[Matplotlib-users] Automatic selection of different colormaps for anomaly & intensity data

[George N. <gn...@gm...>]

Hi,
I've been following the discussions about the new default colormaps.
I think it might be really helpful if the default behaviour were that
matplotlib simply examined your data (Z, say), and if
(1) Z.max() & Z.min() had the same sign then used a sequential colormap
whereas if
(2) Z.max() & Z.min() had opposite signs then it used a diverging colormap,
centered on zero.
Keywords e.g. Anomaly=True  & centre = 10. could be extra arguments to
override this behaviour.

I realise that
a) this really only requires a user to write a simple helper application.
 But 99% of users will never do this.

b) it may not always be desired; but again 99% of the time it probably is.

This would enable people just starting to use matplotlib perhaps to see
that it can give 'better' plots than matlab

Anyway, just a thought.

George Nurser.