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PyCont

  1. Overview
  2. Types of curves, points and bifurcations supported
    1. Limitations
  3. A first look at PyCont
    1. Level sets of functions
    2. For initial value problems
    3. Screenshots
      1. A-->B Reaction
      2. Lorenz System
  4. Examples
    1. Worked example: Catalytic Oscillator
    2. Respecting user-defined bounds on the parameters
    3. Note about user-defined functions for continuation
  5. Classes and methods
    1. ContClass
      1. Attributes/Parameters
      2. Methods
        1. newCurve()
        2. update()
        3. display()
        4. info()
        5. computeEigen()
        6. exportGeomview()
    2. Curve classes (EP-C, LP-C, H-C1, H-C2, FP-C, LC-C)
      1. Attributes/Parameters
        1. MaxNumPoints
        2. MaxCorrIters
        3. MaxTestIters
        4. MaxStepSize
        5. MinStepSize
        6. StepSize
        7. VarTol
        8. FuncTol
        9. TestTol
        10. ClosedCurve
        11. LocBifPoints
        12. StopAtPoints
        13. SaveJacobian
        14. SaveEigen
        15. verbosity
        16. period [FP-C]
        17. SolutionMeasures [LC-C]
        18. NumSPOut [LC-C]
        19. NumIntervals [LC-C]
        20. NumCollocation [LC-C]
        21. AdaptMesh [LC-C]
        22. DiagVerbosity [LC-C]
      2. Methods
        1. update()
        2. reset()
        3. display()
        4. plot_cycles() [LC-C]
        5. cleanLabels()
        6. forward()
        7. backward()
        8. getSpecialPoint()
        9. info()
        10. computeEigen()
        11. exportGeomview()
  6. Plotting
    1. pargs class
      1. Attributes
        1. plot
        2. figures
        3. axes
        4. curve
        5. cycle
        6. point
      2. Methods
        1. info()
        2. toggleLabels()
        3. togglePoints()
        4. toggleCurves()
        5. toggleCycles()
        6. toggleAll()
        7. setLabels()
        8. setLegends()
        9. clear()
        10. clearall()
        11. delete()
        12. deleteall()
        13. refresh()
        14. clean()
  7. Details of algorithmic implementation
    1. Equilibrium point curve (EP-C)
      1. Limit Point (LP)
      2. Hopf Point (H)
      3. Branch Point (BP)
    2. Limit point curve (LP-C)
      1. Cusp Point (CP)
      2. Bogdanov-Takens Point (BT)
      3. Zero-Hopf Point (ZH)
    3. Hopf point curve, method 1 (H-C1)
      1. Bogdanov-Takens Point (BT)
      2. Zero-Hopf Point (ZH)
      3. Generalized-Hopf Point (GH)
      4. Double-Hopf Point (DH)
    4. Hopf point curve, method 2 (H-C2)
      1. Bogdanov-Takens Point (BT)
      2. Zero-Hopf Point (ZH)
      3. Generalized-Hopf Point (GH)
    5. Fixed point curve (FP-C)
      1. Limit point of cycles (LPC)
      2. Period doubling (PD)
      3. Neimark-Sacker (NS)
    6. Limit cycle curve (LC-C)
      1. Limit point of cycles (LPC)
      2. Period doubling (PD)
      3. Neimark-Sacker (NS)

1. Overview

PyCont was originally written and maintained by Drew LaMar at Cornell University as part of John Guckenheimer's research group (Drew is now working at The College of William and Mary). PyCont is a sub-package of PyDSTool that provides tools for numerical continuation (a.k.a. path following) for solutions to initial value problems (IVPs, in the form of ODEs and discrete maps) and level curves of nonlinear functions. It also detects bifurcation points. For an introduction to bifurcations see this page on Scholarpedia.

The principal elements of performing continuation using PyCont are the specification of a system, determination of the type of continuation problem to study with that system, and finally the choice of methods to study that problem.

PyCont is currently implemented in pure Python (except the interface to AUTO), although it relies on user-specified "call-back" functions that are provided by Model or Generator objects. Thus, functions for vector fields and maps may be specified by C code as part of a Generator that is present as a dynamically-linked library. This can provide a substantial improvement to the efficiency of loops involving heavy use of these call-back functions.

