matplotlib · jenshnielsen · Mar 14, 2016 · Oct 29, 2015 · Oct 29, 2015 · Oct 29, 2015
diff --git a/doc/api/api_changes/2016-03-13-PMH.rst b/doc/api/api_changes/2016-03-13-PMH.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+Changed default ``autorange`` behavior in boxplots
+``````````````````````````````````````````````````
+
+Prior to v1.5.2, the whiskers of boxplots would extend to the mininum
+and maximum values if the quartiles were all equal (i.e., Q1 = median
+= Q3). This behavior has been disabled by default to restore consistency
+with other plotting packages.
+
+To restore the old behavior, simply set ``autorange=True`` when
+calling ``plt.boxplot``.
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/axes/_axes.py b/lib/matplotlib/axes/_axes.py
@@ -3050,9 +3050,10 @@ def boxplot(self, x, notch=None, sym=None, vert=None, whis=None,
                 positions=None, widths=None, patch_artist=None,
                 bootstrap=None, usermedians=None, conf_intervals=None,
                 meanline=None, showmeans=None, showcaps=None,
-                showbox=None, showfliers=None, boxprops=None, labels=None,
-                flierprops=None, medianprops=None, meanprops=None,
-                capprops=None, whiskerprops=None, manage_xticks=True):
+                showbox=None, showfliers=None, boxprops=None,
+                labels=None, flierprops=None, medianprops=None,
+                meanprops=None, capprops=None, whiskerprops=None,
+                manage_xticks=True, autorange=False):
         """
         Make a box and whisker plot.
 
@@ -3062,161 +3063,167 @@ def boxplot(self, x, notch=None, sym=None, vert=None, whis=None,
                   positions=None, widths=None, patch_artist=False,
                   bootstrap=None, usermedians=None, conf_intervals=None,
                   meanline=False, showmeans=False, showcaps=True,
-                  showbox=True, showfliers=True, boxprops=None, labels=None,
-                  flierprops=None, medianprops=None, meanprops=None,
-                  capprops=None, whiskerprops=None, manage_xticks=True):
+                  showbox=True, showfliers=True, boxprops=None,
+                  labels=None, flierprops=None, medianprops=None,
+                  meanprops=None, capprops=None, whiskerprops=None,
+                  manage_xticks=True, autorange=False):
 
-        Make a box and whisker plot for each column of *x* or each
-        vector in sequence *x*.  The box extends from the lower to
+        Make a box and whisker plot for each column of ``x`` or each
+        vector in sequence ``x``.  The box extends from the lower to
         upper quartile values of the data, with a line at the median.
         The whiskers extend from the box to show the range of the
         data.  Flier points are those past the end of the whiskers.
 
