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Set the rc parameters using the rc function.

import pylab as p
p.rc(('xtick.major','xtick.minor','ytick.major','ytick.minor'), pad=10)
p.plot([1,2,3])

If you only want to change one of the tick labels, say, the x major ticks, use
p.rc(’xtick.major), pad=10)

When you’re done and want to reset the rc settings, use

p.rcdefaults()

See matplotlibrc for more settings you can change via the rc command.

Use the scale_x_continuous (or scale_y_continuous) to change tick locations and labels in ggplot.

Change the ticks:

p = ggplot(diamonds)+aes(x=carat,y=price) +
   scale_x_continuous(breaks=c(1,1.2,1.5,2.5))

Change the ticks and tick labels:

p = ggplot(diamonds)+aes(x=carat,y=price) +
   scale_x_continuous(breaks=c(1,1.2,1.5,2.5), labels=c('a','b','c','d'))