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specialized family

slope

Two-point comparison with lines connecting before/after.

Each line connects a "before" value (left) to an "after" value (right). The slope shows direction of change; the eye sorts winners (rising) from losers (falling).

When to use

Two-period comparison across many entities where the direction of change is the story.

When NOT to use

3+ time points (use line) or absolute values matter more than change (use grouped bars).

Rhetorical roles

  • compare
  • evolve

Variants & related

Required primitives

  • has_data_labels
  • has_axis_titles

Optional primitives

  • has_legend

Common anti-patterns

  • spaghetti-too-many-series

Disambiguation rules

  • Two columns of dots connected by lines.
  • If both ends are points (with no horizontal continuity), it is dumbbell.