Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
</script>
</body>
This example merely scratches of surface of what is possible for visualizing
graphs using JavaScript. This is just an introduction to D3 and much more
could still be added. For example, refinements could include the following:
• Show only big labels.
• Highlight a selection and its immediate neighbors.
• Better handle label overlap.
More JavaScript graph examples appear in the following chapters:
• Chapter 12, “Flows,” includes examples of a circular chord diagram of
trade flow using D3.
• Chapter 12 includes examples of a Sankey flow diagram using Aperture
JS.
• Chapter 13, “Spatial Networks,” includes examples of a link rose
diagram using Aperture JS.
Beyond these, you can find numerous examples at
d3js.org
. Other libraries
(such as Aperture JS) and various topics, websites, and online forums
provide more information.
Summary
Python and JavaScript are free, well-documented languages with extensive
references online and in books.
Pythonisafairlyeasy-to-usescriptinglanguageformanipulatinggraphdata
for tasks such as data cleansing, as well as extracting nodes and/or links
from graph data.
JavaScript is useful for creating browser-based interactive visualizations of
graph data. The underlying SVG library provides browser-based support for
drawing graphics, and higher-level libraries such as D3 provide capabilities
for connecting these graphics to data, as well as specific functionality for
graphs (such as force-directed layouts).
Until now, the focus of the topic has been on the basics of using graphs—the
process and the tools. The next part of this topic shifts to various types