2. Types of curves, points and bifurcations supported

The following curve types are handled by PyCont:

as well as detection of the following bifurcations associated with one or more of the curves above:

There are also the following point types for all curves (except RG) not associated with bifurcations:

The point type RG is created based on the parameter NumSPOut. The point type MX is associated with some type of computational difficulty. It usually represents non-convergence based on our tolerances, but for many different reasons (e.g. initial point is too far from the requested curve type, too close to a homoclinic (large period), ...) The point type B indicates that a continuation parameter reached a boundary specified by pdomain to the dynamical system.

Support for continuation of periodic orbits is available via a low-level interface to the AUTO package. This requires an external C compiler to be accessible to Python via distutils, in the same way as is needed for the ODE integrators Radau and Dopri (see the GettingStarted page for set-up help).

2.1. Limitations

Bifurcations of ODEs with mass-matrix specifications and continuous-valued hybrid systems (not those that can be expressed as maps) are not yet supported.

Boundary value problems are not yet supported.

3. A first look at PyCont

3.1. Level sets of functions

PyCont can be used to find zero level sets of nonlinear functions. All that has to be done is to select a coordinate to use as a parameter, and specify the function as if it was the right hand side of an ODE. In other words, to find a solution (x(s), y(s)) parameterized by s of f(x,y) = C we treat x (say) as a parameter and study the one dimensional IVP  y' = f(x, y) - C .

This representation enables the standard syntax for defining a differential equation in PyDSTool, but is only a way to provide PyCont with the function whose zero value in (x,y) space must be followed. The initial condition to the system can be any value of y that is close to a solution of the problem (PyCont will improve this point if it's not close enough before starting continuation). This should correspond to the initial value for the parameter x chosen.

Here is the example PyCont_LevelCurve.py:

Toggle line numbers 
   1 """Using PyCont to do path following to find a zero level set of a nonlinear
   2 function. Example is an ellipse.
   3 
   4 Robert Clewley, August 2008.
   5 """
   6 
   7 from PyDSTool import *
   8 
   9 # f(y) = 0 is the required form
  10 # where f(y) = x^2 /2 + y^2 - 1
  11 DSargs = args(name='ellipse')
  12 
  13 # treat one of the coordinates as a parameter for PyCont to use
  14 DSargs.pars = {'x': 0}
  15 
  16 # the other coordinate is a 'variable'
  17 DSargs.varspecs = {'y': 'x*x/2.+y*y-1'}
  18 
  19 # A starting point on the ellipse, if known. Let's pretend it's a tougher
  20 # problem and we only know a point that's close to it: (x,y) = (0, 1.1)
  21 # PyCont will find the closest point that's actually on the curve before
  22 # doing the path following
  23 DSargs.ics = {'y': 1.1}
  24 
  25 # Define an initial value problem (ODE) with f(x) as the right hand side.
  26 # For this example, it is just a formality to present PyCont with f(x).
  27 # In examples involving fixed points or limit cycles of dynamical systems,
  28 # this ODE will have a practical meaning.
  29 testODE = Vode_ODEsystem(DSargs)
  30 
  31 # Create an instance of PyCont
  32 P = ContClass(testODE)
  33 
  34 # EP-C = equilibrium point curve
  35 PCargs = args(name='test', type='EP-C')
  36 PCargs.freepars = ['x']
  37 PCargs.StepSize = 1e-3
  38 PCargs.MaxNumPoints = 800
  39 PCargs.MaxStepSize = 1e-2
  40 
  41 # Declare a new curve based on the above criteria
  42 P.newCurve(PCargs)
  43 
  44 # Do path following in the 'forward' direction. Max points is large enough
  45 # to ensure we go right around the ellipse (PyCont automatically stops when
  46 # we return to the initial point - unless MaxNumPoints is reached first.)
  47 P['test'].forward()
  48 
  49 sol = P['test'].sol
  50 
  51 print "There were %i points computed" % len(sol)
  52 # solution points:
  53 print sol
  54 
  55 print "\nLabels for each point in sol pointset give diagnostic information about"
  56 print "first derivative of the point along the curve ('V' entry) and the arc "
  57 print "length parameter shows distance along the curve so far ('ds' entry)."
  58 
  59 print "\nVelocity around curve is always 1, e.g. look at 100th point"
  60 print "norm(Point(sol[100].labels['EP']['data'].V)) =", \
      norm(Point(sol[100].labels['EP']['data'].V))
  61 
  62 print "... at which we have travelled distance ds =", \
      sol[100].labels['EP']['data'].ds
  63 
  64 print "\nThis distance is equal to 100 * the max step size (0.01) which PyCont"
  65 print "deemed sufficient for the desired accuracy."
  66 
  67 # easy way to plot the result
  68 P.display(curves=['test'], coords=('x','y'))

3.2. For initial value problems

In the simplest terms, an instance of the PyCont continuation class is created for a given model object that defines an ODE or a map system, and a selection of algorithmic parameters. These parameters determine the type of continuation desired for the system, and the free parameter(s) to be used. The PyCont instance contains any number of curves associated with the same system.

