Add a "show" method to figures that don't have a GUI backend. Fixed matplotlib#835.

mdboom · efiring · commit faafa59fa216 · 2012-09-04T08:14:34.000-10:00
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/backend_bases.py b/lib/matplotlib/backend_bases.py
@@ -2433,6 +2433,12 @@ def __init__(self, canvas, num):
 
         """
 
+    def show(self):
+        """
+        For GUI backends, show the figure window and redraw.
+        """
+        pass
+
     def destroy(self):
         pass
 
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/figure.py b/lib/matplotlib/figure.py
@@ -338,6 +338,20 @@ def _setup_canvas(self):
         backend_mod = mbackends.pylab_setup()[0]
         return backend_mod.FigureCanvas(self)
 
+    def show(self):
+        """
+        If using a GUI backend, display the figure window.
+
+        For non-GUI backends, this does nothing.
+        """
+        manager = getattr(self.canvas, 'manager')
+        if manager is not None:
+            manager.show()
+        import warnings
+        warnings.warn(
+            "matplotlib is currently using a non-GUI backend, "
+            "so can not show the figure")
+
     def _get_axes(self):
         return self._axstack.as_list()
 
@@ -1188,10 +1202,10 @@ def __getstate__(self):
         # and re-attached to another.
         for attr_to_pop in ('_axobservers', 'show', 'canvas', '_cachedRenderer') :
             state.pop(attr_to_pop, None)
-        
+
         # add version information to the state
         state['__mpl_version__'] = _mpl_version
-        
+
         # check to see if the figure has a manager and whether it is registered
         # with pyplot
         if getattr(self.canvas, 'manager', None) is not None:
