matplotlib.pyplot.plot_date

matplotlib.pyplot.plot_date(x, y, fmt='o', tz=None, xdate=True, ydate=False, *, data=None, **kwargs)

Plot data that contains dates.

Similar to plot, this plots y vs. x as lines or markers. However, the axis labels are formatted as dates depending on xdate and ydate.

Parameters:

x, y : array-like

The coordinates of the data points. If xdate or ydate is True, the respective values x or y are interpreted as Matplotlib dates.

fmt : str, optional

The plot format string. For details, see the corresponding parameter in plot.

tz : [ None | timezone string | tzinfo instance]

The time zone to use in labeling dates. If None, defaults to rcParam timezone.

xdate : bool, optional, default: True

If True, the x-axis will be interpreted as Matplotlib dates.

ydate : bool, optional, default: False

If True, the y-axis will be interpreted as Matplotlib dates.

Returns:

lines

A list of Line2D objects representing the plotted data.

Other Parameters:

**kwargs

Keyword arguments control the Line2D properties:

Property	Description
agg_filter	a filter function, which takes a (m, n, 3) float array and a dpi value, and returns a (m, n, 3) array
alpha	float
animated	bool
antialiased	bool
clip_box	Bbox
clip_on	bool
clip_path	[(Path, Transform) | Patch | None]
color	color
contains	callable
dash_capstyle	{'butt', 'round', 'projecting'}
dash_joinstyle	{'miter', 'round', 'bevel'}
dashes	sequence of floats (on/off ink in points) or (None, None)
drawstyle	{'default', 'steps', 'steps-pre', 'steps-mid', 'steps-post'}
figure	Figure
fillstyle	{'full', 'left', 'right', 'bottom', 'top', 'none'}
gid	str
in_layout	bool
label	object
linestyle	{'-', '--', '-.', ':', '', (offset, on-off-seq), ...}
linewidth	float
marker	unknown
markeredgecolor	color
markeredgewidth	float
markerfacecolor	color
markerfacecoloralt	color
markersize	float
markevery	unknown
path_effects	AbstractPathEffect
picker	float or callable[[Artist, Event], Tuple[bool, dict]]
pickradius	float
rasterized	bool or None
sketch_params	(scale: float, length: float, randomness: float)
snap	bool or None
solid_capstyle	{'butt', 'round', 'projecting'}
solid_joinstyle	{'miter', 'round', 'bevel'}
transform	matplotlib.transforms.Transform
url	str
visible	bool
xdata	1D array
ydata	1D array
zorder	float

See also

matplotlib.dates

Helper functions on dates.

matplotlib.dates.date2num

Convert dates to num.

matplotlib.dates.num2date

Convert num to dates.

matplotlib.dates.drange

Create an equally spaced sequence of dates.

Notes

If you are using custom date tickers and formatters, it may be necessary to set the formatters/locators after the call to plot_date. plot_date will set the default tick locator to AutoDateLocator (if the tick locator is not already set to a DateLocator instance) and the default tick formatter to AutoDateFormatter (if the tick formatter is not already set to a DateFormatter instance).

Note

In addition to the above described arguments, this function can take a data keyword argument. If such a data argument is given, the following arguments are replaced by data[<arg>]:

• All arguments with the following names: 'x', 'y'.

Objects passed as data must support item access (data[<arg>]) and membership test (<arg> in data).

Examples using matplotlib.pyplot.plot_date

Date Demo Rrule