41–50 of 84 posts
Another tool also inspired by GG is aptly named ggplot2 and for the R language. It offers a much more terse and functional inspired interface that also works well with an uncommon tool named Rush, R one-liners for the Shell, for quickly creating graphics from CSVs piped into the tool.
If you like the idea of using D3 for data visualization but you want something a bit higher level, check out Observable Plot[1], a library by the D3 team that adds a lot of conventions and conveniences on top of D3, specifically for building plots, charts and graphs. And even beyond that, there's Observable Framework[2], a static site generator for building visualization dashboards (that supports Plot, D3 and lots of…
These days I kinda want the opposite. Most of the time I know exactly what I want my output to look like. But frameworks inherently provide a large bag of presets and if you want something slightly different from the preset it's a pain in the ass.
For many types of plots I find it's actually kinda easier to just manipulate SVG data directly. It's not that hard!
I'd like to see a library/framework that focuses on making it easier to manipulate SVG or canvas output. It should be trivial to make tweaks. But the higher level a framework goes the harder it is to step off the golden path.
If you like the idea of using D3 for data visualization but you want something a bit higher level, check out Observable Plot[1], a library by the D3 team that adds a lot of conventions and conveniences on top of D3, specifically for building plots, charts and graphs. And even beyond that, there's Observable Framework[2], a static site generator for building visualization dashboards (that supports Plot, D3 and lots of…
edit: nvm, turned on hardware acceleration. Smoother, but still jankier than I'd like on a Ryzen 9.
The real problem with D3 is that, as a library, it doesn't really do visualizations. It gives you functions and exmaples to compose your own visualizations, whose key requirement is an expert-level understanding of JavaScript (particularly closures and functional programming). What mbostock says is the core "abstraction" of D3, the select and select diffing, is only an affordance for writing reentrant "paint()", with…
If you like the idea of using D3 for data visualization but you want something a bit higher level, check out Observable Plot[1], a library by the D3 team that adds a lot of conventions and conveniences on top of D3, specifically for building plots, charts and graphs. And even beyond that, there's Observable Framework[2], a static site generator for building visualization dashboards (that supports Plot, D3 and lots of…
I try to avoid graphs with html5 canvas like the plague maybe a new way to design them would be nice.
I like d3 and have built a lot of things in it but every time I go back to it after not using it for a few years, I can never remember much, the docs just confuse me more, and I feel like I’m back at square one. Whereas you could show me some partial differential equations to solve that I haven’t touched in 10 years and that somehow comes back quicker. But I also think the d3 reference docs are absolutely horrible to…
> hereas you could show me some partial differential equations to solve that I haven’t touched in 10 years and that somehow comes back quicker. The HCI (human calculation interface) for calculus has been lovingly polished for many, many generations. A quick read over Newtons original texts will quickly reveal that wasn't always so. It seems unfair to hold an API to the standard, really.
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Plot and Framework are locked into the Observable ecosystem, which has its own learning curve. Learning D3 offers the best flexibility and control.
In what way are these free open-source tools “locked-in” to Observable? Observable Plot is a vanilla JavaScript library that is released under the ISC license and can be used with any style of web development (e.g., React, Svelte, whatever). And likewise Observable Framework is released under the ISC license and you’re able to self-host projects anywhere and develop locally?
Anything else would be unwise to invest time in learning.
If you like the idea of using D3 for data visualization but you want something a bit higher level, check out Observable Plot[1], a library by the D3 team that adds a lot of conventions and conveniences on top of D3, specifically for building plots, charts and graphs. And even beyond that, there's Observable Framework[2], a static site generator for building visualization dashboards (that supports Plot, D3 and lots of…
> but you want something a bit higher level These days I kinda want the opposite. Most of the time I know exactly what I want my output to look like. But frameworks inherently provide a large bag of presets and if you want something slightly different from the preset it's a pain in the ass. For many types of plots I find it's actually kinda easier to just manipulate SVG data directly. It's not that hard! I'd like to…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is like saying that a computer without an operating system offers the best flexibility, or that a pile of sand is more flexible than an assembled computer.
D3 is not an empty computer. It's a high level library built in a high level language that runs in a browser. You are very very very far away from "metal". Being able to do something in a few clicks or little typing is nice until you need to do something more complicated. Sometimes it's worth actually learning how something basically works. Sometimes it isn't, it's everybody's choice.
It’s hard to think of a lower level abstraction for that purpose.
If you like the idea of using D3 for data visualization but you want something a bit higher level, check out Observable Plot[1], a library by the D3 team that adds a lot of conventions and conveniences on top of D3, specifically for building plots, charts and graphs. And even beyond that, there's Observable Framework[2], a static site generator for building visualization dashboards (that supports Plot, D3 and lots of…
> but you want something a bit higher level These days I kinda want the opposite. Most of the time I know exactly what I want my output to look like. But frameworks inherently provide a large bag of presets and if you want something slightly different from the preset it's a pain in the ass. For many types of plots I find it's actually kinda easier to just manipulate SVG data directly. It's not that hard! I'd like to…
But I've found lots of value in using Plot to explore data, and quickly throw something together and look at it, and decide if it's a good way to present the data or not.
Although I will say that you can "drop down" to the SVG pretty easily with Plot. Lots of examples even on their site where they start with Plot marks and then heavily customize the SVG directly.