Trouble calling multiple plotting functions from one python file

Question

I have several files that I am currently turning into functions. Each function makes a plot from a csv file and works successfully on its own. I am now trying to combine them all into the one code that will call each function and create the plots all at once. The issue that I'm having is that I am calling the functions correctly except only one plot will open. The second (and subsequent) don't open until the previous one is closed. My code is:

#!usr/bin/python
import os.path 
from Ux import Ux_plotting
from prgh import prgh_plotting

print "Creating post-processing plots..."

if os.path.exists("Ux.py") and os.path.exists("Uz.py") and os.path.exists("prgh.py") and os.path.exists("forces.py") and os.path.exists("magvorticity.py"):
   print "All good. Next step..."
else:
   print "Uh oh. Better make sure you have all of your files."

Ux_plotting()
prgh_plotting()

Anybody have some advice on this?

I'm trying to write my first python codes so please be patient :-)

Answer 1

I assume you have plt.show() at the end of your Ux_plotting and prgh_plotting functions. plt.show() is a blocking function: ie it will show any figures, and stop anything else happening until the figure window is closed.

I think you have (at least) two options;

1) move the plt.show() into your main script, after your two plotting calls, since ( from the docs ), show() will show all figures created:

matplotlib.pyplot.show(*args, **kw)

Display a figure.

In non-interactive mode, display all figures and block until the figures have been closed

2) Alternatively, you could try setting block=False in the first plotting function's show : plt.show(block=False) , which should allow the code to continue until the next plt.show() in the second plotting function.