René's URL Explorer Experiment

{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"DiscussionForumPosting","headline":"[MNT]: DISCUSSION: Should Axes.grouped_bar() apply a default hatch pattern when none is provided?","articleBody":"### Summary\n\nCurrently, when no hatch argument is passed to Axes.grouped_bar(), hatching is entirely disabled:\n\n```\nif hatch is None:\n    # No hatch specified: disable hatching entirely by cycling [None].\n    hatches = itertools.cycle([None])\n    # TODO: Discussion —\n    #   Should grouped_bar() apply a default hatch pattern (e.g., '//')\n    #   when none is provided ?\n```\n\nThis behavior matches the philosophy of “explicit is better than implicit,” keeping hatching opt-in.\nHowever, there’s a possible usability question:\nShould grouped_bar() automatically apply a default hatch pattern (for example '//') when multiple datasets are plotted, to help users visually distinguish bars even when colors are similar or when figures are printed in grayscale?\n\nDiscussion Points:\n\nWould automatic hatching improve accessibility and readability (especially in black-and-white printing)?\nShould the default depend on the number of datasets or color distinctness?\n\nFollow-up to the Enh/Add hatch pattern support to Axes.grouped_bar #30726 \n\n### Proposed fix\n\n_No response_","author":{"url":"https://github.com/ilakkmanoharan","@type":"Person","name":"ilakkmanoharan"},"datePublished":"2025-11-05T01:42:46.000Z","interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":"https://schema.org/CommentAction","userInteractionCount":9},"url":"https://github.com/30728/matplotlib/issues/30728"}