         Parameters
         ----------
         x : Array or a sequence of vectors.
-           The input data.
-
-        notch : bool, default = False
-           If False, produces a rectangular box plot.
-           If True, will produce a notched box plot
-
-        sym : str or None, default = None
-           The default symbol for flier points.
-           Enter an empty string ('') if you don't want to show fliers.
-           If `None`, then the fliers default to 'b+'  If you want more
-           control use the flierprops kwarg.
-
-        vert : bool, default = True
-           If True (default), makes the boxes vertical.
-           If False, makes horizontal boxes.
-
-        whis : float, sequence (default = 1.5) or string
-           As a float, determines the reach of the whiskers past the first
-           and third quartiles (e.g., Q3 + whis*IQR, IQR = interquartile
-           range, Q3-Q1). Beyond the whiskers, data are considered outliers
-           and are plotted as individual points. Set this to an unreasonably
-           high value to force the whiskers to show the min and max values.
-           Alternatively, set this to an ascending sequence of percentile
-           (e.g., [5, 95]) to set the whiskers at specific percentiles of
-           the data. Finally, *whis* can be the string 'range' to force the
-           whiskers to the min and max of the data. In the edge case that
-           the 25th and 75th percentiles are equivalent, *whis* will be
-           automatically set to 'range'.
-
-        bootstrap : None (default) or integer
-           Specifies whether to bootstrap the confidence intervals
-           around the median for notched boxplots. If bootstrap==None,
-           no bootstrapping is performed, and notches are calculated
-           using a Gaussian-based asymptotic approximation  (see McGill, R.,
-           Tukey, J.W., and Larsen, W.A., 1978, and Kendall and Stuart,
-           1967). Otherwise, bootstrap specifies the number of times to
-           bootstrap the median to determine it's 95% confidence intervals.
-           Values between 1000 and 10000 are recommended.
-
-        usermedians : array-like or None (default)
-           An array or sequence whose first dimension (or length) is
-           compatible with *x*. This overrides the medians computed by
-           matplotlib for each element of *usermedians* that is not None.
-           When an element of *usermedians* == None, the median will be
-           computed by matplotlib as normal.
-
-        conf_intervals : array-like or None (default)
-           Array or sequence whose first dimension (or length) is compatible
-           with *x* and whose second dimension is 2. When the current element
-           of *conf_intervals* is not None, the notch locations computed by
-           matplotlib are overridden (assuming notch is True). When an
-           element of *conf_intervals* is None, boxplot compute notches the
-           method specified by the other kwargs (e.g., *bootstrap*).
-
-        positions : array-like, default = [1, 2, ..., n]
-           Sets the positions of the boxes. The ticks and limits
-           are automatically set to match the positions.
-
-        widths : array-like, default = 0.5
-           Either a scalar or a vector and sets the width of each box. The
-           default is 0.5, or ``0.15*(distance between extreme positions)``
-           if that is smaller.
-
-        labels : sequence or None (default)
-           Labels for each dataset. Length must be compatible with
-           dimensions  of *x*
-
-        patch_artist : bool, default = False
-           If False produces boxes with the Line2D artist
-           If True produces boxes with the Patch artist
-
-        showmeans : bool, default = False
-           If True, will toggle on the rendering of the means
-
-        showcaps : bool, default = True
-           If True, will toggle on the rendering of the caps
-
-        showbox : bool, default = True
-           If True, will toggle on the rendering of the box
-
-        showfliers : bool, default = True
-           If True, will toggle on the rendering of the fliers
-
-        boxprops : dict or None (default)
-           If provided, will set the plotting style of the boxes
-
-        whiskerprops : dict or None (default)
-           If provided, will set the plotting style of the whiskers
+            The input data.
+
+        notch : bool, optional (False)
+            If `True`, will produce a notched box plot. Otherwise, a
+            rectangular boxplot is produced.
+
+        sym : str, optional
+            The default symbol for flier points. Enter an empty string
+            ('') if you don't want to show fliers. If `None`, then the
+            fliers default to 'b+'  If you want more control use the
+            flierprops kwarg.
+
+        vert : bool, optional (True)
+            If `True` (default), makes the boxes vertical. If `False`,
+            everything is drawn horizontally.
+
+        whis : float, sequence, or string (default = 1.5)
+            As a float, determines the reach of the whiskers past the
+            first and third quartiles (e.g., Q3 + whis*IQR,
+            IQR = interquartile range, Q3-Q1). Beyond the whiskers, data
+            are considered outliers and are plotted as individual
+            points. Set this to an unreasonably high value to force the
+            whiskers to show the min and max values. Alternatively, set
+            this to an ascending sequence of percentile (e.g., [5, 95])
+            to set the whiskers at specific percentiles of the data.
+            Finally, ``whis`` can be the string ``'range'`` to force the
+            whiskers to the min and max of the data.
+
+        bootstrap : int, optional
+            Specifies whether to bootstrap the confidence intervals
+            around the median for notched boxplots. If `bootstrap` is None,
+            no bootstrapping is performed, and notches are calculated
+            using a Gaussian-based asymptotic approximation (see McGill,
+            R., Tukey, J.W., and Larsen, W.A., 1978, and Kendall and
+            Stuart, 1967). Otherwise, bootstrap specifies the number of
+            times to bootstrap the median to determine its 95%
+            confidence intervals. Values between 1000 and 10000 are
+            recommended.
+
+        usermedians : array-like, optional
+            An array or sequence whose first dimension (or length) is
+            compatible with ``x``. This overrides the medians computed
+            by matplotlib for each element of ``usermedians`` that is not
+            `None`. When an element of ``usermedians`` is None, the median
+            will be computed by matplotlib as normal.
+
+        conf_intervals : array-like, optional
+            Array or sequence whose first dimension (or length) is
+            compatible with ``x`` and whose second dimension is 2. When
+            the an element of ``conf_intervals`` is not None, the
+            notch locations computed by matplotlib are overridden
+            (provided ``notch`` is `True`). When an element of
+            ``conf_intervals`` is `None`, the notches are computed by the
+            method specified by the other kwargs (e.g., ``bootstrap``).
+
+        positions : array-like, optional
+            Sets the positions of the boxes. The ticks and limits are
+            automatically set to match the positions. Defaults to
+            `range(1, N+1)` where N is the number of boxes to be drawn.
+
+        widths : scalar or array-like
+            Sets the width of each box either with a scalar or a
+            sequence. The default is 0.5, or ``0.15*(distance between
+            extreme positions)``, if that is smaller.
+
+        patch_artist : bool, optional (False)
+            If `False` produces boxes with the Line2D artist. Otherwise,
+            boxes and drawn with Patch artists.
+
+        labels : sequence, optional
+            Labels for each dataset. Length must be compatible with
+            dimensions  of ``x``.
+
+        manage_xticks : bool, optional (True)
+            If the function should adjust the xlim and xtick locations.
 
