René's URL Explorer Experiment

{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"DiscussionForumPosting","headline":"[ENH]: Could matplotlib be used to draw diagrams (flow charts, mindmap, system architecture, etc) like TikZ for LaTeX?","articleBody":"### Problem\n\nWe have been looking for a diagram creator, similar to TikZ but more user-friendly in Pythonic style.\n\nHere is an official example for matplotlib: [Matplotlib for Making Diagrams](https://matplotlib.org/matplotblog/posts/mpl-for-making-diagrams/), but could the following issues be solved?\n\n- Draw an element with its **absolute size and position**, and easily get those attributes so you don't need to compute\n\n- Auto-resize the canvas without pre-sizing to display all elements\n\n- \"Combine shapes\" that allows to manipulate multiple elements for scaling, offsetting, copying... (similar function in PowerPoint or Visio)\n\n### Proposed solution\n\nSomething like:\n\n```python\nfrom matplotlib import pyplot as plt\nfrom matplotlib import diagrams as mad  # new\nfrom matplotlib.diagrams import Rectangle  # new: inherit from `matplotlib.patches.Rectangle` but with more attributes\n\nfig, cv = mad.canvas(unit=\"cm\")  # something like plt.subplots() but create a auto-resize canvas\n\nrect = Rectangle((0, 0), 1.0, 2.0, figure=fig)  # a 1cm x 2cm rectancle placed at the origin\ncirc = cv.draw(\n    (2, 0),\n    shape=\"circle\",\n    radius=0.5,\n    color=\"green\",\n    linestyle=\"dashed\",\n    linewidth=2,\n)  # another method to draw a circle placed at (2cm, 0cm)\n\n# get the attributes\ncv.arrow(\n    rect.east,   # will return (1.0, 1.0) like `.east` in TikZ\n    circ.north,  # will return (2.0, 0.5) like `.north` in TikZ\n)\n# if you prefer the style for `matplotlib.axes.Axes.arrow`\n# the above method could be overloaded as:\n# cv.arrow(\n#     x=rect.east.x,\n#     y=rect.east.y,\n#     dx=circ.north.x - rect.east.x,\n#     dy=circ.north.y - rect.east.y,\n# )\n\n# \"Combine shapes\"\ngroup = cv.combine()  # a matplotlib instance or even another canvas!\n...\ngroup.place((5, 3), scale=0.5)  # place \u0026 scale\n\nfig.savefig(\"1.pdf\", transparent=True, bbox_inches=\"tight\")\nfig.show()\n```","author":{"url":"https://github.com/Saltsmart","@type":"Person","name":"Saltsmart"},"datePublished":"2025-11-27T09:16:18.000Z","interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":"https://schema.org/CommentAction","userInteractionCount":4},"url":"https://github.com/30794/matplotlib/issues/30794"}