10/2013 12:31, Todd a écrit :
> > Currently, both axes.psd and axes.csd return the same thing as
> > mlab.psd and mlab.csd, namely the spectrum and frequency points.  They
> > do NOT return the line object that was plotted.  This is different
> > than specgram, which returns the AxesImage object that was plotted in
> > addition to the mlab.specgram return values.
> >
> > I think having access to the line object is important, so
> > axes.magnitude_spectrum, axes.angle_spectrum, and axes.phase_spectrum
> > do return the line object.  I know this is inconsistent, but I think
> > it is very important and would strongly objefct to removing this.
> >
> > The question, then, is whether this would be a good opportunity to add
> > the line object to the returned values for axes.psd and axes.csd.
> > This would be an API break, but would be very easy to fix, and it may
> > be beneficial enough to warrant it.  What does everyone think?
>
> I agree that it may be nice to have plt.psd/csd to return lines just
> like plt.plot for increased consistency. I guess that returning the
> values comes from Matlab style inspiration.
>
> Maybe breaking the API is too strong. In that case, adding a
> transitional keyword (for example `return_line=False`) to psd/csd may
> help introduce your new proposed behavior in a softer manner. What do
> you think ?
>
> Of course, for your new functions, there is no API breakage problem.
>
> best,
> Pierre
>

I considered that solution as well, but it seemed ugly.  However, I think
having it available is important, so I will add it.  The current behavior
can probably be deprecated at some point, allowing for a smoother
transition.