Matplotlib.pyplot.plot_date() function Syntax

This function is used to add dates to the plot. Below is the syntax by which we can plot datetime on the x-axis Matplotlib.

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

Parameters:

• x, y: x and y both are the coordinates of the data i.e. x-axis horizontally and y-axis vertically.
• fmt: It is a optional string parameter that contains the corresponding plot details like color, style etc.
• tz: tz stands for timezone used to label dates, default(UTC).
• xdate: xdate parameter contains boolean value. If xdate is true then x-axis is interpreted as date in matplotlib. By default xdate is true.
• ydate: If ydate is true then y-axis is interpreted as date in matplotlib. By default ydate is false.
• data: The data which is going to be used in plot.

The last parameter **kwargs is the Keyword arguments control the Line2D properties like animation, dash_ joint-style, colors, linewidth, linestyle, marker, etc.

Matplotlib is a module package or library in Python which is used for data visualization. Pyplot is an interface to a Matplotlib module that provides a MATLAB-like interface. The matplotlib.pyplot.plot_date() function is like the regular plot() function, but it’s tailored for showing data over dates. Think of it as a handy tool for visualizing events or values that happen over time, making your time-related charts look sharp and clear.