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stairs

Stairstep graph

  • Stairstep graph

Description

Vector and Matrix Data

example

stairs(Y) draws a stairstep graph of the elements in Y.

  • If Y is a vector, then stairs draws one line.

  • If Y is a matrix, then stairs draws one line per matrix column.

example

stairs(X,Y) plots the elements in Y at the locations specified by X. The inputs X and Y must be vectors or matrices of the same size. Additionally, X can be a row or column vector and Y must be a matrix with length(X) rows.

example

stairs(___,LineSpec) specifies a line style, marker symbol, and color. For example, ":*r" specifies a dotted red line with asterisk markers. Use this option with any of the input argument combinations in the previous syntaxes.

Table Data

example

stairs(tbl,yvar) plots the specified variable from the table against the row indices of the table. If the table is a timetable, the specified variable is plotted against the row times of the timetable. To plot one set of y-values, specify one variable for yvar. To plot multiple sets of y-values, specify multiple variables for yvar. (since R2022b)

example

stairs(tbl,xvar,yvar) plots the variables xvar and yvar from the table tbl. You can specify one or multiple variables for xvar and yvar. If both arguments specify multiple variables, they must specify the same number of variables. (since R2022b)

Additional Options

example

stairs(___,Name,Value) modifies the stairstep chart using one or more name-value pair arguments. For example, "Marker","o","MarkerSize",8 specifies 8 point circle markers.

example

stairs(ax,___) plots into the axes specified by ax instead of into the current axes (gca). The option, ax, can precede any of the input argument combinations in the previous syntaxes.

example

h = stairs(___) returns one or more Stair objects. Use h to make changes to properties of a specific Stair object after it is created.

example

[xb,yb] = stairs(___) does not create a plot, but returns matrices xb and yb of the same size, such that plot(xb,yb) plots the stairstep graph.

This syntax does not support the table and table variable arguments.

Examples

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Create a stairstep plot of sine evaluated at 40 equally spaced values between 0 and 4π.

X = linspace(0,4*pi,40);
Y = sin(X);

figure
stairs(Y)

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object contains an object of type stair.

The length of Y automatically determines and generates the x-axis scale.

Create a stairstep plot of two cosine functions evaluated at 50 equally spaced values between 0 and 4π.

X = linspace(0,4*pi,50)';
Y = [0.5*cos(X), 2*cos(X)];

figure
stairs(Y)

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object contains 2 objects of type stair.

The number of rows in Y automatically determines and generates the x-axis scale.

Create a stairstep plot of a sine wave evaluated at equally spaced values between 0 and 4π. Specify the set of x-values for the plot.

X = linspace(0,4*pi,40);
Y = sin(X);

figure
stairs(X,Y)

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object contains an object of type stair.

The entries in Y are plotted against the corresponding entries in X.

Create a stairstep plot of two cosine waves evaluated at equally spaced values between 0 and 4π. Specify the set of x-values for the plot.

X = linspace(0,4*pi,50)';
Y = [0.5*cos(X), 2*cos(X)];

figure
stairs(X,Y)

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object contains 2 objects of type stair.

The first vector input, X, determines the x-axis positions for both data series.

Create a stairstep plot of two sine waves evaluated at different values. Specify a unique set of x-values for plotting each data series.

x1 = linspace(0,2*pi)';
x2 = linspace(0,pi)';
X = [x1,x2];
Y = [sin(5*x1),exp(x2).*sin(5*x2)];

figure
stairs(X,Y)

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object contains 2 objects of type stair.

Each column of X is plotted against the corresponding column of Y.

Create a stairstep plot and set the line style to a dot-dashed line, the marker symbol to circles, and the color to red.

X = linspace(0,4*pi,20);
Y = sin(X);

figure
stairs(Y, '-.or')

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object contains an object of type stair.

Create a stairstep plot and set the line width to 2, the marker symbols to diamonds, and the marker face color to cyan using Name,Value pair arguments.

