

Plotly graphing API for Python, Matlab, R, and Arduino - cparmer
https://plot.ly/api

======
cparmer
The idea behind Plotly is: to build a platform where people can
collaboratively graph, analyze, and share data. Two months ago we launched
Plotly on HN
([https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5671831](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5671831)).

We received extremely helpful feedback, and are grateful to everyone who
commented and used the product. Hearing from readers and new users was
exciting, helpful, and insightful. So, thanks very much.

The #1 request was an API to generate plotly graphs from desktop environments.
In response to that feedback, we are launching a new service so you can now
send data from Python, MATLAB, R, and Arduino to your plotly account. Calls
made with the API will return a link with a graph of your data, i.e. something
like this: [https://plot.ly/~chris/421/](https://plot.ly/~chris/421/). You can
sign up through the API.

The graphs are interactive: click-drag to zoom, double-click to autoscale,
shift-drag to pan, hover to view data points.

You can view the graphs inside plotly and style them with our GUI. For
example, I sent data with the API to make this:
[http://plot.ly/~chris/554/](http://plot.ly/~chris/554/) and then styled it
inside plotly to create this:
[https://plot.ly/~chris/653/](https://plot.ly/~chris/653/)

HN: What do you think of the API? What else can we do to make Plotly a tool
that you would realistically use every single day?

~~~
drmr
Looks nice and I would definitely like to see support for other languages,
like perl.

But, what if I want to run my own infrastructure?

~~~
cparmer
Cool, that's super helpful feedback.

We definitely support installing plotly on private servers -- there are
certainly a lot of companies that won't let their data leave their building.

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crntaylor
This looks really neat. I produce a lot of plots in my day to day work (mainly
in MATLAB) so I'm excited to see if there's an opportunity to use Plotly.

Can you point me to some examples of how you've brought Plotly into your
workflow? Do you generally send data via the API and style it manually, or do
you do all the styling in code? How easy is it to grab plots from Plotly to be
included in e.g. a PDF?

~~~
cparmer
That's great to hear.

Personally, I prefer to style the plots with the GUI... it's so much easier
and faster than re-running some styling script. Of course, some stylings are
too cumbersome to do by hand. For example, I adjusted the opacity of every
trace with code to make this plot:
[https://plot.ly/~cparmer2/302/](https://plot.ly/~cparmer2/302/), which was
easier than manually selecting every trace in the GUI.

A couple workflow examples:

\- last semester, I used plotly to share results with my advisor. It was much
easier to send short-links of my simulation graphs than to export images and
send them as an attachment. My advisor could update the styling and view the
underlying data behind the graph and he only needed to open up his browser.

\- Some R&D labs are interested in using plotly to centralize their data
streams. They send data to plotly from their lab instruments (through the api)
and share the graphs within plotly to all their team members (through a group
feature in plotly)

Plotly graphs can be exported to SVG, EPS, PDF, and PNG, so it's pretty easy
to include your graphs in a PDF.

Do you use MATLAB in a team environment?

~~~
adiM
Could you please add an example to show how to export graphs to SVG, EPS, PDF,
etc. (Sorry if the example is included in the documentation, but I could not
find it).

~~~
cparmer
Sure. You export graphs from within your plotly account (i.e. at
[https://plot.ly/plot](https://plot.ly/plot)). With a loaded graph, click
"File >" on the toolbar and you should see PNG, PDF, SVG, EPS.

You can view any linked graph (i.e. something like this:
[https://plot.ly/~jackp/683/](https://plot.ly/~jackp/683/)) from within your
plotly account by clicking the "View in Plotly" link in the bottom righthand
corner.

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schrodingersCat
As someone who routinely uses python, R, and matlab for data analysis, I am
going to have to give this a try. Matplotlib can be cumbersome and I am always
looking for alternatives. This looks great! Can't wait to try it.

~~~
bernardom
Yeah, this looks pretty cool.

I currently use RStudio server to do analysis from the RStudio IDE in my
browser- while all the client-sensitive data and computation happens in a
remote box. Allows me to play with graphs on my browser as well,.

It looks like Plotly's advantage is in sharing the plots easily.

~~~
cparmer
That's cool. Does your company set up this server version or is this something
that you manage yourself? I've been using RStudio in my desktop, what do you
like about using it in your browser?

~~~
bernardom
My company set it up this way, at my request. I enjoy RStudio over using R
over ssh (in a CLI).

The advantage of using it in a browser: it's not on my local machine! So if I
run some godawful super-intensive script, my machine doesn't slow to a crawl.
Also, I work with client sensitive data and we try not to hold any on our
local laptops. It's really a nice solution. Now if only they supported
multiple monitors...

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seiferteric
Oh interesting, I built something similar to this a while back
[https://graphit.io](https://graphit.io)

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platz
I tried to pip install plotly with python 3.3 and got some errors. Is it Py3
compatible?

~~~
cparmer
To be honest, I haven't tested with Py3. It sounds like it isn't... I'll look
into it. Thanks for reporting!

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computerality
Is there going to be an offline version of this?

~~~
cparmer
We're interested in providing plotly to companies that can't have their data
leave their servers (for ip reasons) but otherwise we're keeping plotly
online.

Just curious, for what reasons would you prefer an offline version?

