Add support for matplotlib issue #71

[carlosnid1]

---

name: Pull Request
about: Create a pull request to contribute to the project
title: "Add Support for Rendering Matplotlib Figures as a Component"
labels: "enhancement"
assignees: ''

---

Related Issue
Fixes #71

Description of Changes
This PR adds support for rendering Matplotlib figures as a component in the frontend. Users can now use preswald.matplotlib.plot() to generate plots, which will automatically render in the UI when running preswald run hello.py.

Changes Implemented

Backend

• Updated preswald/components.py to support matplotlib.plot().
• Converted matplotlib.figure.Figure into a frontend-compatible format (PNG, SVG, etc.).
• Ensured serialization follows the existing structure.
• Added tests to verify that Matplotlib figures are created, serialized, and transmitted properly.

Frontend

• Added a new component in frontend/src/components/widgets/ to render Matplotlib figures.
• Implemented logic to handle different image formats dynamically (PNG, SVG, etc.).
• Ensured proper resizing and layout adjustments for responsiveness.

Integration

• Updated DynamicComponents.jsx to recognize and render the Matplotlib component.
• Successfully tested by running preswald run hello.py with a Matplotlib plot.

Type of Change

• Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
• New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)
• Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing functionality to not work as expected)
• Documentation update
• New example
• Test improvement

Testing

• Verified that Matplotlib figures render correctly in the UI.
• Confirmed that dynamic updates work when new figure data is provided.
• Ensured that the changes do not break existing functionality.

Checklist

• My code follows the style guidelines of this project
• I have performed a self-review of my own code
• I have commented my code, particularly in hard-to-understand areas
• My changes generate no new warnings
• I have run my code against examples and ensured no errors
• Any dependent changes have been merged and published in downstream modules