MayaVi

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A screenshot of the main window, with an example visualization
Developer(s)	Enthought
Initial release	2019; 5 years ago (2019)

Stable release	4.8.1 / October 18, 2022; 19 months ago (2022-10-18)^[1]

Written in	Python, VTK, wxPython/Qt
Operating system	Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows
Available in	English
Type	Data visualization
License	BSD License
Website	docs.enthought.com/mayavi/mayavi/

MayaVi is a scientific data visualizer written in Python, which uses VTK and provides a GUI via Tkinter. MayaVi was developed by Prabhu Ramachandran, is free and distributed under the BSD License. It is cross-platform and runs on any platform where both Python and VTK are available (almost any Unix, Mac OS X, or Windows). MayaVi is pronounced as a single name, "Ma-ya-vee", meaning "magical" in Sanskrit. The code of MayaVi has nothing in common with that of Autodesk Maya or the Vi text editor.^[2]

The latest version of MayaVi, called Mayavi2, is a component of the Enthought suite of scientific Python programs. It differs from the original MayaVi by its strong focus on making an interactive program and a reusable component for 3D plotting in Python. Although it exposes a slightly different interface and API than the original MayaVi, it now has more features.^[3]^[4]

Major features

visualizes computational grids and scalar, vector, and tensor data
an easy-to-use GUI
can be imported as a Python module from other Python programs or can be scripted from the Python interpreter
supports volume visualization of data via texture and ray cast mappers
support for any VTK dataset using the VTK data format
support for PLOT3D data
multiple datasets can be used simultaneously
provides a pipeline browser, with which objects in the VTK pipeline can be browsed and edited
imports simple VRML and 3D Studio scenes
custom modules and data filters can be added
exporting to PostScript files, PPM/BMP/TIFF/JPEG/PNG images, Open Inventor, Geomview OOGL, VRML files, Wavefront .obj files, or RenderMan RIB file

Examples

Spherical harmonics

{\displaystyle Y_{3}^{0}(\theta ,\varphi )} — The spherical harmonic function $Y_{3}^{0}(\theta ,\varphi )$

from numpy import linspace, meshgrid, array, sin, cos, pi, abs
from scipy.special import sph_harm
from mayavi import mlab

theta_1d = linspace(0,   pi,  91) 
phi_1d   = linspace(0, 2*pi, 181)

theta_2d, phi_2d = meshgrid(theta_1d, phi_1d)
xyz_2d = array([sin(theta_2d) * sin(phi_2d),
                sin(theta_2d) * cos(phi_2d),
                cos(theta_2d)]) 
l = 3
m = 0

Y_lm = sph_harm(m, l, phi_2d, theta_2d)
r = abs(Y_lm.real) * xyz_2d

mlab.figure(size=(700, 830))
mlab.mesh(r[0], r[1], r[2], scalars=Y_lm.real, colormap="cool")
mlab.view(azimuth=0, elevation=75, distance=2.4, roll=-50)
mlab.savefig("Y_%i_%i.jpg" % (l, m))
mlab.show()