X = linspace(0,4*pi,20);
Y = sin(X);

figure
stairs(Y,'LineWidth',2,'Marker','d','MarkerFaceColor','c')

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object contains an object of type stair.

Since R2022b

A convenient way to plot data from a table is to pass the table to the stairs function and specify the variables to plot.

Read the first 100 rows and 7 columns of weather.csv as a timetable tbl. Then display the first three rows of the table.

tbl = readtimetable("weather.csv","Range",[1 1 101 7]);
head(tbl,3)
            Time            WindDirection    WindSpeed    Humidity    Temperature    RainInchesPerMinute    CumulativeRainfall
    ____________________    _____________    _________    ________    ___________    ___________________    __________________

    25-Oct-2021 00:00:09         46               1          84          49.2                 0                     0         
    25-Oct-2021 00:01:09         45             1.6          84          49.2                 0                     0         
    25-Oct-2021 00:02:09         36             2.2          84          49.2                 0                     0         

Plot the Time variable on the x-axis and the CumulativeRainfall variable on the y-axis. Then use the axis padded command so that the line and the plot box do not overlap.

Return the Stair object as h. Notice that the axis labels match the variable names.

h = stairs(tbl,"Time","CumulativeRainfall");
axis padded

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object with xlabel Time, ylabel CumulativeRainfall contains an object of type stair.

Change the color of the line to purple by setting the Color property.

h.Color = [0.5 0 0.8];

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object with xlabel Time, ylabel CumulativeRainfall contains an object of type stair.

Since R2022b

Create vectors x, y1, and y2, and use them to create a table. Plot the y1 and y2 variables against the x variable. Use the axis padded command so that the line and the plot box do not overlap.

Add a legend, and notice that the legend labels match the variable names.

x = linspace(0,6,20);
y1 = cos(x);
y2 = sin(x);
tbl = table(x,y1,y2);
stairs(tbl,"x",["y1","y2"]);

% Pad x- and y-axes, and add legend
axis padded
legend

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object with xlabel x contains 2 objects of type stair.

Alternatively, you can omit the x variable and plot the y1 and y2 variables against the row indices of the table.

stairs(tbl,["y1","y2"]);
axis padded
legend

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object contains 2 objects of type stair.

Since R2019b

You can display a tiling of plots using the tiledlayout and nexttile functions. Call the tiledlayout function to create a 2-by-1 tiled chart layout. Call the nexttile function to create the axes objects ax1 and ax2. Create separate stairstep plots in the axes by specifying the axes object as the first argument to stairs.

x = linspace(0,2*pi);
y1 = 5*sin(x);
y2 = sin(5*x);
tiledlayout(2,1)

% Top plot
ax1 = nexttile;
stairs(ax1,x,y1)

% Bottom plot
ax2 = nexttile;  
stairs(ax2,x,y2)

Figure contains 2 axes objects. Axes object 1 contains an object of type stair. Axes object 2 contains an object of type stair.

Create a stairstep plot of two data series and return the two stair objects.

X = linspace(0,1,30)';
Y = [cos(10*X), exp(X).*sin(10*X)];
h = stairs(X,Y);

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object contains 2 objects of type stair.

Use small circle markers for the first data series. Use magenta filled circles for the second series. Use dot notation to set properties.

h(1).Marker = 'o';
h(1).MarkerSize = 4;
h(2).Marker = 'o';
h(2).MarkerFaceColor = 'm';

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object contains 2 objects of type stair.

Evaluate two cosine functions at 50 equally spaced values between 0 and 4π and create a stairstep plot using plot.

X = linspace(0,4*pi,50)';
Y = [0.5*cos(X), 2*cos(X)];
[xb,yb] = stairs(X,Y);

stairs returns two matrices of the same size, xb and yb, but no plot.

Use plot to create the stairstep plot with xb and yb.

figure
plot(xb,yb)

Figure contains an axes object. The axes object contains 2 objects of type line.

Input Arguments

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y values, specified as a vector or matrix. When Y is a vector, stairs creates one stair object. When Y is a matrix, stairs draws one line per matrix column and creates a separate stair object for each column.