The PyCont instance may then continue from an initial state (a point or a cycle) for a particular solution curve, using the forward or backward class methods. Computation ends when continuation fails or the maximum number of steps is reached. Repeated calls to these methods will extend the computed solution curve.

If a PyCont instance named pc contains a curve named 'EQ' then the labelled solution curve is saved as a Pointset object, in the attribute pc['EQ'].sol.

Solution curves can be plotted using calls such as pc['EQ'].display() for specific curves, or pc.display() for all curves on the same diagram.

3.3. Screenshots

3.3.1. A-->B Reaction

3.3.2. Lorenz System

4. Examples

There are many examples provided in the PyDSTool/tests/ directory. Each one starts with "PyCont_". The docstring and comments in each file provide more information. Currently, there are demo scripts for:

4.1. Worked example: Catalytic Oscillator

It's easiest to illustrate the usage of PyCont by working through one of the examples in the PyDSTool/tests directory. Let's look closely at the example PyCont_Catalytic_demo.py. The following block of code initializes the model using PyDSTool conventions. The last line creates an instance of the class ContClass tied to the model just created using PyDSTool:

Toggle line numbers 
   1 from PyDSTool import *
   2 
   3 pars = {'q1': 2.5, 'q2': 1.92373, 'q3': 10, 'q4': 0.0675, 'q5': 1, 'q6': 0.1, 'k': 0.4}
   4 
   5 icdict = {'x': 0.0014673, 'y': 0.826167, 's': 0.123119}
   6 
   7 auxfndict = {'z': (['x', 'y', 's'], '1 - x - y - s')}
   8 
   9 xstr = '2*q1*z(x,y,s)*z(x,y,s) - 2*q5*x*x - q3*x*y'
  10 ystr = 'q2*z(x,y,s) - q6*y - q3*x*y'
  11 sstr = 'q4*z(x,y,s) - k*q4*s'
  12 
  13 DSargs = args(name='CatalyticOscillator')
  14 DSargs.pars = pars
  15 DSargs.varspecs = {'x': xstr, 'y': ystr, 's': sstr}
  16 DSargs.fnspecs = auxfndict
  17 DSargs.ics = icdict
  18 
  19 testDS = Generator.Dopri_ODEsystem(DSargs)
  20 PyCont = ContClass(testDS)

We are now ready to create continuation curves for this model. The next block of code creates a "struct"-like data type of parameters (that can also be treated like a dictionary), which specifies an equilibrium curve:

Toggle line numbers 
   1 PCargs = args(name='EQ1', type='EP-C')   # as many arguments can be supplied here as desired
   2 PCargs.freepars = ['q2']   # rest of the arguments created like a struct
   3 PCargs.StepSize = 1e-3
   4 PCargs.MaxNumPoints = 175
   5 PCargs.MaxStepSize = 1e-2
   6 PCargs.LocBifPoints = ['LP','H']
   7 
   8 PyCont.newCurve(PCargs)
   9 PyCont['EQ1'].forward()

The type parameter is labeled EP-C, which stands for an Equilibrium Point Curve. Note that there is only one free parameter for this type of curve. LocBifPoints specifies which types of bifurcation points to detect. In this case, we are detecting limit points (LP) and hopf points (H). We then call the newCurve() method of the PyCont instance, passing the parameter dictionary as an argument. Once it is created, we refer to it by name and call its forward() method to compute the curve. There will be output stating that two limit points and two hopf points were detected. At this point, once computation has finished, we can view the results two ways, given by the following code:

Toggle line numbers 
   1 PyCont['EQ1'].info()

The first method info() will spit out various information about the curve, such as continuation parameters and special points that were detected. Under the special points, you will see P1, P2, LP1, LP2, H1, H2 denoting the two limit points and two hopf points that were detected. P1 is a label for the starting point and P2 a label for the ending point. You can access these points from the curve by the following:

Toggle line numbers 
   1 X = PyCont['EQ1'].getSpecialPoint('LP1')
   2 print X

If the point exists (which it does in this case), it will return that point on the curve as a Point class object. Any bifurcation information that was found for that point can be found in the data structure X.labels['LP']['data'], where X was the returned special point. For example, the following gives the normal form information for the limit point LP1:

Toggle line numbers 
   1 X.labels['LP']['data'].a

Now we want to plot the results:

Toggle line numbers 
   1 PyCont['EQ1'].display(axes=(1,2,1))
   2 PyCont['EQ1'].display(('q2','x'), axes=(1,2,2))
   3 PyCont.plot.info()

If you don't send display() arguments, it will default to the coordinates consisting of the first free parameter and the first listed state variable. The second line lets you specify the plotting coordinates. You will notice that the special points are labeled and colored according to their type. Notice also that we are specifying the axes using subplot notation from Matlab. PyCont has a plotting structure, PyCont.plot, that stores all of the matplotlib handles to the objects in the plots. You can query its info() method to see the organizational hierarchy. We will give examples of the functionality of the plotting class later in the demo. Also, if you happen to forget what the parameters or variables are for the model when you want to plot, you can quickly access them by typing:

Toggle line numbers 
   1 PyCont.info()

  • Now that we have an equilibrium curve, let's continue a hopf curve starting from one of the special points computed above. The following block of code sets up and computes a hopf curve from the special point H2:

    Toggle line numbers 
       1 PCargs = args(name='HO1', type='H-C2')
   2 PCargs.initpoint = 'EQ1:H2'
   3 PCargs.freepars = ['q2', 'k']
   4 PCargs.MaxStepSize = 1e-2
   5 PCargs.LocBifPoints = ['GH', 'BT', 'ZH']
   6 PCargs.MaxNumPoints = 100
   7 
   8 PyCont.newCurve(PCargs)
   9 PyCont['HO1'].forward()

    The type now is H-C2, standing for Hopf curve using method 2. The initial point is specified by label as EQ1:H2, meaning special point H2 on curve EQ1. In general, you can specify an initial point as a dictionary, a Point, a label, or an array. For a curve of this type, we need two free parameters, so we free up the extra parameter k. LocBifPoints is now set to detect GH, BT and ZH points. 

    Note:  You may have noticed that we didn't specify an initial point for EQ1 above.  When an initial point is not specified, it defaults to the initial conditions for the model.  Also, the initial point is checked to see if it is of the right type and, if it is not, it is corrected to the "closest" point of that type.

    The output of forward() is the location of two GH points. You can type PyCont['HO1'].info() to get information on the curve, or you can type PyCont['HO1'].display() to plot the results. What I want to point out now, however, is what happens when you do the following:

    Toggle line numbers 
       1 PyCont.plot.clearall()
   2 PyCont.display(('q2','x'))

    The first line clears all open figures (in this case just fig1). The second line plots all computed curves for the PyCont class, in this case EQ1 and HO1, to the just-cleared active figure fig1.

    Let's now compute a curve of fold points starting from LP1:

    Toggle line numbers 
       1 PCargs = args(name='FO1', type='LP-C')
   2 PCargs.initpoint = 'EQ1:LP1'
   3 PCargs.freepars = ['q2', 'k']
   4 PCargs.LocBifPoints = 'all'
   5 PCargs.MaxNumPoints = 110
   6 
   7 PyCont.newCurve(PCargs)
   8 PyCont['FO1'].forward()

    This is a limit point curve, denoted LP-C, starting from the point EQ1:LP1. We use the same free parameters as for the hopf curve. For LocBifPoints, we now specify that we want to compute all bifurcation points for this curve type, which in the fold case are BT, CP, and ZH points.

