Data Visualization Toolkit
Using JavaScript, Rails, and Postgres to Present Data and Geospatial Information
Published on 28. September 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-0-13-446443-5 (ISBN)
Description
Create Beautiful Visualizations that Free Your Data to Tell Powerful Truths
"The depth of Barrett Clark's knowledge shines through in his writing: clear, concise, and confident. Barrett has been practicing all of this stuff in his day job for many years-Postgres, D3, GIS, all of it. The knowledge in this book is real-world and hard-earned!"
-From the Foreword by Obie Fernandez
Data Visualization Toolkit is your hands-on, practical, and holistic guide to the art of visualizing data. You'll learn how to use Rails, jQuery, D3, Leaflet, PostgreSQL, and PostGIS together, creating beautiful visualizations and maps that give your data a voice and to make it "dance."
Barrett Clark teaches through real-world problems and examples developed specifically to illuminate every technique you need to generate stunningly effective visualizations. You'll move from the absolute basics toward deep dives, mastering diverse visualizations and discovering when to use each. Along the way, you'll build three start-to-finish visualization applications, using actual real estate, weather, and travel datasets.
Clark addresses every component of data visualization: your data, database, application server, visualization libraries, and more. He explains data transformations; presents expert techniques in JavaScript, Ruby, and SQL; and illuminates key concepts associated with both descriptive statistics and geospatial data. Throughout, everything is aimed at one goal: to help you cut through the clutter and let your data tell all it can.
This guide will help you
Explore and understand the data visualization technology stack
Master the thought process and steps involved in importing data
Extract, transform, and load data in usable, reliable form
Handle spotty data, or data that doesn't line up with what your chart expects
Use D3 to build pie and bar charts, scatter and box plots, and more
Work effectively with time-series data
Tweak Ruby and SQL to optimize performance with large datasets
Use raw SQL in Rails: window functions, subqueries, and common table expressions
Build chord diagrams and time-series aggregates
Use separate databases or schema for reporting databases
Integrate geographical data via geospatial SQL queries
Construct maps with Leaflet and Rails
Query geospatial data the "Rails way" and the "raw SQL way"
"The depth of Barrett Clark's knowledge shines through in his writing: clear, concise, and confident. Barrett has been practicing all of this stuff in his day job for many years-Postgres, D3, GIS, all of it. The knowledge in this book is real-world and hard-earned!"
-From the Foreword by Obie Fernandez
Data Visualization Toolkit is your hands-on, practical, and holistic guide to the art of visualizing data. You'll learn how to use Rails, jQuery, D3, Leaflet, PostgreSQL, and PostGIS together, creating beautiful visualizations and maps that give your data a voice and to make it "dance."
Barrett Clark teaches through real-world problems and examples developed specifically to illuminate every technique you need to generate stunningly effective visualizations. You'll move from the absolute basics toward deep dives, mastering diverse visualizations and discovering when to use each. Along the way, you'll build three start-to-finish visualization applications, using actual real estate, weather, and travel datasets.
Clark addresses every component of data visualization: your data, database, application server, visualization libraries, and more. He explains data transformations; presents expert techniques in JavaScript, Ruby, and SQL; and illuminates key concepts associated with both descriptive statistics and geospatial data. Throughout, everything is aimed at one goal: to help you cut through the clutter and let your data tell all it can.
This guide will help you
Explore and understand the data visualization technology stack
Master the thought process and steps involved in importing data
Extract, transform, and load data in usable, reliable form
Handle spotty data, or data that doesn't line up with what your chart expects
Use D3 to build pie and bar charts, scatter and box plots, and more
Work effectively with time-series data
Tweak Ruby and SQL to optimize performance with large datasets
Use raw SQL in Rails: window functions, subqueries, and common table expressions
Build chord diagrams and time-series aggregates
Use separate databases or schema for reporting databases
Integrate geographical data via geospatial SQL queries
Construct maps with Leaflet and Rails
Query geospatial data the "Rails way" and the "raw SQL way"
More details
Other editions
Additional editions
Barrett Clark
Data Visualization Toolkit
Using JavaScript, Rails, and Postgres to Present Data and Geospatial Information
E-Book
08/2016
1st Edition
Addison Wesley
€26.40
Available for download
Barrett Clark
Data Visualization Toolkit
Using JavaScript, Rails, and Postgres to Present Data and Geospatial Information
E-Book
08/2016
1st Edition
Addison Wesley
€41.46
Available for download
Person
Barrett Clark is a Rubyist turned polyglot software developer. Now at Sabre Labs, an emerging travel technology incubator and research lab, Clark works to make meaningful change in the travel industry. He has worked extensively with mapping, geolocation, indoor location, and proximity. His recent speaking engagements include Mountain West Ruby Conference, API World, Mountain West Ruby Conference, and RailsConf.
