How to Draw a Rectangle in Python

Drawing shapes and creating graphics play a significant role in implementing Python in various fields. Whether in educational sectors, research, game development, or other fields where visual representation matters, Python’s built-in libraries are used to create graphical elements.

This tutorial aims to guide you on how to draw a rectangle in Python using matplotlib.pyplot library.

Step 1: Installation of Required Libraries

Python has several libraries used for various purposes. For drawing a rectangle, we will mainly use two Python libraries, matplotlib and pyplot. If your Python environment does not have these libraries, you can install them using pip as follows:

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pip install matplotlib

For more information, you can visit the official matplotlib’s installation guide.

Step 2: Importing the Libraries

The next thing to do is to import the required Python libraries.

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import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import matplotlib.patches as patches

Step 3: Setting Up the Figure and Axes

Now, we need to set up the figure and axes on which we will draw the rectangle. Here, we are setting the limits of x and y between 0 and 10, and adding some gridlines:

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fig, ax = plt.subplots(1)
ax.set_xlim([0, 10])
ax.set_ylim([0, 10])
ax.set_aspect('equal')
ax.grid(True, which='both')

Step 4: Defining and Drawing the Rectangle

We define the rectangle by setting its position on the axes, its width, and height.

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rect = patches.Rectangle((2,3),6,4,linewidth=1,edgecolor='r',facecolor='none')
ax.add_patch(rect)
plt.show()

Our rectangle starts at position (2,3), with a width of 6 units and a height of 4 units. The ‘linewidth’ and ‘edgecolor’ parameters define the edge properties of the rectangle, while the ‘facecolor’ parameter governs the fill color (in this case, ‘none’ is used, which stands for no fill).

Complete code:

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import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import matplotlib.patches as patches
 
fig, ax = plt.subplots(1)
ax.set_xlim([0, 10])
ax.set_ylim([0, 10])
ax.set_aspect('equal')
ax.grid(True, which='both')
 
rect = patches.Rectangle((2,3),6,4,linewidth=1,edgecolor='r',facecolor='none')
ax.add_patch(rect)
plt.show()

Output:

The above code will produce an output of a rectangle drawn on the grid with the specified dimensions.

Conclusion

Drawing a rectangle in Python is made easy with the matplotlib.pyplot library, providing an excellent tool for those who want to make their showcases or data more visually appealing. Practice customizing the values and colors to draw different rectangles and shapes!