Data Visualization with Python

Python provides various libraries that come with different features for visualizing data.
All these libraries come with different features and can support various types of graphs.
In this tutorial, we will be discussing four such libraries.
• Matplotlib
• Seaborn
• Bokeh
• Plotly
• Database Used
• Tips Database
• Tips database is the record of the tip given by the customers in a restaurant for
two and a half months in the early 1990s. It contains 6 columns such as
total_bill, tip, sex, smoker, day, time, size.
• You can download the tips database from here.

import pandas as pd

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

# printing the top 10 rows

display(data.head(10))
Matplotlib is an easy-to-use, low-level data visualization library that is built on NumPy
arrays. It consists of various plots like scatter plot, line plot, histogram, etc. Matplotlib
provides a lot of flexibility.
To install this type the below command in the terminal.
pip install matplotlib
Refer to the below articles to get more information setting up an environment with
Matplotlib.
• Environment Setup for Matplotlib
• Using Matplotlib with Jupyter Notebook
• After installing Matplotlib, let’s see the most commonly used plots using this
library.
• Scatter Plot
• Scatter plots are used to observe relationships between variables and uses
dots to represent the relationship between them. The scatter() method in the
matplotlib library is used to draw a scatter plot.
• Example:
import pandas as pd
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

# Scatter plot with day against tip

plt.scatter(data['day'], data['tip'])

# Adding Title to the Plot

plt.title("Scatter Plot")

# Setting the X and Y labels

plt.xlabel('Day')
plt.ylabel('Tip')

plt.show()
This graph can be more meaningful if we can add colors and also change the size of
the points. We can do this by using the c and s parameter respectively of the scatter
function. We can also show the color bar using the colorbar() method.
Example:
import pandas as pd
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

# Scatter plot with day against tip

plt.scatter(data['day'], data['tip'], c=data['size'],
s=data['total_bill'])

# Adding Title to the Plot

plt.title("Scatter Plot")
# Setting the X and Y labels
plt.xlabel('Day')
plt.ylabel('Tip')

plt.colorbar()

plt.show()

Line Chart

Line Chart is used to represent a relationship between two data X and Y on a different
axis. It is plotted using the plot() function. Let’s see the below example.
Example:
import pandas as pd
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
# reading the database
data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

# Scatter plot with day against tip

plt.plot(data['tip'])
plt.plot(data['size'])

# Adding Title to the Plot

plt.title("Scatter Plot")

# Setting the X and Y labels

plt.xlabel('Day')
plt.ylabel('Tip')

plt.show()
Bar Chart

A bar plot or bar chart is a graph that represents the category of data with rectangular
bars with lengths and heights that is proportional to the values which they represent. It
can be created using the bar() method.
Example:
import pandas as pd
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

# Bar chart with day against tip

plt.bar(data['day'], data['tip'])

plt.title("Bar Chart")
# Setting the X and Y labels
plt.xlabel('Day')
plt.ylabel('Tip')

# Adding the legends

plt.show()

Histogram

A histogram is basically used to represent data in the form of some groups. It is a type
of bar plot where the X-axis represents the bin ranges while the Y-axis gives
information about frequency. The hist() function is used to compute and create a
histogram. In histogram, if we pass categorical data then it will automatically compute
the frequency of that data i.e. how often each value occurred.
import pandas as pd
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
# reading the database
data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

# histogram of total_bills
plt.hist(data['total_bill'])

plt.title("Histogram")

# Adding the legends

plt.show()

Seaborn
Seaborn is a high-level interface built on top of the Matplotlib. It provides beautiful
design styles and color palettes to make more attractive graphs.
To install seaborn type the below command in the terminal.
pip install seaborn
Seaborn is built on the top of Matplotlib, therefore it can be used with the Matplotlib as
well. Using both Matplotlib and Seaborn together is a very simple process. We just
have to invoke the Seaborn Plotting function as normal, and then we can use
Matplotlib’s customization function.
Note: Seaborn comes loaded with dataset such as tips, iris, etc. but for the sake of
this tutorial we will use Pandas for loading these datasets.
Example:

# importing packages
import seaborn as sns
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import pandas as pd

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

# draw lineplot
sns.lineplot(x="sex", y="total_bill", data=data)

# setting the title using Matplotlib

plt.title('Title using Matplotlib Function')

plt.show()

Scatter Plot

Scatter plot is plotted using the scatterplot() method. This is similar to Matplotlib, but
additional argument data is required.
Example:

# importing packages
import seaborn as sns
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import pandas as pd

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")
sns.scatterplot(x='day', y='tip', data=data,)
plt.show()

You will find that while using Matplotlib it will a lot difficult if you want to color each
point of this plot according to the sex. But in scatter plot it can be done with the help of
hue argument.
Example:
# importing packages
import seaborn as sns
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import pandas as pd

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

sns.scatterplot(x='day', y='tip', data=data,

hue='sex')
plt.show()
Line Plot

Line Plot in Seaborn plotted using the lineplot() method. In this, we can pass only the
data argument also.
Example:
# importing packages
import seaborn as sns
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import pandas as pd

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

sns.lineplot(x='day', y='tip', data=data)

plt.show()
# importing packages
import seaborn as sns
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import pandas as pd

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

# using only data attribute

sns.lineplot(data=data.drop(['total_bill'], axis=1))
plt.show()
Bar Plot

Bar Plot in Seaborn can be created using the barplot() method.

