The same plot in 14 other libraries — Python: Altair, Bokeh, lets-plot, Matplotlib, Plotly, plotnine, Pygal, Seaborn; R: ggplot2; JavaScript: Chart.js, D3.js, Apache ECharts, Highcharts, MUI X Charts. Compare all 15 side by side: Connected Scatter Plot with Temporal Path in Python, R, Julia and JavaScript.
A scatter plot where data points are connected by lines in temporal order, revealing how two variables co-evolve over time. Unlike standard time series plots that show one variable against time, this plot encodes time as movement through 2D space, making cyclical patterns, regime changes, and directional trends visible. Popularized by the New York Times, it is a powerful tool for narrative data visualization.
# anyplot.ai
# scatter-connected-temporal: Connected Scatter Plot with Temporal Path
# Library: makie 0.21.9 | Julia 1.11.9
# Quality: 82/100 | Updated: 2026-10-08
using CairoMakie
using Colors
using Random
Random.seed!(42)
# Theme tokens — Imprint palette
const THEME = get(ENV, "ANYPLOT_THEME", "light")
const PAGE_BG = THEME == "light" ? colorant"#FAF8F1" : colorant"#1A1A17"
const ELEVATED_BG = THEME == "light" ? colorant"#FFFDF6" : colorant"#242420"
const INK = THEME == "light" ? colorant"#1A1A17" : colorant"#F0EFE8"
const INK_SOFT = THEME == "light" ? colorant"#4A4A44" : colorant"#B8B7B0"
const INK_MUTED = THEME == "light" ? colorant"#6B6A63" : colorant"#A8A79F"
# Imprint sequential colormap — early (green) → late (blue) encodes temporal direction
const ANYPLOT_SEQ = cgrad([colorant"#009E73", colorant"#4467A3"])
# Data — synthetic daily closing price vs trading volume over 40 sessions
n = 40
days = collect(1:n)
ret = 0.004 .+ randn(n) .* 0.012
price = 82.0 .* cumprod(1 .+ ret)
volume = 11.0 .+ 90.0 .* abs.(ret) .+ randn(n) .* 0.8
# Temporal position [0, 1] for colormap
t_norm = (days .- days[1]) ./ (days[end] - days[1])
# Key session annotations (first, every ~10th, last)
key_idx = [1, 10, 20, 30, 40]
title_str = "Price vs Volume · scatter-connected-temporal · julia · makie · anyplot.ai"
title_n = length(title_str)
title_sz = max(14, round(Int, 20 * 67 / title_n))
# Figure
fig = Figure(
size = (1600, 900),
fontsize = 14,
backgroundcolor = PAGE_BG,
)
ax = Axis(
fig[1, 1];
title = title_str,
titlesize = title_sz,
titlecolor = INK,
xlabel = "Trading Volume (million shares)",
ylabel = "Closing Price (USD)",
xlabelsize = 14,
ylabelsize = 14,
xlabelcolor = INK,
ylabelcolor = INK,
xticklabelsize = 12,
yticklabelsize = 12,
xticklabelcolor = INK_SOFT,
yticklabelcolor = INK_SOFT,
xtickcolor = INK_SOFT,
ytickcolor = INK_SOFT,
backgroundcolor = PAGE_BG,
topspinevisible = false,
rightspinevisible = false,
leftspinecolor = INK_SOFT,
bottomspinecolor = INK_SOFT,
xgridcolor = RGBAf(INK.r, INK.g, INK.b, 0.12),
ygridcolor = RGBAf(INK.r, INK.g, INK.b, 0.12),
xminorgridvisible = false,
yminorgridvisible = false,
)
# Temporal path — one segment per session pair, colored by midpoint time position
for i in 1:(n - 1)
mid_t = (t_norm[i] + t_norm[i + 1]) / 2
lines!(ax, [volume[i], volume[i + 1]], [price[i], price[i + 1]];
color = ANYPLOT_SEQ[mid_t],
linewidth = 2.5,
)
end
# Scatter points — colored by temporal position via Imprint sequential colormap
sc = scatter!(ax, volume, price;
color = t_norm,
colormap = ANYPLOT_SEQ,
markersize = 14,
strokewidth = 1.0,
strokecolor = PAGE_BG,
)
# Directional arrow at temporal start — scaled to 6% of each axis span for visibility
let
volume_span = maximum(volume) - minimum(volume)
price_span = maximum(price) - minimum(price)
dx = volume[2] - volume[1]
dy = price[2] - price[1]
nx = dx / volume_span
ny = dy / price_span
len = sqrt(nx^2 + ny^2)
scale = 0.06
arrows!(ax, [volume[1]], [price[1]], [nx / len * scale * volume_span], [ny / len * scale * price_span];
arrowsize = 16,
color = ANYPLOT_SEQ[0.0],
linewidth = 2.0,
)
end
# Key session labels at notable positions
for ki in key_idx
text!(ax, volume[ki], price[ki];
text = "Day " * string(days[ki]),
fontsize = 14,
color = INK,
align = (:center, :bottom),
offset = (0, 8),
)
end
# Colorbar — shows trading-day range encoded by the temporal gradient
Colorbar(fig[1, 2];
colormap = ANYPLOT_SEQ,
limits = (Float64(days[1]), Float64(days[end])),
label = "Trading day",
labelcolor = INK,
ticklabelcolor = INK_SOFT,
tickcolor = INK_SOFT,
ticklabelsize = 11,
labelsize = 13,
width = 18,
)
colgap!(fig.layout, 1, 20)
# Save
save("plot-$(THEME).png", fig; px_per_unit = 2)
Runnable source as JSON, for any HTTP client: https://api.anyplot.ai/specs/scatter-connected-temporal/makie/code. Any spec id and library id listed in llms-full.txt fit the same URL shape; every URL below is complete and callable.
{
"spec_id": "scatter-connected-temporal",
"language": "julia",
"library": "makie",
"page": "https://anyplot.ai/scatter-connected-temporal/julia/makie",
"hub": "https://anyplot.ai/scatter-connected-temporal",
"code_json": "https://api.anyplot.ai/specs/scatter-connected-temporal/makie/code",
"spec_json": "https://api.anyplot.ai/specs/scatter-connected-temporal",
"render_light_png": "https://storage.googleapis.com/anyplot-images/plots/scatter-connected-temporal/julia/makie/plot-light.png",
"render_dark_png": "https://storage.googleapis.com/anyplot-images/plots/scatter-connected-temporal/julia/makie/plot-dark.png",
"quality_score": 82.0,
"license": "MIT",
"guide": "https://anyplot.ai/llms.txt"
}Part of Connected Scatter Plot with Temporal Path on anyplot.ai.