Matplotlib Plotting
A plot pairs x and y observations. Make sure both arrays describe matching observations and have compatible lengths.
Understand the idea
Explicit x-values preserve the true spacing between observations. If you supply only y, Matplotlib uses positional indices, which can conceal irregular time gaps. Sorting and aggregation are data decisions, not automatic chart fixes. Check units and missing values before interpreting the visual pattern.
Where to try it
Run this complete script in a local virtual environment with Matplotlib installed (py -m pip install matplotlib). It uses a non-interactive backend and saves workshop.png in the current folder. The site shows a rendered example below; its text-only online runner does not display plot windows.
A worked example
import matplotlib
matplotlib.use("Agg")
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(7, 4), layout="constrained")
ax.plot([1, 2, 5], [10, 12, 11], marker="o")
ax.set(xlabel="Day", ylabel="Orders", title="Uneven observation gaps")
fig.savefig("workshop.png", dpi=140)
plt.close(fig)
print("Saved workshop.png")
Read the result
The last interval is wider because day 5 is farther from day 2 than day 2 is from day 1.
Try one change
Change the final day to 3 and compare the visual slope without changing the order counts.
For package options, see the Matplotlib documentation.