Example:

# importing packages
import seaborn as sns
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import pandas as pd

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

sns.barplot(x='day',y='tip', data=data,
hue='sex')
plt.show()

Histogram

The histogram in Seaborn can be plotted using the histplot() function.

Example:

# importing packages
import seaborn as sns
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import pandas as pd

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

sns.histplot(x='total_bill', data=data, kde=True, hue='sex')

plt.show()

After going through all these plots you must have noticed that customizing plots using
Seaborn is a lot more easier than using Matplotlib. And it is also built over matplotlib
then we can also use matplotlib functions while using Seaborn.

Bokeh
Let’s move on to the third library of our list. Bokeh is mainly famous for its interactive
charts visualization. Bokeh renders its plots using HTML and JavaScript that uses
modern web browsers for presenting elegant, concise construction of novel graphics
with high-level interactivity.
To install this type the below command in the terminal.
pip install bokeh
Scatter Plot

Scatter Plot in Bokeh can be plotted using the scatter() method of the plotting module.
Here pass the x and y coordinates respectively.
Example:

# importing the modules

from bokeh.plotting import figure, output_file, show
from bokeh.palettes import magma
import pandas as pd

# instantiating the figure object

graph = figure(title = "Bokeh Scatter Graph")

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")
color = magma(256)

# plotting the graph

graph.scatter(data['total_bill'], data['tip'], color=color)

# displaying the model

show(graph)
Line Chart

A line plot can be created using the line() method of the plotting module.
Example:

# importing the modules

from bokeh.plotting import figure, output_file, show
import pandas as pd

# instantiating the figure object

graph = figure(title = "Bokeh Bar Chart")

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

# Count of each unique value of

# tip column
df = data['tip'].value_counts()

# plotting the graph

graph.line(df, data['tip'])

# displaying the model

show(graph)
Bar Chart

Bar Chart can be of two types horizontal bars and vertical bars. Each can be created
using the hbar() and vbar() functions of the plotting interface respectively.
Example:
# importing the modules
from bokeh.plotting import figure, output_file, show
import pandas as pd
# instantiating the figure object
graph = figure(title = "Bokeh Bar Chart")

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

# plotting the graph

graph.vbar(data['total_bill'], top=data['tip'])

# displaying the model

show(graph)
Interactive Data Visualization

One of the key features of Bokeh is to add interaction to the plots. Let’s see various
interactions that can be added.
Interactive Legends
click_policy property makes the legend interactive. There are two types of interactivity
–
• Hiding: Hides the Glyphs.
• Muting: Hiding the glyph makes it vanish completely, on the other hand,
muting the glyph just de-emphasizes the glyph based on the parameters.
Example:

# importing the modules

from bokeh.plotting import figure, output_file, show
import pandas as pd

# instantiating the figure object

graph = figure(title = "Bokeh Bar Chart")

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

# plotting the graph

graph.vbar(data['total_bill'], top=data['tip'],
legend_label = "Bill VS Tips", color='green')

graph.vbar(data['tip'], top=data['size'],
legend_label = "Tips VS Size", color='red')

graph.legend.click_policy = "hide"

# displaying the model

show(graph)
Adding Widgets
Bokeh provides GUI features similar to HTML forms like buttons, sliders, checkboxes,
etc. These provide an interactive interface to the plot that allows changing the
parameters of the plot, modifying plot data, etc. Let’s see how to use and add some
commonly used widgets.
• Buttons: This widget adds a simple button widget to the plot. We have to
pass a custom JavaScript function to the CustomJS() method of the models
class.
• CheckboxGroup: Adds a standard check box to the plot. Similarly to
buttons we have to pass the custom JavaScript function to the CustomJS()
method of the models class.
• RadioGroup: Adds a simple radio button and accepts a custom JavaScript
function.
Example:

from bokeh.io import show

from bokeh.models import Button, CheckboxGroup, RadioGroup, CustomJS

button = Button(label="GFG")

button.js_on_click(CustomJS(
code="console.log('button: click!', this.toString())"))

# Labels for checkbox and radio

# buttons
L = ["First", "Second", "Third"]

# the active parameter sets checks the selected value

# by default
checkbox_group = CheckboxGroup(labels=L, active=[0, 2])

checkbox_group.js_on_click(CustomJS(code="""
console.log('checkbox_group: active=' + this.active, this.toString())
"""))

# the active parameter sets checks the selected value

# by default
radio_group = RadioGroup(labels=L, active=1)

radio_group.js_on_click(CustomJS(code="""
console.log('radio_group: active=' + this.active, this.toString())
"""))

show(button)
show(checkbox_group)
show(radio_group)

Note: All these buttons will be opened on a new tab.

