Develop Reference

How to mask data that appears in the ocean using cartopy and matplotlib

Not at all sure what I'm doing wrong besides perhaps the order that I am plotting the ocean in. I am trying to get the ocean feature in to mask the data in the ocean. I am trying to get data to not appear in the ocean and to get the ax.add_feature(cfeature.OCEAN) to be on top of the temperature data I am plotting so I see ocean and no data. Similar to what is happening in the great lakes region where you see lakes and no temperature data.
proj_map = ccrs.Mercator(central_longitude=cLon)
proj_data = ccrs.PlateCarree()
fig = plt.figure(figsize=(30,20))
ax = fig.add_subplot(1,1,1, projection=proj_map)
ax.set_extent([-84,-66,37,47.5])
CT = ax.contourf(Tlat, Tlon, tempF, transform=temp.metpy.cartopy_crs, levels=clevs,
cmap=cmap)
ax.add_feature(cfeature.COASTLINE.with_scale('10m'), linewidth=0.5)
ax.add_feature(cfeature.OCEAN)
ax.add_feature(cfeature.LAKES)
ax.add_feature(cfeature.BORDERS, linewidth=0.5)
ax.add_feature(cfeature.STATES.with_scale('10m'), linewidth=0.5)
ax.add_feature(USCOUNTIES.with_scale('20m'), linewidth=0.25)
cbar = fig.colorbar(CT, orientation='horizontal', shrink=0.5, pad=0.05)
cbar.ax.tick_params(labelsize=14)
cbar.set_ticks([-50, -40, -30, -20, -10, 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100,
110, 120])
cbar.ax.set_xlabel("Temp ($^\circ$F)",fontsize=20)
Here is what the image looks like

You need to use zorder option to specify proper orders of the plot on the map. Features with largers values of zorder will be plotted on top of those with lower values. In your case, you need zorder of the OCEAN larger than the filled-contour.
Here is a runnable demo code and its sample plot. Read comments in the code for explanation.
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import cartopy.crs as ccrs
import cartopy.feature as cfeature
import numpy as np
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(8, 8), subplot_kw=dict(projection=ccrs.PlateCarree()))
extent = [-84, -66, 37, 47.5]
# generate (x, y), centered at the middle of the `extent`
mean = [(extent[0]+extent[1])/2, (extent[2]+extent[3])/2] #mean
cov = [[7, 3.5], [3.5, 6]] #co-variance matrix
x, y = np.random.multivariate_normal(mean, cov, 4000).T
# make a 2D histogram
# set the edges of the bins in x and y directions
bin_size = 40
lonrange = np.linspace(extent[0], extent[1], bin_size)
latrange = np.linspace(extent[2], extent[3], bin_size)
# the cell sizes of the bins:
dx = (lonrange[1]- lonrange[0])/2
dy = (latrange[3]- latrange[2])/2
# compute array of center points of the bins' grid
# the dimensions of mesh-grid < the edges by 1
lonrange2 = np.linspace(extent[0]+dx, extent[1]-dx, bin_size-1)
latrange2 = np.linspace(extent[2]+dy, extent[3]-dy, bin_size-1)
x2d, y2d = np.meshgrid(lonrange2, latrange2)
# create 2d-histogram
# zorder is set = 10
h = ax.hist2d(x, y, bins=[lonrange, latrange], zorder=10, alpha=0.75)
#h: (counts, xedges, yedges, image)
ax.add_feature(cfeature.OCEAN, zorder=12) #zorder > 10
ax.add_feature(cfeature.BORDERS, linewidth=0.5)
ax.gridlines(draw_labels=True, xlocs=list(range(-85, -60, 5)), ylocs=list(range(35, 50, 5)),
linewidth=1.8, color='gray', linestyle='--', alpha=0.8, zorder=20)
# plot colorbar, using image from hist2d's result
plt.colorbar(h[3], ax=ax, shrink=0.45)
# finally, show the plot.
plt.show()
The output plot:
If zorder option is not specified:
ax.add_feature(cfeature.OCEAN)
the plot will be:

Matplotlib fill_between function not working

Please see the code below:
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
to_utility = [-3.4000000000000004, -2.6999999999999993, -0.9000000000000004, 1.8000000000000007, -1.0999999999999996,
-1.6999999999999993, 0.6999999999999993, 5.300000000000001, 0.1999999999999993, 2.3999999999999986, 2.5,
1.3999999999999986, -3.6999999999999993, -8.8, -6.600000000000001, -9.600000000000001, -11,
-7.800000000000001, -8.4, -8.9, -11.7, -7.300000000000001, -8.9, -4.9]
shifted = 6.652632153034208
curve_max = max(to_utility)
curve_min = min(to_utility)
upper_shift_line = [curve_max - shifted] * len(to_utility)
fig = plt.figure()
ax1 = fig.add_subplot(111)
ax1.set_title('To Utility Curve')
ax1.set_ylim([curve_min, curve_max])
ax1.plot(range(len(to_utility)), to_utility, upper_shift_line)
ax1.fill_between(range(len(to_utility)), to_utility, upper_shift_line, where=to_utility > upper_shift_line,
interpolate=True)
plt.show()
Somehow the area is not filled, but if I remove the where= condition, it will work.

Showing two data sets of `ax2.set_xticklabels` in a subplot

I have an upper subplot that shows two data sets: orange and green.
The following code shows the xtick labels of the green data set,
in the ax2 axis of the upper subplot (axis labelled as X2 in the figure):
ind_pos_Pd3 = [0, 4, 8, 12, 16]
axarr[0].set_xticks(X1_green[ind_pos_Pd3])
ax2.set_xticks(X1_green[ind_pos_Pd3])
ax2.set_xticklabels(["%.2f" % i for i in X2_green[ind_pos_Pd3]])
On the contrary, the following code shows the the xtick labels of the orange data set,
in the ax2 axis of the upper subplot (axis labelled as X2 in the figure):
ind_pos_Bd3 = [0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32]
axarr[0].set_xticks(X1_orange[ind_pos_Bd3])
ax2.set_xticks(X1_orange[ind_pos_Bd3])
ax2.set_xticklabels(["%.2f" % i for i in X2_orange[ind_pos_Bd3]])
Is there a way to "mix" both schemes and achieve a ax2 axis divided into two panels: the "lower panel" is filled with the labels from the green data set, and the "upper panel" is filled with the labels from the orange data set ?
Something like:
I was thinking on this pseudo-code:
ind_pos_Bd3 = [0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32]
ind_pos_Pd3 = [0, 4, 8, 12, 16]
axarr[0].set_xticks(X1_orange[ind_pos_Bd3])
axarr[0].set_xticks(X1_green[ind_pos_Pd3])
ax2.set_xticks(X1_green[ind_pos_Pd3])
ax2.set_xticklabels(["%.2f \n %.2f" % i for i in zip(X2_orange[ind_pos_Bd3], X1_green[ind_pos_Pd3]])
However, the "%.2f \n %.2f" scheme is not working.
Minimal working example:
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import matplotlib.ticker as mtick
X1_orange = np.array([ 10., 30.1, 50.2, 70.3, 90.4, 110.51, 130.61, 150.71, 170.81,
190.91, 211.01, 231.11, 251.21, 271.31, 291.41, 311.52, 331.62, 351.72,
371.82, 391.92, 412.02, 432.12, 452.22, 472.32, 492.42, 512.53, 532.63,
552.73, 572.83, 592.93, 613.03, 633.13, 653.23])
X2_orange = np.array([ 2.56691976, 2.5781089 , 2.59624855, 2.62275805, 2.64568568, 2.66607658,
2.6959714 , 2.7231501 , 2.75529391, 2.78894345, 2.81573712, 2.84711104,
2.88437499, 2.9191375 , 2.95033337, 2.99340594, 3.02206115, 3.06383265,
3.08649135, 3.12707204, 3.18500195, 3.24240915, 3.25965166, 3.36137181,
3.35468811, 3.42661704, 3.46254097, 3.61136855, 3.65505401, 3.89043407,
3.80421353, 3.79380128, 4.01570509])
X1_green = np.array([ 10. , 30.1 , 50.2 , 70.3 , 90.4 , 110.51, 130.61, 150.71, 170.81,
190.91, 211.01, 231.11, 251.21, 271.31, 291.41, 311.52, 331.62])
X2_green = np.array([ 1.9894731 , 2.00259207, 2.01875725, 2.04333825, 2.07700656, 2.09629866,
2.14727031, 2.17488234, 2.2499103 , 2.2698862 , 2.31607409, 2.41452705,
2.50847008, 2.61117044, 2.70657103, 3.25283819, 3.31585812])
Y0_orange = np.array([-1.87483583, -1.82358431, -1.78627169, -1.75242213, -1.7299256 , -1.69363695,