    We plot all curves as before:

    Toggle line numbers 
       1 PyCont.plot.clearall()
   2 PyCont.display(('q2','x'))

    We could have just as easily typed PyCont['FO1'].display(('q2','x')), and the curve FO1 will have been added to the existing figure. Let's now move backward along the fold curve:

    Toggle line numbers 
       1 PyCont['FO1'].backward()

    Since we've added more points to the fold curve, we want to update the plot to show the changes. The plotting program is not extremely intelligent here to know which points on the curve have already been plotted, so we must delete the existing FO1 curve from the plotting class and replot the FO1 curve. The following commands perform these actions:

    Toggle line numbers 
       1 PyCont.plot.fig1.axes1.FO1.delete()
   2 PyCont['FO1'].display(('q2','x'))

    Let's now look more closely at what else the plotting class can do. The plots can get pretty cluttered with points and labels, so we've included an option to toggle labels, points, curves and cycles on and off. The following command toggles the labels in all figures and axes off:

    Toggle line numbers 
       1 PyCont.plot.toggleLabels('off')

    Now consider the actions of the following commands:

    Toggle line numbers 
       1 PyCont.plot.toggleLabels('on')
   2 PyCont.plot.togglePoints('off')
   3 PyCont.plot.toggleCurves('off', byname='HO1')
   4 PyCont.plot.fig1.axes1.HO1.toggleCurve('off')

    The first line toggles all labels back on in all plots. The second line toggles all points off, while the third line toggles an entire curve (labels and points included) off by specifying it's name, in this case curve HO1. You can perform the same operation by traversing through the plot class to the curve and using the singular method, toggleCurve(). The fourth line does just that, although it's redundant in its actions.

    Eigenvalues are by default not computed along the curve. You can compute them afterwards, however, and represent the stability of the equilibrium points in a new plot as follows:

    Toggle line numbers 
       1 PyCont.computeEigen()
   2 PyCont.display(coords=('q2','x'), stability=True, figure='fig2')
   3 PyCont.plot.fig2.toggleAll('off', bytype='P')

    Stable fixed points are represented as solid lines, unstable fixed points as dashed lines, and neutral fixed points as dashed/dotted lines. There is some ambiguity in the situation where there is a stream of fixed points which change stability at each step. In this situation, the curve is drawn as a dotted line. Reducing MaxStepSize and computing again may resolve this ambiguity. Also, in computing limit cycle curves, sometimes the Floquet multipliers are inaccurate. In this case, the curve will also be drawn as a dotted line. This is pretty common in the case where a limit cycle vanishes in a homoclinic orbit. See PyCont_Lorenz.py and zoom in on the endpoints. The third and final line uses a method called toggleAll for figure fig2. It turns special points on or off (both labels and points). Here we specify all points that are endpoints (type P). The endpoints are useful to know what is forward or backward in computations (P1-->P2 is forward), but once you want to publish the picture, they are unnecessary, so we turn them off. This is a common procedure in a lot of the examples. All of the plot methods can be applied at any level in the hierarchy, so you can, for example, toggle all labels off in a specific figure, axes, curve or point.

    One thing that is not mentioned in this example is the ability to perform matplotlib commands on any object that PyCont has created. You can access the matplotlib handles to the objects (such as figures, axes, curves, points, and texts) within the plot class. For example, if you ran the demo in interactive mode (using python -i), you can now type:

    Toggle line numbers 
       1 PyCont.plot.fig2.axes1.axes.set(xlabel='Free Parameter: q2')
   2 PyCont.plot.refresh()

    This will access the axes handle and allow you to perform whatever command you want directly. The second line recursively goes through the plot class and performs a pylab.draw() on all figures and axes so that you can see the change. See Plotting below to see how to access the other objects.

    4.2. Respecting user-defined bounds on the parameters

    In the Hopfield model example PyCont_Hopfield.py PyCont will stop at the pre-determined bounds of the parameters given by the pdomain to DSargs if continuation reaches either end of that domain. That is specified by setting PCargs.StopAtPoints = ['B'].

    4.3. Note about user-defined functions for continuation

    User-defined continuation functions are introduced in PyCont_vanDerPol.py, where canards are computed. This involves a sophisticated (read: not altogether user-friendly) way of adding an event to the system that is then manipulated within a user-specified function cont_func in the body of the file, which is then passed as the continuation function to PyCont. This functionality is used to track canards in the van der Pol system.

    5. Classes and methods

    5.1. ContClass

    This is the main class which represents one continuation session. This class will hold all curves computed for a particular generator/model created by PyDSTool. Once curves exist, you can display them all at once using its display() method and toggle the plotted labels on and off with the toggleLabels() method. The following will initialize a continuation session:

    where model is a Model or Generator instance.