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64 | categorical | datetime | duration

x values, specified as a vector or matrix. When Y is a vector, X must be a vector of the same size. When Y is a matrix, X must be a matrix of the same size, or a vector whose length equals the number of rows in Y.

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64 | categorical | datetime | duration

Line style, marker, and color, specified as a string scalar or character vector containing symbols. The symbols can appear in any order. You do not need to specify all three characteristics (line style, marker, and color). For example, if you omit the line style and specify the marker, then the plot shows only the marker and no line.

Example: "--or" is a red dashed line with circle markers.

Line StyleDescriptionResulting Line
"-"Solid line

Sample of solid line

"--"Dashed line

Sample of dashed line

":"Dotted line

Sample of dotted line

"-."Dash-dotted line

Sample of dash-dotted line, with alternating dashes and dots

MarkerDescriptionResulting Marker
"o"Circle

Sample of circle marker

"+"Plus sign

Sample of plus sign marker

"*"Asterisk

Sample of asterisk marker

"."Point

Sample of point marker

"x"Cross

Sample of cross marker

"_"Horizontal line

Sample of horizontal line marker

"|"Vertical line

Sample of vertical line marker

"square"Square

Sample of square marker

"diamond"Diamond

Sample of diamond marker

"^"Upward-pointing triangle

Sample of upward-pointing triangle marker

"v"Downward-pointing triangle

Sample of downward-pointing triangle marker

">"Right-pointing triangle

Sample of right-pointing triangle marker

"<"Left-pointing triangle

Sample of left-pointing triangle marker

"pentagram"Pentagram

Sample of pentagram marker

"hexagram"Hexagram

Sample of hexagram marker

Color NameShort NameRGB TripletAppearance
"red""r"[1 0 0]

Sample of the color red

"green""g"[0 1 0]

Sample of the color green

"blue""b"[0 0 1]

Sample of the color blue

"cyan" "c"[0 1 1]

Sample of the color cyan

"magenta""m"[1 0 1]

Sample of the color magenta

"yellow""y"[1 1 0]

Sample of the color yellow

"black""k"[0 0 0]

Sample of the color black

"white""w"[1 1 1]

Sample of the color white

Source table containing the data to plot, specified as a table or a timetable.

Table variables containing the y-coordinates, specified using one of the indexing schemes from the table.

Indexing SchemeExamples

Variable names:

  • A string, character vector, or cell array.

  • A pattern object.

  • "A" or 'A' — A variable named A

  • ["A","B"] or {'A','B'} — Two variables named A and B

  • "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — Variables named "Var" followed by a single digit

Variable index:

  • An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table.

  • A vector of numbers.

  • A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.

  • 3 — The third variable from the table

  • [2 3] — The second and third variables from the table

  • [false false true] — The third variable

Variable type:

  • A vartype subscript that selects variables of a specified type.

  • vartype("categorical") — All the variables containing categorical values

The table variables you specify can contain numeric, categorical, datetime, or duration values. If xvar and yvar both specify multiple variables, the number of variables must be the same.

Example: stairs(tbl,"x",["y1","y2"]) specifies the table variables named y1 and y2 for the y-coordinates.

Example: stairs(tbl,"x",2) specifies the second variable for the y-coordinates.

Example: stairs(tbl,"x",vartype("numeric")) specifies all numeric variables for the y-coordinates.

Table variables containing the x-coordinates, specified using one of the indexing schemes from the table.

Indexing SchemeExamples

Variable names:

  • A string, character vector, or cell array.

  • A pattern object.

  • "A" or 'A' — A variable named A

  • ["A","B"] or {'A','B'} — Two variables named A and B

  • "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — Variables named "Var" followed by a single digit

Variable index:

  • An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table.

  • A vector of numbers.

  • A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.

  • 3 — The third variable from the table

  • [2 3] — The second and third variables from the table

  • [false false true] — The third variable

Variable type:

  • A vartype subscript that selects variables of a specified type.