-1.64623615, -1.59656948, -1.56967972, -1.55058869, -1.51874314, -1.45673839,
-1.40554361, -1.39904184, -1.35322104, -1.33906865, -1.30865871, -1.28099683,
-1.24897269, -1.19802619, -1.17268543, -1.13523614, -1.09290541, -1.05642197,
-1.00189406, -0.95390527, -0.90890049, -0.82522042, -0.76334378, -0.64504498,
-0.62782754, -0.47358849, -0.49772039])
Y0_green = np.array([-1.97113854, -1.92908192, -1.84404067, -1.75333855, -1.67575628, -1.58010168,
-1.48746063, -1.40770641, -1.31802444, -1.2302243 , -1.14927205, -1.04251178,
-0.91661452, -0.82924669, -0.65075739, -0.37715382, -0.21349827])
##### THREE SUBPLOTS::
###### Y0 plot:
f, axarr = plt.subplots(3, sharex=True, figsize=(11,5))
axarr[0].plot(X1_orange, Y0_orange, linestyle='--', marker="o", markersize=6, color='orange')
axarr[0].plot(X1_green, Y0_green, linestyle='--', marker="o", markersize=6, color='green')
axarr[0].set_ylabel('Y0', fontsize=15)
# Create a new axis:
axarr[0].grid()
ax2 = axarr[0].twiny()
# Make the ax1-ticks and ax1-tick-labels match the line color (blue):
axarr[0].tick_params('x', colors='blue')
# Make the ax2-ticks and ax2-tick-labels match the red color:
# this only controls the font and color of label
ax2.set_xlabel('x2', fontsize=14, color='red')
# this also adds the numbers on top of the tics,
# but sets the colors of the tics
ax2.tick_params('x', colors='orange')
# Set xlimits of ax2 the same as ax1
ax2.set_xlim(axarr[0].get_xlim())
# Set ticks at desired position
ind_pos_Bd3 = [0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32]
axarr[0].set_xticks(X1_orange[ind_pos_Bd3])
ax2.set_xticks(X1_orange[ind_pos_Bd3])
ax2.set_xticklabels(["%.2f" % i for i in X2_orange[ind_pos_Bd3]])
#ind_pos_Pd3 = [0, 4, 8, 12, 16]
#axarr[0].set_xticks(X1_green[ind_pos_Pd3])
#ax2.set_xticks(X1_green[ind_pos_Pd3])
#ax2.set_xticklabels(["%.2f" % i for i in X2_green[ind_pos_Pd3]])
# Just to align the Delta_V ylabel to the other 3 ylabel's
labelx = -0.075 # very close to the plot
axarr[0].yaxis.set_label_coords(labelx, 0.5, transform=None)
##### Y1 plot:
#f, axarr = plt.subplots(3, sharex=True)
axarr[1].set_ylabel('Y1', fontsize=15)
# Create a new axis:
axarr[1].grid()
ax2 = axarr[1].twiny()
# Make the ax1-ticks and ax1-tick-labels match the line color (blue):
axarr[1].tick_params('x', colors='blue')
# Make the ax2-ticks and ax2-tick-labels match the red color:
ax2.tick_params('x', colors='red')
ax2.set_xticklabels([]) # disable the tic labels
# Set xlimits of ax2 the same as ax1
ax2.set_xlim(axarr[1].get_xlim())
# Set ticks at desired position
ind_pos_Bd3 = [0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32]
axarr[1].set_xticks(X1_orange[ind_pos_Bd3])
ax2.set_xticks(X1_orange[ind_pos_Bd3])
# Label ticks of ax2 with values from X2
#ax2.set_xticklabels(["%.2f" % i for i in P])
axarr[1].yaxis.set_major_formatter(mtick.FormatStrFormatter('%1.e'))
#### Y2 plot:
axarr[2].set_ylabel('Y2', fontsize=15)
# Create a new axis:
axarr[2].grid()
ax2 = axarr[2].twiny()
# Make the ax1-ticks and ax1-tick-labels match the line color (blue):
axarr[2].tick_params('x', colors='blue')
# Make the ax2-ticks and ax2-tick-labels match the red color:
axarr[2].set_xlabel('X1', fontsize=14, color='blue')
# this also adds the numbers on top of the tics,
# but sets the colors of the tics
axarr[2].tick_params('x', colors='blue')
# Make the ax2-ticks and ax2-tick-labels match the red color:
ax2.tick_params('x', colors='red')
ax2.set_xticklabels([]) # disable the tic labels
# Set xlimits of ax2 the same as ax1
ax2.set_xlim(axarr[2].get_xlim())
# Set ticks at desired position
ind_pos_Bd3 = [0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32]
axarr[2].set_xticks(X1_orange[ind_pos_Bd3])
ax2.set_xticks(X1_orange[ind_pos_Bd3])
# Label ticks of ax2 with values from X2
axarr[2].yaxis.set_major_formatter(mtick.FormatStrFormatter('%1.e'))
plt.show()

