When working with heatmaps in Julia using the glmakie package, you may come across the need to create blank heatmaps. In this article, we will explore three different ways to achieve this.
Option 1: Using NaN values
One way to create a blank heatmap is by using NaN (Not a Number) values. NaN values are typically used to represent missing or undefined data. In Julia, you can create a blank heatmap by initializing the heatmap with NaN values.
using GLMakie
heatmap_data = fill(NaN, (10, 10))
heatmap(heatmap_data)
This code snippet creates a 10×10 heatmap with all NaN values. When you plot this heatmap, it will appear blank.
Option 2: Using a color map with transparent colors
Another way to create a blank heatmap is by using a color map with transparent colors. In Julia, you can achieve this by specifying the alpha (transparency) value of the colors in the color map.
using GLMakie
heatmap_data = fill(0, (10, 10))
heatmap(heatmap_data, colormap = :viridis, alpha = 0)
This code snippet creates a 10×10 heatmap with all zero values. By setting the alpha value to 0, the colors in the heatmap become transparent, resulting in a blank heatmap.
Option 3: Using a white color map
Lastly, you can create a blank heatmap by using a white color map. In Julia, you can achieve this by specifying the color map as :white.
using GLMakie
heatmap_data = fill(0, (10, 10))
heatmap(heatmap_data, colormap = :white)
This code snippet creates a 10×10 heatmap with all zero values. By using the :white color map, the heatmap will appear blank as all the colors are white.
After exploring these three options, it is evident that using NaN values is the most straightforward and intuitive way to create a blank heatmap in glmakie. It requires minimal code and clearly conveys the intention of creating a blank heatmap. Therefore, option 1 is the recommended approach.
