Any reason why matplotlib animations would only work in interactive session?

Question

If I create a file test.py with the code

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
from matplotlib.animation import FuncAnimation

if __name__ == \'__main         


        

Answer 1

From the animation documentation: "[..] it is critical to keep a reference to the instance object."

So you need to keep the FuncAnimation instance alive by assigning it to a variable.

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
from matplotlib.animation import FuncAnimation

if __name__ == '__main__':
    fig = plt.figure()
    title = fig.suptitle("Test _")

    def anim(i):
        title.set_text("Test %d" % i)
        plt.plot([0,1], [0,1])

    ani = FuncAnimation(fig, anim)
    plt.show()

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There is an ongoing discussion about whether the Animation should be stored internally or not.