The trick is to add a new twin axis for each row of tick labels you want.
You can then position them properly setting the pad parameter in tick_params.
Allow me to make your example a little smaller so it's easier to follow
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import matplotlib.ticker as mtick
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(12,2))
np.random.seed(42)
x0 = np.arange(50)
y0 = np.random.rand(50)
x1 = np.arange(30)
y1 = np.random.rand(30) + 0.7
ax.plot(x0, y0, ls='--', marker='o', ms=6, color='orange')
ax.grid(True)
ax.tick_params('x', colors='blue')
ax.set_xlabel('x1', fontsize=14, color='blue')
ax.set_ylabel('y', fontsize=14)
tax1 = ax.twiny()
tax1.set_xlim(ax.get_xlim())
tax1.tick_params('x', colors='orange', pad=14)
tax1.set_xlabel('x2', fontsize=14, color='red', labelpad=6)
tax2 = ax.twiny()
tax2.set_xlim(ax.get_xlim())
tax2.plot(x1, y1, ls='--', marker='o', ms=6, color='green')
tax2.tick_params('x', colors='green')
tax2.set_xticks([0, 10, 20, 30])
fig.savefig('img.png', pad_inches=0, bbox_inches='tight')
As you pointed out in the comments an issue with this plot is that you get green and orange tick lines and you would like to have them in red just like the x2 label.
You can hide the green tick lines setting length=0 in tick_params, draw the orange plot ticks in red first and then set labels color to orange.
Here's the modified code
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import matplotlib.ticker as mtick
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(12,2))
np.random.seed(42)
x0 = np.arange(50)
y0 = np.random.rand(50)
x1 = np.arange(30)
y1 = np.random.rand(30) + 0.7
ax.plot(x0, y0, ls='--', marker='o', ms=6, color='orange')
ax.grid(True)
ax.tick_params('x', colors='blue')
ax.set_xlabel('x1', fontsize=14, color='blue')
ax.set_ylabel('y', fontsize=14)
tax1 = ax.twiny()
tax1.set_xlim(ax.get_xlim())
tax1.tick_params('x', colors='red', pad=14)
tax1.set_xlabel('x2', fontsize=14, color='red', labelpad=6)
[x.set_color("orange") for x in tax1.get_xticklabels()]
tax2 = ax.twiny()
tax2.set_xlim(ax.get_xlim())
tax2.plot(x1, y1, ls='--', marker='o', ms=6, color='green')
tax2.tick_params('x', colors='green', pad=6, length=0)
tax2.set_xticks([0, 10, 20, 30])
fig.savefig('img2.png', pad_inches=0, bbox_inches='tight')