• Sliders: Adds a slider to the plot. It also needs a custom JavaScript
function.
Example:

from bokeh.io import show

from bokeh.models import CustomJS, Slider

slider = Slider(start=1, end=20, value=1, step=2, title="Slider")

slider.js_on_change("value", CustomJS(code="""
console.log('slider: value=' + this.value, this.toString())
"""))

show(slider)

Similarly, much more widgets are available like a dropdown menu or tabs widgets can
be added.

Plotly
This is the last library of our list and you might be wondering why plotly. Here’s why –
• Plotly has hover tool capabilities that allow us to detect any outliers or
anomalies in numerous data points.
• It allows more customization.
• It makes the graph visually more attractive.
To install it type the below command in the terminal.
pip install plotly
Scatter Plot

Scatter plot in Plotly can be created using the scatter() method of plotly.express. Like
Seaborn, an extra data argument is also required here.
Example:

import plotly.express as px
import pandas as pd

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

# plotting the scatter chart

fig = px.scatter(data, x="day", y="tip", color='sex')

# showing the plot

fig.show()
Line Chart

Line plot in Plotly is much accessible and illustrious annexation to plotly which manage
a variety of types of data and assemble easy-to-style statistic. With px.line each data
position is represented as a vertex
Example:

import plotly.express as px
import pandas as pd

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

# plotting the scatter chart

fig = px.line(data, y='tip', color='sex')

# showing the plot

fig.show()
Bar Chart

Bar Chart in Plotly can be created using the bar() method of plotly.express class.
Example:
import plotly.express as px
import pandas as pd

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

# plotting the scatter chart

fig = px.bar(data, x='day', y='tip', color='sex')

# showing the plot

fig.show()
Histogram

In plotly, histograms can be created using the histogram() function of the

plotly.express class.
Example:

import plotly.express as px
import pandas as pd

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

# plotting the scatter chart

fig = px.histogram(data, x='total_bill', color='sex')

# showing the plot

fig.show()
Adding interaction

Just like Bokeh, plotly also provides various interactions. Let’s discuss a few of them.
Creating Dropdown Menu: A drop-down menu is a part of the menu-button which is
displayed on a screen all the time. Every menu button is associated with a Menu
widget that can display the choices for that menu button when clicked on it. In plotly,
there are 4 possible methods to modify the charts by using updatemenu method.
• restyle: modify data or data attributes
• relayout: modify layout attributes
• update: modify data and layout attributes
• animate: start or pause an animation
import plotly.graph_objects as px
import pandas as pd

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

plot = px.Figure(data=[px.Scatter(
x=data['day'],
y=data['tip'],
mode='markers',)
])

# Add dropdown
plot.update_layout(
 updatemenus=[
dict(
buttons=list([
dict(
args=["type", "scatter"],
label="Scatter Plot",
method="restyle"
),
dict(
args=["type", "bar"],
label="Bar Chart",
method="restyle"
)
]),
direction="down",
),
]
)

plot.show()

Adding Buttons: In plotly, actions custom Buttons are used to quickly make actions
directly from a record. Custom Buttons can be added to page layouts in CRM,
Marketing, and Custom Apps. There are also 4 possible methods that can be applied
in custom buttons:
• restyle: modify data or data attributes
• relayout: modify layout attributes
• update: modify data and layout attributes
• animate: start or pause an animation
Example:
import plotly.graph_objects as px
import pandas as pd

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

plot = px.Figure(data=[px.Scatter(
x=data['day'],
y=data['tip'],
mode='markers',)
])

# Add dropdown
plot.update_layout(
updatemenus=[
dict(
type="buttons",
direction="left",
buttons=list([
dict(
args=["type", "scatter"],
label="Scatter Plot",
method="restyle"
),
dict(
args=["type", "bar"],
label="Bar Chart",
method="restyle"
)
]),
),
]
)

plot.show()
Creating Sliders and Selectors:
In plotly, the range slider is a custom range-type input control. It allows selecting a
value or a range of values between a specified minimum and maximum range. And
the range selector is a tool for selecting ranges to display within the chart. It provides
buttons to select pre-configured ranges in the chart. It also provides input boxes where
the minimum and maximum dates can be manually input
Example:

import plotly.graph_objects as px
import pandas as pd

# reading the database

data = pd.read_csv("tips.csv")

plot = px.Figure(data=[px.Scatter(
y=data['tip'],
mode='lines',)
])

plot.update_layout(
xaxis=dict(
rangeselector=dict(
buttons=list([
dict(count=1,
step="day",
stepmode="backward"),
])
),
rangeslider=dict(
visible=True
),
 )
)

plot.show()

https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/matplotlib-tutorial/
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/python-seaborn-tutorial/
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/python-bokeh-tutorial-interactive-data-visualization-
with-bokeh/
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/python-plotly-tutorial/