Content
Foreword xv
Preface xvii
Acknowledgments xxiii
About the Author xxv
Part I: ActiveRecord and D3 1
Chapter 1: D3 and Rails 3
Your Toolbox-A Three-Ring Circus 3
Maryland Residential Sales App 5
Summary 17
Chapter 2: Transforming Data with ActiveRecord and D3 19
Pie Chart Revisited 19
Bar Chart 24
Scatter Plot 28
Scatter Plot Revisited 33
Box Plot 34
Summary 40
Chapter 3: Working with Time Series Data 41
Historic Daily Weather Data 41
Weather Rails App 42
Simple Line Graph 45
Tweak 1: Simple Multiline Graph 50
Tweak 2: Add Circle to Highlight the Maximum Temperature 51
Tweak 3: Add Circle to Highlight the Minimum Temperature 53
Tweak 4: Add Text to Display the Temperature Change 55
Tweak 5: Add a Line Between the Focus Circles 56
Summary 58
Chapter 4: Working with Large Datasets 59
Git and Large Files 59
The Cloud 60
Hotlinking 60
Benchmarking 62
Querying "Big Data" 65
When Benchmarks and Statistics Lie 68
Summary 69
Part II: Using SQL in Rails 71
Chapter 5: Window Functions, Subqueries, and Common Table Expression 73
Why Use SQL? 73
User-Defined Functions 75
How to Use SQL in Rails 78
Scatter Plot with Mortgage Payment 79
Window Functions 81
Using Subqueries 84
Common Table Expression 84
CTE and the Heatmap 86
Summary 90
Chapter 6: The Chord Diagram 93
The Matrix Is the Truth 93
Flight Departures Data 94
Departures App 95
Transforming the Data 101
Create the Views 104
Draw the Chord Diagram 106
Disjointed City Pairs 108
Summary 113
Chapter 7: Time Series Aggregates in Postgres 115
Finding Flight Segments 115
Graphing the Timeline 121
Summary 127
Chapter 8: Using a Separate Reporting Database 129
Transactional versus Reporting Databases 129
Working with Multiple Schemas in Rails 131
Creating Objects in the Reporting Schema 132
Summary 138
Part III: Geospatial Rails 139
Chapter 9: Working with Geospatial Data in Rails 141
GIS Primer 141
PostGIS 144
ActiveRecord and PostGIS 146
Using Geospatial Data in Rails 147
Working with Shapefiles 150
Summary 154
Chapter 10: Making Maps with Leaflet and Rails 155
Leaflet 155
Incorporating Leaflet into Rails to Visualize Weather Stations 157
Visualizing Airports 163
Visualizing Zip Codes 168
Summary 181
Chapter 11: Querying Geospatial Data 183
Finding Items within a Bounding Box 183
Writing a Bounding Box Query 184
Finding Items Near a Point 187
Calculating Distance 190
Summary 191
Afterword 193
Appendix A: Ruby and Rails Setup 195
Install Ruby 195
Finalize the Setup 199
Appendix B: Brief Postgres Overview 201
Installing Postgres 201
SQL Tools 202
Bulk Importing Data 202
The Query Plan 204
Appendix C: SQL Join Overview 207
Join Example Database Setup 207
Inner Join 207
Left Outer Join 208
Right Outer Join 208
Full Outer Join 209
Cross Join 209
Self Join 209
Index 211
Preface xvii
Acknowledgments xxiii
About the Author xxv
Part I: ActiveRecord and D3 1
Chapter 1: D3 and Rails 3
Your Toolbox-A Three-Ring Circus 3
Maryland Residential Sales App 5
Summary 17
Chapter 2: Transforming Data with ActiveRecord and D3 19
Pie Chart Revisited 19
Bar Chart 24
Scatter Plot 28
Scatter Plot Revisited 33
Box Plot 34
Summary 40
Chapter 3: Working with Time Series Data 41
Historic Daily Weather Data 41
Weather Rails App 42
Simple Line Graph 45
Tweak 1: Simple Multiline Graph 50
Tweak 2: Add Circle to Highlight the Maximum Temperature 51
Tweak 3: Add Circle to Highlight the Minimum Temperature 53
Tweak 4: Add Text to Display the Temperature Change 55
Tweak 5: Add a Line Between the Focus Circles 56
Summary 58
Chapter 4: Working with Large Datasets 59
Git and Large Files 59
The Cloud 60
Hotlinking 60
Benchmarking 62
Querying "Big Data" 65
When Benchmarks and Statistics Lie 68
Summary 69
Part II: Using SQL in Rails 71
Chapter 5: Window Functions, Subqueries, and Common Table Expression 73
Why Use SQL? 73
User-Defined Functions 75
How to Use SQL in Rails 78
Scatter Plot with Mortgage Payment 79
Window Functions 81
Using Subqueries 84
Common Table Expression 84
CTE and the Heatmap 86
Summary 90
Chapter 6: The Chord Diagram 93
The Matrix Is the Truth 93
Flight Departures Data 94
Departures App 95
Transforming the Data 101
Create the Views 104
Draw the Chord Diagram 106
Disjointed City Pairs 108
Summary 113
Chapter 7: Time Series Aggregates in Postgres 115
Finding Flight Segments 115
Graphing the Timeline 121
Summary 127
Chapter 8: Using a Separate Reporting Database 129
Transactional versus Reporting Databases 129
Working with Multiple Schemas in Rails 131
Creating Objects in the Reporting Schema 132
Summary 138
Part III: Geospatial Rails 139
Chapter 9: Working with Geospatial Data in Rails 141
GIS Primer 141
PostGIS 144
ActiveRecord and PostGIS 146
Using Geospatial Data in Rails 147
Working with Shapefiles 150
Summary 154
Chapter 10: Making Maps with Leaflet and Rails 155
Leaflet 155
Incorporating Leaflet into Rails to Visualize Weather Stations 157
Visualizing Airports 163
Visualizing Zip Codes 168
Summary 181
Chapter 11: Querying Geospatial Data 183
Finding Items within a Bounding Box 183
Writing a Bounding Box Query 184
Finding Items Near a Point 187
Calculating Distance 190
Summary 191
Afterword 193
Appendix A: Ruby and Rails Setup 195
Install Ruby 195
Finalize the Setup 199
Appendix B: Brief Postgres Overview 201
Installing Postgres 201
SQL Tools 202
Bulk Importing Data 202
The Query Plan 204
Appendix C: SQL Join Overview 207
Join Example Database Setup 207
Inner Join 207
Left Outer Join 208
Right Outer Join 208
Full Outer Join 209
Cross Join 209
Self Join 209
Index 211