Matplotlib 2 inconsistent font

I updated Anaconda Python to the latest version (4.3), where they upgraded Matplotlib to version 2.
The upgrade has made some major changes to the default style (see here).
And, while I really like some of those changes, I am not in agreement with a few of them.
Hence I did some modifications, as suggested in the link above:
#%matplotlib inline
#%config InlineBackend.figure_format = 'svg'
import scipy as sc
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import matplotlib
# http://matplotlib.org/users/dflt_style_changes.html
params = {'legend.fontsize': 18,
'axes.labelsize': 18,
'axes.titlesize': 18,
'xtick.labelsize' :12,
'ytick.labelsize': 12,
'mathtext.fontset': 'cm',
'mathtext.rm': 'serif',
'grid.color': 'k',
'grid.linestyle': ':',
'grid.linewidth': 0.5,
}
matplotlib.rcParams.update(params)
x = sc.linspace(0,100)
y = x**2
fig = plt.figure('Fig')
ax = fig.add_subplot(1, 1, 1)
lines = ax.semilogy(x, y)
ax.set_yticks([300], minor=True)
ax.yaxis.grid(True, which='minor')
ax.yaxis.set_minor_formatter(matplotlib.ticker.ScalarFormatter())
ax.tick_params(axis='y', pad=10)
ax.set_xlabel(r'$\mathrm{R_L}$')
ax.set_ylabel(r'$\sigma \int_l \; dx$')
#fig.savefig('./PNG/test.png', dpi=300, bbox_inches='tight')
Using Latex as the axes labels, as in the code above, results in a figure with inconsistent text on axes (see the following image).
How to get back to the previous behaviour (see the image below) or to a consistent font scheme?
EDIT:
Using the Latex back-end I am able to get a good result, but it is extremely slow.
Anyway, I think the internal back-end should be able to get a consistent output and switching to a different back-end is not a real solution, but more a workaround.
To use the latex back-end:
#%matplotlib inline
#%matplotlib notebook
#%config InlineBackend.figure_format = 'svg'
import scipy as sc
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import matplotlib
# http://matplotlib.org/users/dflt_style_changes.html
params = {'legend.fontsize': 18,
'axes.labelsize': 18,
'axes.titlesize': 18,
'xtick.labelsize' :12,
'ytick.labelsize': 12,
'mathtext.fontset': 'cm',
'mathtext.rm': 'serif',
'grid.color': 'k',
'grid.linestyle': ':',
'grid.linewidth': 0.5,
}
matplotlib.rcParams.update(params)
matplotlib.rcParams.update({'text.usetex':True, 'text.latex.preamble':[r'\usepackage{amsmath, newtxmath}']})
x = sc.linspace(0,100)
y = x**2
fig = plt.figure('Fig')
ax = fig.add_subplot(1, 1, 1)
lines = ax.semilogy(x, y)
ax.set_yticks([300], minor=True)
ax.yaxis.grid(True, which='minor')
ax.yaxis.set_minor_formatter(matplotlib.ticker.ScalarFormatter())
ax.tick_params(axis='y', pad=10)
ax.set_xlabel(r'$\mathrm{R_L}$')
ax.set_ylabel(r'$\sigma \int_l \; dx$')
#fig.savefig('./PNG/test.png', dpi=300, bbox_inches='tight')
The result with matplotlib 2 is:
The resulting plot with the older version is (still a bit different, maybe due to some latex differences):
But again, the desired result is what obtained from an older version of matplotlib and in displayed in figure 2.

If consistency is the only issue, you can use a "Roman" style using the "Times" font. It is not necessary to use Latex via usetex. Instead simply use the STIX fontset, the Times font and serif mathtext.
import scipy as sc
import matplotlib.style
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
params = {'legend.fontsize': 18,
'axes.labelsize': 18,
'axes.titlesize': 18,
'xtick.labelsize' :12,
'ytick.labelsize': 12,
'grid.color': 'k',
'grid.linestyle': ':',
'grid.linewidth': 0.5,
'mathtext.fontset' : 'stix',
'mathtext.rm' : 'serif',
'font.family' : 'serif',
'font.serif' : "Times New Roman", # or "Times"
}
matplotlib.rcParams.update(params)
x = sc.linspace(0,100)
y = x**2
fig = plt.figure('Fig')
ax = fig.add_subplot(1, 1, 1)
lines = ax.semilogy(x, y)
ax.yaxis.set_minor_formatter(matplotlib.ticker.ScalarFormatter())
ax.tick_params(axis='y', pad=10)
ax.set_yticks([300], minor=True)
ax.yaxis.grid(True, which='minor')
ax.set_xlabel(r'$\mathrm{R_L}$')
ax.set_ylabel(r'$\sigma \int_l \; dx$')
plt.tight_layout()
plt.show()

