So a stringly typed JSON-based DSL without a linter or LSP?
Flint: A Visualization Language for the AI Era
31–40 of 81 posts
Re: Flint: A Visualization Language for the AI Era
#32So this is one interface that can render to multiple charting backends? If AI is writing the "Flint", why not just have it write the backend code instead? I'm not sure why I would want pluggable charting backends. I can see an argument for providing simpler APIs for LLMs, though, so that it can be more token efficient for example.
Different charting backends support different kinds of charts. Being able to easily switch between "ECharts Sunburst" and "Vega-Lite faceted bar" - one of the examples on the project website - seems like a super useful ability.
Re: Flint: A Visualization Language for the AI Era
#33If it's made for LLMs, the spec should be yaml not json. Way more token efficient
Re: Flint: A Visualization Language for the AI Era
#34[dead]
Re: Flint: A Visualization Language for the AI Era
#35What is wrong with "please make plot XYZ in plotly?"
Re: Flint: A Visualization Language for the AI Era
#36So this is one interface that can render to multiple charting backends? If AI is writing the "Flint", why not just have it write the backend code instead? I'm not sure why I would want pluggable charting backends. I can see an argument for providing simpler APIs for LLMs, though, so that it can be more token efficient for example.
Different charting backends support different kinds of charts. Being able to easily switch between "ECharts Sunburst" and "Vega-Lite faceted bar" - one of the examples on the project website - seems like a super useful ability.
Interesting, TanStack Charts was also released a couple days ago with a similar design.
Re: Flint: A Visualization Language for the AI Era
#37[deleted]
Re: Flint: A Visualization Language for the AI Era
#38[deleted]
Re: Flint: A Visualization Language for the AI Era
#39This is just json right? One issue with llms right now it's that if you give them a json specification, they're not always amazing at following it. I think it makes sense to have an agent tool that takes llm json, a file name and a spec path and only writes out the file if it conforms.
> give them a json specification, they're not always amazing at following it Used correctly, this hasn't been true for a quite a while. Most inference engines have a form of grammar constrained decoding. See, for example: https://vllm.ai/blog/2025-01-14-struct-decode-intro
I trust my setup a lot more than whatever this is.
Re: Flint: A Visualization Language for the AI Era
#40I have tried using Flint vs asking the AI to generate a Vega lite spec directly, and in my opinion Flint was not as nice of a solution.
Flint is fine for doing predetermined chat types, with very low customization. But I found using an agent or sub agent to create the Vega spec directly allowed for a lot more flexibility, and ultimately that means higher quality visualizations (stuff like adding points for min and max on a timeseries, or adding a callout marker for a date where some event happened).
That being said, with Vega lite you have to validate your chart specs, provide specific guidance, and play whack a mole with Vega bugs/idiosyncrasies. So Flint is more reliable if you don’t want to dedicate a whole skill to making charts and want to get running quickly.