Creating Dynamic Charts in Python with Matplotlib FuncAnimation

The article introduces a simple method for creating animated charts in Python using Matplotlib's FuncAnimation, targeting line, bar, and pie charts with real-world COVID-19 death data.

It explains the required libraries (matplotlib, pandas, numpy) and the key parameters of FuncAnimation (figure, function, interval), and shows how to set up the figure and animation function.

<code>import matplotlib.animation as ani
animator = ani.FuncAnimation(fig, chartfunc, interval = 100)</code>

For a line chart, it demonstrates setting up the figure, axes labels, and a build function that updates the plot for each frame.

<code>def buildmebarchart(i=int):
    plt.legend(df1.columns)
    p = plt.plot(df1[:i].index, df1[:i].values)
    for i in range(0,4):
        p[i].set_color(color[i])
animator = ani.FuncAnimation(fig, buildmebarchart, interval = 100)
plt.show()</code>

Similar code is provided for animated pie and bar charts, highlighting differences such as using df1.head(i).max() for pie slices and choosing vertical or horizontal bars.

<code>def getmepie(i):
    ax.clear()
    plot = df1.head(i).max().plot.pie(y=df1.columns, autopct=absolute_value, label='', explode=explode, shadow=True)
    plot.set_title('Total Number of Deaths\n' + str(df1.index[min(i, len(df1.index)-1)].strftime('%y-%m-%d')), fontsize=12)
animator = ani.FuncAnimation(fig, getmepie, interval = 200)
plt.show()</code>

Finally, it shows how to save the animation as a GIF file.

<code>animator.save(r'C:\temp\myfirstAnimation.gif')</code>

Readers are directed to the Matplotlib animation API documentation for further details.