From the link you did provide:
A ‘classic’ style sheet is provided so reverting to the 1.x default values is a single line of python
mpl.style.use('classic')
Adding this line
matplotlib.style.use('classic')
to your script should solve your problem.
I tested it on my python2.7/matplotlib 2, and it worked fine (i.e. I get back the matplotlib 1.x fonts).

While trying to find a solution to my question, I tried comparing the dictionaries of the old and new rcParams and setting the elements which were different and related to mathtext font: the result is quite good.
The code is:
#%matplotlib inline
#%matplotlib notebook
#%config InlineBackend.figure_format = 'svg'
import scipy as sc
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import matplotlib
# http://matplotlib.org/users/dflt_style_changes.html
params = {'legend.fontsize': 18,
'axes.labelsize': 18,
'axes.titlesize': 18,
'xtick.labelsize' :12,
'ytick.labelsize': 12,
'mathtext.fontset': 'cm',
'mathtext.rm': 'serif',
'mathtext.bf': 'serif:bold',
'mathtext.it': 'serif:italic',
'mathtext.sf': 'sans\\-serif',
'grid.color': 'k',
'grid.linestyle': ':',
'grid.linewidth': 0.5,
}
matplotlib.rcParams.update(params)
#matplotlib.rcParams.update({'text.usetex':True, 'text.latex.preamble':[r'\usepackage{amsmath, newtxmath}']})
#matplotlib.rcParams.update({'text.usetex':True, 'text.latex.preamble':[r'\usepackage{amsmath, mathptmx}']})
#matplotlib.rcParams.update({'text.usetex':True, 'text.latex.preamble':[r'\usepackage{amsmath}']})
x = sc.linspace(0,100)
y = x**2
fig = plt.figure('Fig')
ax = fig.add_subplot(1, 1, 1)
lines = ax.semilogy(x, y)
ax.set_yticks([300], minor=True)
ax.yaxis.grid(True, which='minor')
ax.yaxis.set_minor_formatter(matplotlib.ticker.ScalarFormatter())
ax.tick_params(axis='y', pad=10)
ax.set_xlabel(r'$\mathrm{R_L}$')
ax.set_ylabel(r'$\sigma \int_l \; dx$')
fig.savefig('./PNG/test.png', dpi=300, bbox_inches='tight')
hence adding also:
'mathtext.rm': 'serif',
'mathtext.bf': 'serif:bold',
'mathtext.it': 'serif:italic',
'mathtext.sf': 'sans\\-serif',
which results in:
that I consider quite good and consistent in a Latex document.
The other answer in this thread from #ImportanceOfBeingErnest is also neat and nice.

