Plotting directed graphs in Python in a way that show all edges separately

Question

I\'m using Python to simulate a process that takes place on directed graphs. I would like to produce an animation of this process.

The problem that I\'ve run into i

Answer 1

Using NetworkX, a possible workaround which avoids file I/O and uses dot via pydot for layout is:

import networkx as nx
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import matplotlib.image as mpimg
from io import BytesIO

g = nx.dodecahedral_graph()
d = nx.drawing.nx_pydot.to_pydot(g) # d is a pydot graph object, dot options can be easily set
# attributes get converted from networkx,
# use set methods to control dot attributes after creation

png_str = d.create_png()
sio = BytesIO() # file-like string, appropriate for imread below
sio.write(png_str)
sio.seek(0)

img = mpimg.imread(sio)
imgplot = plt.imshow(img)

for why seek(0) is needed, see How to create an image from a string in python

If within IPython (qt)console, then the above will print inline and a more direct approach is:

import networkx as nx
from IPython.display import Image

g = nx.dodecahedral_graph()
d = nx.drawing.nx_pydot.to_pydot(g)

png_str = d.create_png()
Image(data=png_str)