DEAP Tutorial

Introduction
Creating a new XY plot
Changing the properties of the X and Y axes

Introduction

There are two windows associated with DEAP - the plot window and the command line window. Most operations are available through either interface. However, the plot window is specialized for plot interaction (zooming/flagging).

Plot Window:

Command Line:

Creating a new XY Plot

The first step in using DEAP is to create an XY plot. In order to create a new plot, we need to have an XY data set. In DEAP’s command line window, type:

    import os
    os.chdir(os.environ["DEAP"])
    execfile("test/SampleDataSet.py")

execfile is a Python command that executes lines in a file as if the commands had been typed at the command line. In this case, it creates three lists called x, y, and e. x is a list that contains the x information of an xy data set. y is a list that contains the y information of an xy data set. e is a list that contains the error bar information of an xy data set. To see the contents of each list use Python's print command. To do this, enter print x at the command line.

Now that we have our data, we can create an XY plot. To do this, enter myPlot = AddXYPlot(x, y) at the command line. The plot window should update and display the newly added plot.

Modifying the Properties of the Axes

Note that both the X and Y axes have autoscaled in order to optimally display the data set. Autoscaling for each axis is turned on by default. To modify the properties of the X and Y axis, use the Graph drop-down menu on the plot window and select "Axes..." or use the "Scale Axes" icon on the tool bar.

The Axes dialog will then appear.

Autoscaling can be enabled/disabled for each axis by checking or unchecking the autoscale options on the right-hand side of the dialog. When autoscaling is disabled, the Minimum and Maximum columns will become active and allowing you to change the extents of each axis.

The axes can be labeled via the "Change Text" buttons. You can change the text, text color, text font, and text size of the axes labels.

The axis type can be changed via the Type drop-down menu. The three valid types for each axis are linear, logarithmic, and time.

Axis properties can also be set via the command line with the following commands: SetXAxis and SetY1Axis. Refer to the DEAP User Manual for specifics on how to use these functions from the command line.