Pretty plot bar chart in python with matplotlib

I wrote a python code below to draw a bar chart for my data. I adjusted parameters but failed to make it beautiful(See attached pic).
The python code is shown below:
def plotElapsedDis(axis, jvm1, jvm2, ylabel, title, name):
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
#fig, ax = plt.subplots(111)
fig = plt.figure()
ax = fig.add_subplot(111)
## the data
N = len(jvm1)
#menMeans = [18, 35, 30, 35, 27]
#womenMeans = [25, 32, 34, 20, 25]
ind = np.arange(N)+1
width = 0.25 # the width of the bars
rects1 = ax.bar(ind-width, jvm1, width)
rects2 = ax.bar(ind, jvm2, width, color='r')
ax.set_ylabel(ylabel)
ax.set_title(title)
plt.xticks(ind , axis, rotation=-90)
ax.legend( (rects1[0], rects2[0]), ('Originl', 'Optimal') )
plt.savefig(name)
plt.close()
plotElapsedDis(keys, y_jvm1, y_jvm2, 'seconds', 'CPU Elapsed', '../tmp/cpu_elapsed.jpg')
The first three lists for plotElapsedDis are:
keys= [u'mergesort_hongli', u'so_object', u'gc_mb', u'socket_transfer_1mb', u'app_factorial', u'string_concat', u'printff', u'so_lists', u'so_lists_small', u'word_anagrams', u'fasta', u'count_multithreaded', u'app_mandelbrot', u'primes', u'nbody', u'app_fib', u'socket_transfer_1mb_noblock', u'nsieve_bits', u'gc_string', u'simple_server', u'gc_array', u'cal', u'spectral_norm', u'app_pentomino', u'so_sieve', u'eval', u'so_matrix', u'mbari_bogus1', u'fractal', u'simple_connect', u'partial_sums', u'pi', u'so_array', u'count_shared_thread', u'fiber_ring', u'list', u'binary_trees', u'app_tarai', u'monte_carlo_pi', u'observ', u'write_large']
y_jvm1= [20.703852000000001, 173.12867899999998, 74.149726000000001, 15.717608999999999, 26.226012000000001, 136.44825599999999, 46.775888000000002, 63.851292000000001, 13.929881, 71.078192999999999, 66.729854000000003, 92.045006000000001, 55.671535999999996, 24.082338, 46.349951999999995, 38.166196999999997, 15.777601000000001, 123.075288, 161.76140800000002, 12.053167, 60.597787000000004, 43.662361000000004, 45.789037999999998, 209.30117999999999, 32.190105000000003, 48.988551000000001, 55.191608000000002, 52.242056999999996, 89.343417000000002, 12.721064999999999, 109.08541600000001, 24.236315000000001, 19.817986000000001, 226.82451600000002, 100.985647, 60.686772999999995, 55.589548000000001, 69.965362999999996, 35.801557000000003, 25.728088, 16.169540999999999]
y_jvm2= [19.938967999999999, 178.796818, 67.512734999999992, 15.787599, 26.058038, 137.27913000000001, 12.535093, 59.649929999999998, 13.865891000000001, 60.618783000000001, 68.384602999999998, 283.39391599999999, 56.349432, 24.923209999999997, 44.113292999999999, 40.564831999999996, 12.393115, 120.76664, 152.30684499999998, 12.195145, 64.276227000000006, 18.565175999999997, 48.006701, 212.65967000000001, 32.544051000000003, 49.798428000000001, 58.516103000000001, 17.243377000000002, 92.973864999999989, 12.519096000000001, 111.39406500000001, 27.048887000000001, 20.014955999999998, 280.62933700000002, 86.977775999999992, 61.553642000000004, 50.455328000000002, 70.610264999999998, 28.390682999999999, 28.378685000000001, 17.351361000000001]
The problems with this generated pic above are that:
The label for x-aixs are too long, which are truncated(out of figure border).
Distict the bars by others instead of color. Since the pic will be print so that distinction by color would not be work. How to fill bars of one group with different style (e.g, the last bar infigure).
I will appreciate if anyone can help adjust the outlook of this pic. Thanks!

I would consider you clean up the names a little bit, that should help. Once you do that, you can change the rotation to 45 which will make it look better.
You can do that by changing plt.xticks(ind , axis, rotation=90) to plt.xticks("range", "custom label list", rotation=90)
def plotElapsedDis(axis, jvm1, jvm2, ylabel, title, name):
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
#fig, ax = plt.subplots(111)
fig = plt.figure()
ax = fig.add_subplot(111)
## the data
N = len(jvm1)
#menMeans = [18, 35, 30, 35, 27]
#womenMeans = [25, 32, 34, 20, 25]
ind = np.arange(N)+1
width = 0.25 # the width of the bars
# add "hatch"
rects1 = ax.bar(ind-width, jvm1, width, color='white', edgecolor='black', hatch="*")
rects2 = ax.bar(ind, jvm2, width, color='white', edgecolor='black', hatch='//')
ax.set_ylabel(ylabel)
ax.set_title(title)
plt.xticks(ind , axis, rotation=90)
ax.legend( (rects1[0], rects2[0]), ('Originl', 'Optimal') )
fig.tight_layout() # make sure it fits
plt.show()
plotElapsedDis(keys, y_jvm1, y_jvm2, 'seconds', 'CPU Elapsed', '../tmp/cpu_elapsed.jpg')