  • vartype("categorical") — All the variables containing categorical values

The table variables you specify can contain numeric, categorical, datetime, or duration values. If xvar and yvar both specify multiple variables, the number of variables must be the same.

Example: stairs(tbl,["x1","x2"],"y") specifies the table variables named x1 and x2 for the x-coordinates.

Example: stairs(tbl,2,"y") specifies the second variable for the x-coordinates.

Example: stairs(tbl,vartype("numeric"),"y") specifies all numeric variables for the x-coordinates.

Axes object. If you do not specify the axes, then stairs plots into the current axes.

Name-Value Arguments

Specify optional pairs of arguments as Name1=Value1,...,NameN=ValueN, where Name is the argument name and Value is the corresponding value. Name-value arguments must appear after other arguments, but the order of the pairs does not matter.

Before R2021a, use commas to separate each name and value, and enclose Name in quotes.

Example: "Marker","s","MarkerFaceColor","red" plots the stairstep graph with red square markers.

The properties listed here are only a subset. For a complete list, see Stair Properties.

Line style, specified as one of the options listed in this table.

Line StyleDescriptionResulting Line
"-"Solid line

Sample of solid line

"--"Dashed line

Sample of dashed line

":"Dotted line

Sample of dotted line

"-."Dash-dotted line

Sample of dash-dotted line, with alternating dashes and dots

"none"No lineNo line

Line width, specified as a positive value in points, where 1 point = 1/72 of an inch. If the line has markers, then the line width also affects the marker edges.

The line width cannot be thinner than the width of a pixel. If you set the line width to a value that is less than the width of a pixel on your system, the line displays as one pixel wide.

Line color, specified as an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

  • An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1], for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7].

  • A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and hexadecimal color codes.

Color NameShort NameRGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
"red""r"[1 0 0]"#FF0000"

Sample of the color red

"green""g"[0 1 0]"#00FF00"

Sample of the color green

"blue""b"[0 0 1]"#0000FF"

Sample of the color blue

"cyan" "c"[0 1 1]"#00FFFF"

Sample of the color cyan

"magenta""m"[1 0 1]"#FF00FF"

Sample of the color magenta

"yellow""y"[1 1 0]"#FFFF00"

Sample of the color yellow

"black""k"[0 0 0]"#000000"

Sample of the color black

"white""w"[1 1 1]"#FFFFFF"

Sample of the color white

"none"Not applicableNot applicableNot applicableNo color

Here are the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for the default colors MATLAB® uses in many types of plots.

RGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
[0 0.4470 0.7410]"#0072BD"

Sample of RGB triplet [0 0.4470 0.7410], which appears as dark blue

[0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]"#D95319"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.8500 0.3250 0.0980], which appears as dark orange

[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]"#EDB120"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.9290 0.6940 0.1250], which appears as dark yellow

[0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]"#7E2F8E"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.4940 0.1840 0.5560], which appears as dark purple

[0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]"#77AC30"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.4660 0.6740 0.1880], which appears as medium green

[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]"#4DBEEE"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.3010 0.7450 0.9330], which appears as light blue

[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]"#A2142F"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.6350 0.0780 0.1840], which appears as dark red

Example: "blue"

Example: [0 0 1]

Example: "#0000FF"

Marker symbol, specified as one of the values listed in this table. By default, the object does not display markers. Specifying a marker symbol adds markers at each data point or vertex.

MarkerDescriptionResulting Marker
"o"Circle

Sample of circle marker

"+"Plus sign

Sample of plus sign marker

"*"Asterisk

Sample of asterisk marker

"."Point

Sample of point marker

"x"Cross

Sample of cross marker

"_"Horizontal line

Sample of horizontal line marker

"|"Vertical line

Sample of vertical line marker

"square"Square

Sample of square marker

"diamond"Diamond

Sample of diamond marker

"^"Upward-pointing triangle

Sample of upward-pointing triangle marker

"v"Downward-pointing triangle

Sample of downward-pointing triangle marker

">"Right-pointing triangle

Sample of right-pointing triangle marker

"<"Left-pointing triangle

Sample of left-pointing triangle marker

"pentagram"Pentagram

Sample of pentagram marker

"hexagram"Hexagram

Sample of hexagram marker

"none"No markersNot applicable

Marker size, specified as a positive value in points, where 1 point = 1/72 of an inch.