-        capprops : dict or None (default)
-           If provided, will set the plotting style of the caps
+        autorange : bool, optional (False)
+            When `True` and the data are distributed such that the  25th and
+            75th percentiles are equal, ``whis`` is set to ``'range'`` such
+            that the whisker ends are at the minimum and maximum of the
+            data.
+
+        meanline : bool, optional (False)
+            If `True` (and ``showmeans`` is `True`), will try to render
+            the mean as a line spanning the full width of the box
+            according to ``meanprops`` (see below). Not recommended if
+            ``shownotches`` is also True. Otherwise, means will be shown
+            as points.
+
+        Additional Options
+        ---------------------
+        The following boolean options toggle the drawing of individual
+        components of the boxplots:
+            - showcaps: the caps on the ends of whiskers
+              (default is True)
+            - showbox: the central box (default is True)
+            - showfliers: the outliers beyond the caps (default is True)
+            - showmeans: the arithmetic means (default is False)
+
+        The remaining options can accept dictionaries that specify the
+        style of the individual artists:
+            - capprops
+            - boxprops
+            - whiskerprops
+            - flierprops
+            - medianprops
+            - meanprops
 
-        flierprops : dict or None (default)
-           If provided, will set the plotting style of the fliers
+        Returns
+        -------
+        result : dict
+          A dictionary mapping each component of the boxplot to a list
+          of the :class:`matplotlib.lines.Line2D` instances
+          created. That dictionary has the following keys (assuming
+          vertical boxplots):
 
-        medianprops : dict or None (default)
-           If provided, will set the plotting style of the medians
+          - ``boxes``: the main body of the boxplot showing the
+            quartiles and the median's confidence intervals if
+            enabled.
 
-        meanprops : dict or None (default)
-            If provided, will set the plotting style of the means
+          - ``medians``: horizontal lines at the median of each box.
 
-        meanline : bool, default = False
-            If True (and *showmeans* is True), will try to render the mean
-            as a line spanning the full width of the box according to
-            *meanprops*. Not recommended if *shownotches* is also True.
-            Otherwise, means will be shown as points.
+          - ``whiskers``: the vertical lines extending to the most
+            extreme, non-outlier data points.
 
-        manage_xticks : bool, default = True
-            If the function should adjust the xlim and xtick locations.
+          - ``caps``: the horizontal lines at the ends of the
+            whiskers.
 
-        Returns
-        -------
+          - ``fliers``: points representing data that extend beyond
+            the whiskers (fliers).
 
-        result : dict
-            A dictionary mapping each component of the boxplot
-            to a list of the :class:`matplotlib.lines.Line2D`
-            instances created. That dictionary has the following keys
-            (assuming vertical boxplots):
-
-            - boxes: the main body of the boxplot showing the quartiles
-              and the median's confidence intervals if enabled.
-            - medians: horizonal lines at the median of each box.
-            - whiskers: the vertical lines extending to the most extreme,
-              n-outlier data points.
-            - caps: the horizontal lines at the ends of the whiskers.
-            - fliers: points representing data that extend beyond the
-              whiskers (outliers).
-            - means: points or lines representing the means.
+          - ``means``: points or lines representing the means.
 
         Examples
         --------
-
         .. plot:: mpl_examples/statistics/boxplot_demo.py
+
         """
+
         # If defined in matplotlibrc, apply the value from rc file
         # Overridden if argument is passed
         if whis is None:
             whis = rcParams['boxplot.whiskers']
         if bootstrap is None:
             bootstrap = rcParams['boxplot.bootstrap']
         bxpstats = cbook.boxplot_stats(x, whis=whis, bootstrap=bootstrap,
-                                       labels=labels)
+                                       labels=labels, autorange=autorange)
         if notch is None:
             notch = rcParams['boxplot.notch']
         if vert is None:
@@ -3462,10 +3469,10 @@ def bxp(self, bxpstats, positions=None, widths=None, vert=True,
             quartiles and the median's confidence intervals if
             enabled.
 
-          - ``medians``: horizonal lines at the median of each box.
+          - ``medians``: horizontal lines at the median of each box.
 
           - ``whiskers``: the vertical lines extending to the most
-            extreme, n-outlier data points.
+            extreme, non-outlier data points.
 
           - ``caps``: the horizontal lines at the ends of the
             whiskers.