How to plot non-consecutive time-series axis with QtCharts?

Question

I need to plot a chart, whose axis X has data type of date-time.

I'm trying to use QtCharts to do so, but I find that QtCharts::QDateTimeAxis can only process consecutive data(the X axis is proportional and consecutive).

For example, given a LineSeries:

{
   { "20:15:00", 123.0 },
   { "20:15:01", 124.0 },
   { "21:00:00", 125.0 },
   { "21:00:01", 126.0 },
}

If I use a QDateTimeAxis as the X-axis, I would get too more white-space range on X axis, not only 4 spots.

Even though there is no data between "20:15:02" to "20:59::59", QChart still gives the space of a lot of slots in X axis that have no meaning.

Can we plot a chart that has non-consecutive X-axis with Qt?

If Qt cannot do it, is there a open-source C++ library that can do the same?

Answer 1

You don't have to use QDateTimeAxis since that axis is designed so that the points are spaced proportionally to the time difference. So one possible solution is to use QCategoryAxis:

#include <QtWidgets>
#include <QtCharts>

QT_CHARTS_USE_NAMESPACE

int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
    QApplication a(argc, argv);

    std::vector<std::pair<QString, float>> data = {
        { "20:15:00", 123.0 },
        { "20:15:01", 124.0 },
        { "21:00:00", 125.0 },
        { "21:00:01", 126.0 },
    };

    QScatterSeries *series = new QScatterSeries(); // or QLineSeries *series = new QLineSeries;
    QCategoryAxis *axisX = new QCategoryAxis;
    axisX->setMin(.5);
    axisX->setMax(data.size() + .5);
    axisX->setTitleText("Time");
    QValueAxis *axisY = new QValueAxis;
    axisY->setLabelFormat("%.2f");
    axisY->setTitleText("Example");
    axisY->setMin(122);
    axisY->setMax(127);

    for(std::size_t i=0; i < data.size(); i++){
        series->append(i + 1, data.at(i).second);
        axisX->append(data.at(i).first, i + 1.5);
    }

    QChart *chart = new QChart();
    chart->addSeries(series);

    chart->legend()->hide();
    chart->addAxis(axisX, Qt::AlignBottom);

    series->attachAxis(axisX);
    chart->addAxis(axisY, Qt::AlignLeft);
    series->attachAxis(axisY);

    QChartView *chartView = new QChartView(chart);
    chartView->setRenderHint(QPainter::Antialiasing);
    QMainWindow window;
    window.setCentralWidget(chartView);
    window.resize(820, 600);
    window.show();
    return a.exec();
}