    5.1.1. Attributes/Parameters

    5.1.2. Methods

    5.1.2.1. newCurve()

    Syntax

    Description

    5.1.2.2. update()

    Syntax

    Description

    5.1.2.3. display()

    Syntax

    Description 

    Note: If you are using a backend other than TkAgg, you will not have interactive plotting (see matplotlib).  Also, in order to see the plot after the display() command, you need to run the extra command show().
    5.1.2.4. info()

    Syntax

    Description

    5.1.2.5. computeEigen()

    Syntax

    Description

    5.1.2.6. exportGeomview()

    Syntax

    Description

    5.2. Curve classes (EP-C, LP-C, H-C1, H-C2, FP-C, LC-C)

    Once a curve is created by the newCurve() method of ContClass, you can access it by name using the following syntax:

    For example, if the curve name is EQ1, then ContClass['EQ1'] represents the curve. The following lists the attributes and methods for the curve classes.

    5.2.1. Attributes/Parameters

    Always use the update() method to change or set parameters.

    5.2.1.1. MaxNumPoints

    Type

    Description

    5.2.1.2. MaxCorrIters
    5.2.1.3. MaxTestIters
    5.2.1.4. MaxStepSize

    Type

    Description

    5.2.1.5. MinStepSize

    Type

    Description

    5.2.1.6. StepSize

    Type

    Description

    5.2.1.7. VarTol

    Type

    5.2.1.8. FuncTol

    Type

    5.2.1.9. TestTol

    Type

    5.2.1.10. ClosedCurve

    Type

    5.2.1.11. LocBifPoints

    Type

    Description

    5.2.1.12. StopAtPoints

    Type

    Description

    5.2.1.13. SaveJacobian

    Type

    Description

    5.2.1.14. SaveEigen

    Type

    Description

    5.2.1.15. verbosity

    Type

    Description

    5.2.1.16. period [FP-C]

    Type

    Description

    5.2.1.17. SolutionMeasures [LC-C]

    Type

    Description

    5.2.1.18. NumSPOut [LC-C]
    5.2.1.19. NumIntervals [LC-C]
    5.2.1.20. NumCollocation [LC-C]
    5.2.1.21. AdaptMesh [LC-C]
    5.2.1.22. DiagVerbosity [LC-C]

    5.2.2. Methods

    5.2.2.1. update()

    Syntax

    Description

    5.2.2.2. reset()

    Syntax

    Description

    5.2.2.3. display()

    Syntax

    Description 

    Note: If you are using a backend other than TkAgg, you will not have interactive plotting (see matplotlib).  Also, in order to see the plot after the display() command, you need to run the extra command show().
    5.2.2.4. plot_cycles() [LC-C]

    Syntax

    Description

    5.2.2.5. cleanLabels()

    Syntax

    Description

    5.2.2.6. forward()

    Syntax

    Description

    5.2.2.7. backward()

    Syntax

    Description

    5.2.2.8. getSpecialPoint()

    Syntax

    Description

    5.2.2.9. info()

    Syntax

    Description

    5.2.2.10. computeEigen()

    Syntax

    Description

    5.2.2.11. exportGeomview()

    6. Plotting

    PyCont contains a plotting class that helps keep track of your visual displays. The structure stores the handles to matplotlib figures, axes, curves, and points in a hierarchical fashion and is designed to make access to these handles easier than the built-in matplotlib interface. Some common and useful plotting tools, such as turning labels of points on or off or changing labels, is implemented through PyCont's plotting structure. This section covers the layout and structure of the plotting pargs class, as well as the methods implemented to handle useful plotting tools. The end of this section discusses how PyCont's plotting structure deals with other programs that manipulate matplotlib figures. 

    Note: If you are using a backend other than TkAgg, you will not have interactive plotting (see matplotlib).

    6.1. pargs class

    The pargs class is a recursively defined class that represents the hierarchy of plotting data. The root pargs class of the plotting data is an attribute plot in ContClass, as well as in each of the curve classes. Its structure is: 

    plot ---> figures ---> axes ---> curves/cycles ---> points

    The pargs class is derived from the ancestor class args, and can thus be treated both as a structure and a dictionary. The pargs class attributes and methods are described below.

    6.1.1. Attributes

    6.1.1.1. plot

    This contains pargs classes representing figures. Each figure is named starting from fig1.

    6.1.1.2. figures

    This contains the figure handle fig for this figure, as well as pargs classes representing axes. Each axes is named starting from axes1.

    6.1.1.3. axes

    This contains the axes handle axes for this axes, as well as pargs classes representing curves and/or cycles. Each curve is named according to its name given in PyCont, while each cycle is named according to its corresponding point name along the limit cycle curve.

