Examples
Basic plot.

In [1]:
import numpy as np
import pandas as pd
In [2]:
df = pd.DataFrame({'lab':['P', 'Q', 'R'], 'val':[20, 40, 30]})
ax = df.plot.bar(x='lab', y='val', rot=0)

Plot a whole dataframe to a bar plot:
Each column is assigned a distinct color:
Each row is nested in a group along the horizontal axis:

In [3]:
speed = [0.2, 18.5, 50, 68, 72, 84, 98]
lifespan = [3, 9, 80, 5.5, 35, 22, 38]
index = ['snail', 'goat', 'elephant',
         'dog', 'cat', 'fox', 'horse']
df = pd.DataFrame({'speed': speed,
                   'lifespan': lifespan}, index=index)
ax = df.plot.bar(rot=0)

Instead of nesting, the figure can be split by column with subplots:

In [4]:
axes = df.plot.bar(rot=0, subplots=True)
axes[1].legend(loc=2)  # doctest: +SKIP
Out[4]:
<matplotlib.legend.Legend at 0x906aef0>

Plot a single column:

In [5]:
ax = df.plot.bar(y='speed', rot=0)

Plot only selected categories for the DataFrame:

In [6]:
ax = df.plot.bar(x='lifespan', rot=0)