Essential Python Commands and Functions

Abstract

In this chapter, you will learn the essential Python commands and functions you will need to produce the illustrations shown in this book. You will learn how to use Python’s basic plotting functions, set up a plotting area, create a set of two-dimensional coordinate axes, and use basic plotting primitives (the dot, the line, and the arrow), which are the building blocks you will use to construct images throughout this book. In Chapter 2, you will learn how to use these primitives to build two-dimensional images and then translate and rotate them. In Chapter 3, you will extend these concepts to three dimensions. Also in this chapter you will learn about colors, how to apply text to your plots, including the use of Latex commands, and the use of lists and arrays. By the last chapter, you will be able to create images such as Figure 1-1.