Marker outline color, specified as "auto", an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. The default value of "auto" uses the same color as the Color property.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

  • An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1], for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7].

  • A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and hexadecimal color codes.

Color NameShort NameRGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
"red""r"[1 0 0]"#FF0000"

Sample of the color red

"green""g"[0 1 0]"#00FF00"

Sample of the color green

"blue""b"[0 0 1]"#0000FF"

Sample of the color blue

"cyan" "c"[0 1 1]"#00FFFF"

Sample of the color cyan

"magenta""m"[1 0 1]"#FF00FF"

Sample of the color magenta

"yellow""y"[1 1 0]"#FFFF00"

Sample of the color yellow

"black""k"[0 0 0]"#000000"

Sample of the color black

"white""w"[1 1 1]"#FFFFFF"

Sample of the color white

"none"Not applicableNot applicableNot applicableNo color

Here are the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for the default colors MATLAB uses in many types of plots.

RGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
[0 0.4470 0.7410]"#0072BD"

Sample of RGB triplet [0 0.4470 0.7410], which appears as dark blue

[0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]"#D95319"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.8500 0.3250 0.0980], which appears as dark orange

[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]"#EDB120"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.9290 0.6940 0.1250], which appears as dark yellow

[0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]"#7E2F8E"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.4940 0.1840 0.5560], which appears as dark purple

[0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]"#77AC30"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.4660 0.6740 0.1880], which appears as medium green

[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]"#4DBEEE"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.3010 0.7450 0.9330], which appears as light blue

[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]"#A2142F"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.6350 0.0780 0.1840], which appears as dark red

Marker fill color, specified as "auto", an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. The "auto" option uses the same color as the Color property of the parent axes. If you specify "auto" and the axes plot box is invisible, the marker fill color is the color of the figure.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

  • An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1], for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7].

  • A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and hexadecimal color codes.

Color NameShort NameRGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
"red""r"[1 0 0]"#FF0000"

Sample of the color red

"green""g"[0 1 0]"#00FF00"

Sample of the color green

"blue""b"[0 0 1]"#0000FF"

Sample of the color blue

"cyan" "c"[0 1 1]"#00FFFF"

Sample of the color cyan

"magenta""m"[1 0 1]"#FF00FF"

Sample of the color magenta

"yellow""y"[1 1 0]"#FFFF00"

Sample of the color yellow

"black""k"[0 0 0]"#000000"

Sample of the color black

"white""w"[1 1 1]"#FFFFFF"

Sample of the color white

"none"Not applicableNot applicableNot applicableNo color

Here are the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for the default colors MATLAB uses in many types of plots.

RGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
[0 0.4470 0.7410]"#0072BD"

Sample of RGB triplet [0 0.4470 0.7410], which appears as dark blue

[0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]"#D95319"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.8500 0.3250 0.0980], which appears as dark orange

[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]"#EDB120"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.9290 0.6940 0.1250], which appears as dark yellow

[0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]"#7E2F8E"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.4940 0.1840 0.5560], which appears as dark purple

[0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]"#77AC30"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.4660 0.6740 0.1880], which appears as medium green

[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]"#4DBEEE"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.3010 0.7450 0.9330], which appears as light blue

[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]"#A2142F"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.6350 0.0780 0.1840], which appears as dark red

Output Arguments

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Stair objects. These are unique identifiers, which you can use to query and modify the properties of a specific Stair object after it is created.

x values for use with plot, returned as a vector or matrix. xb contains the appropriate values such that plot(xb,yb) creates the stairstep graph.

y values for use with plot, returned as a vector or matrix. yb contains the appropriate values such that plot(xb,yb) creates the stairstep graph.

Extended Capabilities

Version History

Introduced before R2006a

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