Objectives of the tutorial
At the end of this tutorial, you will be able to:
- write and run small Magics python programs.
- create meteorological maps using different projections, or Cartesian projections
load GRIB, netCDF, or simple ASCII data
- use the different action routines contour, wind, graph to visualise them
- add text and legend
- create a complex layout to organise your plots
- find your way in the documentation
The slides of the course can be found here [PDF].
Quick Links
In short, once you have realised this plot, you will have understood and used the main concepts of Magic
Before you start ...
During this tutorial, you will use Python and Magics++ on a Linux workstation.
Here is a list of basic commands you may want to use.
Basic UNIX commands:
- ls : list the files in the current directory
- mkdir my_exercise : create a directory called my_excercise
- cd my_exercise : go to the directory my_excercise. my_excercise becomes the current directory
Using an editor:
There are several editors available
- vi
- emacs
- kate
- nedit
- geany ( Python syntax highlighted..)
Run the python interpretor :
In this tutorial we are expecting you to create a python script using your favourite editor and run python to interpret it. Your system have been set-up already and you can use Magics and python by typing the single command:
python magics.py
Visualise your result:
Magics will generate a Postscript or a PNG output. To visualise the results, you can use one of the following commands:
- gv magics.ps : visualise a Postscript file called magics.ps
- display magics.png : visualise a PNG file called magics.png
- xv magics.png : visualise a PNG file called magics.png
First Step - warming up : the "Hello World" example
Get familiar with the environment
Find your favourite editor to edit your Python script
Create your first Magics script
Learn how to:
- Run your script
- See your results
- Modify your script
Go to the tutorial...
Second Step - a geographical map
Set-up a geographical area
Learn how to
- Load GRIB data and apply nice contouring to them
- Draw a curve on a map.
- Draw a symbol
- Set-up a text
Taylor the legend
Third Step - a Cross Section
Set-up a Cartesian projection
Learn how to
- Load a netCDF file
- Apply a nice contouring
- Add a text
Position the legend
Fourth Step - a vertical profile and a Time series
Set-up a date coordinate system.
Learn how to
- Load a CSV file
- Use arrays of data
- Draw a curve or bars
- Create a more complex layout
Fifth Step - More on Symbol Plotting
Finally - a complex layout
- Create a complex layout to put all these maps together
- Understand the notion of page and sub page