    6.1.1.4. curve

    This contains the line2D handle(s) in the list curve. The length of this list is larger than one in the case where you plot stability, since the curve is broken into multiple pieces. This also contains pargs classes representing points along the curve.

    6.1.1.5. cycle

    This contains the line2D handle in the list cycle. There are no other attributes.

    6.1.1.6. point

    This contains two handles. The first is the line2D handle for the point itself in the list point. The second is the text label for the point in the handle text. There are no other attributes.

    6.1.2. Methods

    The recursive nature of the pargs class was designed so that all methods described below could be called at any level in the hierarchical plotting structure. For example, you can toggle the labels on or off for all points in a specific figure, axes, or curve.

    6.1.2.1. info()

    Syntax

    Description

    6.1.2.2. toggleLabels()

    Syntax

    Description 

    Note:  When this is a method of a pargs class that represents a point, you can use the singular expression "toggleLabel(visible='on')" to toggle that specific point label on/off.
    6.1.2.3. togglePoints()

    Syntax

    Description 

    Note:  When this is a method of a pargs class that represents a point, you can use the singular expression "togglePoint(visible='on')" to toggle that specific point on/off.
    6.1.2.4. toggleCurves()

    Syntax

    Description 

    Note:  When this is a method of a pargs class that represents a curve, you can use the singular expression "toggleCurve(visible='on')" to toggle that specific curve on/off.
    6.1.2.5. toggleCycles()

    Syntax

    Description 

    Note:  When this is a method of a pargs class that represents a cycle, you can use the singular expression "toggleCycle(visible='on')" to toggle that specific cycle on/off.
    6.1.2.6. toggleAll()

    Syntax

    Description

    6.1.2.7. setLabels()

    Syntax

    Description 

    Note:  When this is a method of a pargs class that represents a point, you can use the singular expression "setLabel(label)".
    6.1.2.8. setLegends()

    Syntax

    Description 

    Note:  When this is a method of a pargs class that represents a curve or a cycle, you can use the singular expression "setLegend(label)".
Note 2: This needs to be called separately for cycles and curves.
    6.1.2.9. clear()

    Syntax

    Description

    6.1.2.10. clearall()

    Syntax

    Description

    6.1.2.11. delete()

    Syntax

    Description

    6.1.2.12. deleteall()

    Syntax

    Description

    6.1.2.13. refresh()

    Syntax

    Description 

    Note:  Calling at the level of `plot` will refresh all figures.
    6.1.2.14. clean()

    Syntax

    Description 

    Note:  If you do all handling of display objects through PyCont's `plot` structure, this will not in general need to be used.

    7. Details of algorithmic implementation

    Details are not written up as yet. For now, look at the code in PyDSTool/PyCont/BifPoint.py

    7.1. Equilibrium point curve (EP-C)

    Bifurcations detected:

    7.1.1. Limit Point (LP)

    7.1.2. Hopf Point (H)

    7.1.3. Branch Point (BP)

    7.2. Limit point curve (LP-C)

    Bifurcations detected:

    7.2.1. Cusp Point (CP)

    7.2.2. Bogdanov-Takens Point (BT)

    7.2.3. Zero-Hopf Point (ZH)

    7.3. Hopf point curve, method 1 (H-C1)

    Bifurcations detected:

    7.3.1. Bogdanov-Takens Point (BT)

    7.3.2. Zero-Hopf Point (ZH)

    7.3.3. Generalized-Hopf Point (GH)

    7.3.4. Double-Hopf Point (DH)

    7.4. Hopf point curve, method 2 (H-C2)

    Bifurcations detected:

    7.4.1. Bogdanov-Takens Point (BT)

    7.4.2. Zero-Hopf Point (ZH)

    7.4.3. Generalized-Hopf Point (GH)

    7.5. Fixed point curve (FP-C)

    Bifurcations detected:

    7.5.1. Limit point of cycles (LPC)

    7.5.2. Period doubling (PD)

    7.5.3. Neimark-Sacker (NS)

    7.6. Limit cycle curve (LC-C)

    Bifurcations detected:

    7.6.1. Limit point of cycles (LPC)

    7.6.2. Period doubling (PD)

    7.6.3. Neimark-Sacker (NS)

    • last edited 2010-01-29 00:56:31 by RobClewley