is it possible to plot timelines with matplotlib?

Question

Im trying to plot dates with values like this csv.

Tue  2 Jun 16:55:51 CEST 2015,3
Wed  3 Jun 14:51:49 CEST 2015,3
Fri  5 Jun 10:31:59 CEST 2015,3
Sat  6 Jun         


        

Answer 1

I wasn't able to find the answer i was looking for so here is my take on it. This function will take in a time series, then plot a random positive and negative point within the range. By giving it a series you will allow for a label on the graph, and a second series will allow you to click on it for more data.

#!/usr/bin/python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import mplcursors
import numpy as np


    # expects series, annotation, and the annotation data to be shown on click

def stimeline(timeseries, annotation, onclick):

    neg = np.random.randint(low=-500, high=0, size=len(timeseries))
    pos = np.random.randint(low=0, high=500, size=len(timeseries))
    i = 0
    d = []
    while i < len(timeseries):
        if i < len(timeseries):
            d.append(pos[i])
            i += 1
        if i < len(timeseries):
            d.append(neg[i])
            i += 1
    (fig, ax) = plt.subplots(figsize=(8.8, 4), constrained_layout=True)
    ax.stem(timeseries, d, basefmt=' ')
    ax.set(title='Timeline')
    ax.set_ylim(-545, 545)

    levels = np.tile(d, int(np.ceil(len(timeseries)
                     / 6)))[:len(timeseries)]
    (markerline, stemline, baseline) = ax.stem(timeseries, levels,
            linefmt='C3-', basefmt='k-')
    plt.setp(markerline, mec='k', mfc='w', zorder=3)
    vert = np.array(['top', 'bottom'])[(levels > 0).astype(int)]
    for (d, l, r, va) in zip(timeseries, levels, annotation, vert):
        ax.annotate(
            r,
            xy=(d, l),
            xytext=(-3, np.sign(l) * 3),
            textcoords='offset points',
            va=va,
            ha='right',
            )

    ax.get_yaxis().set_visible(False)
    for spine in ['left', 'top', 'right']:
        ax.spines[spine].set_visible(False)

    mplcursors.cursor(ax).connect('add', lambda sel: \
                                  sel.annotation.set_text(onclick[sel.target.index]))

    ax.margins(y=0.1)
    plt.show()