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Mastering D3.js
Mastering D3.js

Mastering D3.js: Bring your data to life by creating and deploying complex data visualizations with D3.js

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Profile Icon Pablo NAVARRO CASTILLO
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$24.99 $36.99
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.7 (7 Ratings)
eBook Aug 2014 352 pages 1st Edition
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Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Pablo NAVARRO CASTILLO
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$24.99 $36.99
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.7 (7 Ratings)
eBook Aug 2014 352 pages 1st Edition
eBook
$24.99 $36.99
Paperback
$60.99
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Renews at $19.99p/m
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Mastering D3.js

Chapter 2. Reusable Charts

In this chapter, we will learn how to create configurable charts and layout algorithms and how to use these components. One important characteristic of configurable charts is that we can use them in different contexts without having to change the code. In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

  • Learn how to create reusable charts
  • Create a reusable barcode chart
  • Create a reusable layout algorithm
  • Use the layout and the barcode chart

We will begin by defining what we understand by reusable charts and construct a reusable chart from scratch.

Creating reusable charts

A chart is a visual representation of a dataset. As datasets grow in complexity and number of elements, we might want to encapsulate the chart in a reusable piece of code to share it and use it in other projects. The success of the reusability of the chart depends on the choices made during the design process.

We will follow the proposal given in the article Towards Reusable Charts by Mike Bostock with some modifications. Charts created with this model will have the following attributes:

  • Configurable: The chart appearance and behavior can be modified without having to change the code of the chart. The chart should expose an API that allows customization.
  • Repeatable: A chart can be rendered in a selection that contains several elements, displaying independent visualizations in each node. The update process and the variables associated to the data items must be independent as well.
  • Composable: A consequence of the previous attributes is that a chart can have inner charts...

Using the barcode chart

In this section, we will use the barcode chart with a more complex dataset and learn how to use the chart that is integrated within a table. Imagine that we have an application that monitors the mention of stocks on Twitter. One element of this fictional application might be a table that displays the aggregated information about the stock's mentions and the barcode chart with the mentions of the last day. We will assume that the data is already loaded on the page. Each data item will have the name of the stock, an array with mentions, and the average of mentions by hour. Refer to the following code:

var data = [
    {name: 'AAPL', mentions: [...], byHour: 34.3},
    {name: 'MSFT', mentions: [...], byHour: 11.1},
    {name: 'GOOG', mentions: [...], byHour: 19.2},
    {name: 'NFLX', mentions: [...], byHour:  6.7}
];

The mentions array will have objects with the date attribute. These items can have other attributes as well...

Creating a layout algorithm

Every chart makes assumptions about the kind and structure of the data that they can display. A scatter plot needs pairs of quantitative values, a bar chart requires categories with a quantitative dimension, and a tree map needs nested objects. To use a chart, the user will need to group, split, or nest the original dataset to fit the chart requirements. Functions that perform these transformations are called layout algorithms. D3 already provides a good set of layouts, from the simple pie layout to the more complex force layout. In this section, we will lean how to implement a layout algorithm, and we will use it to create a simple visualization using the barcode dataset.

The radial layout

The array with dates used in the barcode example can be visualized in several ways. The barcode chart represents every data item as a small bar in a time interval. Another useful way to display a series of events is to group them in intervals. The most common among these kind...

Summary

In this chapter, we learned how to create a reusable chart and how to add configuration methods to it so that the chart can be used in several projects without having to change its code in order to use it. We created a barcode chart and used it with data with a different format. We also learned how to create a reusable layout algorithm and how to use it to transform the data source to the format expected by a chart.

In the next chapter, we will learn how to create data visualizations in D3 for browsers without SVG support using canvas and div elements.

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Description

If you are a software developer working with data visualizations and want to build complex data visualizations, this book is for you. Basic knowledge of D3 framework is expected. With real-world examples, you will learn how to structure your applications to create enterprise-level charts and interactive dashboards.

What you will learn

  • Create reusable chart components that can be used in other projects Build charts for browsers without SVG support by using polyfills Integrate D3 and Backbone to create interactive single-page applications Write, test, and distribute a D3-based charting package Create custom maps and integrate D3 with third-party mapping libraries Make a real-time application with Node and D3

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Publication date : Aug 25, 2014
Length: 352 pages
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Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781783286287
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Length: 352 pages
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Mastering D3.js
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Learning D3.js Mapping
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Data Visualization with D3.js Cookbook
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Table of Contents

13 Chapters
1. Data Visualization Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Reusable Charts Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Creating Visualizations without SVG Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Creating a Color Picker with D3 Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Creating User Interface Elements Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Interaction between Charts Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Creating a Charting Package Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Data-driven Applications Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. Creating a Dashboard Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
10. Creating Maps Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
11. Creating Advanced Maps Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
12. Creating a Real-time Application Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.7
(7 Ratings)
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4 star 28.6%
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Benjamin J. Hunter Nov 08, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Great section on making modules for tooltips that I'd never thought of. Taught me a lot about organizing code, testing, and streamlining with developer tools like grunt.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Anirudh Prabhu Dec 19, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This book is for frontend programmers who want to learn how to create charts, visualizations, and interactive maps with D3. We will cover everything from creating basic charts to complex real-time applications, integrating other libraries and components to create real-life applications.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Laura Steadman Jan 02, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
If you're on the journey from D3 amateur to D3 master, this is the book you need to take your visualizations to the next level. I really enjoyed how he emphasized breaking out code into configurable, re-usable pieces. While I had some trouble getting the code samples up and running (hint: download the html zip from the GitHub repo), once I did, they were excellent for really diving into the discussion and understanding what was happening. Doing this also helped me to dissect how the code was written and question my knowledge of how certain things worked. Overall, great book!
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gerardor Nov 25, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
The book is ok, at first I had trouble understanding the repository. But following the explanations carefully, everything its OK. Not a beginner book; very useful for people who has some experience with d3 and data visualization.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Kyle Hayhurst Jan 27, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
Mastering D3.js covers a number of topics that can be used to really enhance a project. This book goes beyond just some D3 charts; Mastering D3.js provides examples of implementing D3.js into Backbone and Node.js applications for interactive and real-time charts. The combination of numerous accessor methods, Node.js and Backbone integration, and creating a charting package is very useful for creating a separate component that can be implemented in future projects.The dashboard chapter was really good in my opinion. In applications with a lot of data on users for example, dashboards can be a great way to display the data. This book covers some best practices when designing dashboards and also gives some direction on furthering your knowledge on data visualizations.Some of the more advanced topics include the use of maps and different types of projection. Another is using real-time data which includes Node.js, Backbone, Socket.IO, and the twitter streaming API. the tutorial will bring you through both the server and client side of creating the real time data visualization application.I think the book was well written but there were a few things that could have made it even better. Unless you’re just skimming the book for a quick tutorial on how to accomplish a feature, the source code is pretty much necessary for following along with the examples. Also, the source code was not exactly the most friendly to run easily locally on your machine. A lot of the source could have been produced in a similar way to Data Visualization with D3.js Cookbook where it could be seen running locally just by launching it in your browser.If you plan on using multiple data visualizations in a project or one complex data visualization in multiple projects this book is definitely an asset. If you’ve purchased or are thinking of purchasing the book from somewhere other than PacktPub, contact them for the source files, they will definitely help going through the examples. If you don’t have prior experience with D3.js or are just looking for some data visualization examples to work off of I would recommend Data Visualization with D3.js Cookbook.
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