Chapter 1
The World of Data Visualization

What's in This Chapter

• Overview of chart design options
• Comparison of different business applications for data visualization
• Rundown of technological advancements that have made data visualization what it is today

When thinking about data visualization, it's hard to resist the comparison to natural metamorphosis. Consider raw data as the caterpillar: functional, multi-faceted, able to get from here to there, but a little ungainly and really appreciated only by a select few. After data is transformed via visualization, it becomes the butterfly: sleek, agile, and highly recognizable to the point of inspiring and evoking an emotional response. The world of data visualization is an ecosystem unto itself, constantly spawning new nodes of details that-under the proper nourishing conditions-evolve into relatable depictions that consolidate concepts into an understandable, and hopefully compelling, form.

And where does the web professional fit in this metaphor? Why, they are the spinners and caretakers of the cocoon that transforms raw numbers into meaningful representation, of course. Putting the linguistic paraphrasing aside, web designers and developers are a vital component in visualizing data. Naturally, the current and evolving technological landscape has made this role possible-and increasingly efficient.

Overall, JavaScript and jQuery for Data Analysis and Visualization serves as a practical field guide to the robust world of data visualization, from the acquisition and nurturing of data to its transfiguration into the optimal visual format. This chapter is intended to provide an overview of the present environment, highlighting its capabilities and limitations and discussing how you, the web professional, are a key player in visualizing data.

Bringing Numbers to Life

Appreciating numeric data can be a challenge. Data visualization with relational graphics and evocative imagery helps make raw data meaningful. But before you can transform the data into a meaningful representation, you have to get it first.

Acquiring the Data

The data sphere is enormous and growing dramatically, if not exponentially, every day. Data is streaming in from everywhere-and when you consider that the Mars Rover, Curiosity, continually sends its data findings back to Earth, you understand that "everywhere" is no exaggeration.

With the tremendous amount of data already available, its acquisition is often just a matter of logistics. If the information is in a non-digital form-that is, written records-it will need to be transcribed into the proper format. Should the desired data be accessible digitally, it may need to be converted from its current structure to one compatible with the display or visualization application.

When your information is in the proper format, you next need to ensure it is exactly the data you need and nothing more. The wealth of data available today makes targeting your data selection, typically through a process known as filtering, pretty much a requirement in all situations. Even when organizations fine-tune their data input from the beginning, changes in the sample or desired output over time will force a filtering adjustment.

Why is it so important to restrict your data stream? One clear reason is processing efficiency. Working with an overload of unnecessary information increases application execution time-which corresponds directly to increased bandwidth and, thus, costs. Additionally, filtering makes raw data more meaningful. Focused information is easier to analyze and also more easily digested by end users.

Visualizing the Data

In a sense, the most difficult aspect of data visualization is deciding exactly how the information should be depicted. The web designer must select the optimum representation that communicates the data in the clearest, most desired manner with the highest degree of impact. More importantly, the representation should be a discovery tool that leads the user to meaningful insights. Here's an incomplete list of available formats:

• Area chart

• Bar chart

• Bubble chart

• Candlestick chart

• Gauge chart

• Geographic chart

• Heat map

• Hierarchical edge bundling

• Infographics

• Line chart

• Marimekko chart

• Network node map

• OLHC (Open-high-low-close) chart

We've really just scratched the surface with ways data can be presented. Most of these formats can be shown in either 2D or 3D. You can include interactive elements and animation to add dimensions to the data. But be careful to balance these bells and whistles with meaningful data. No amount of eye candy is worth compromising the representation of information.

NOTE It's important to realize that a key factor in visualization is intent. Raw data on almost every subject can be interpreted in any number of ways. What message is intended to be communicated should be among the first decisions made when beginning the process of representing data visually.

There are other primary options to consider as well. Do you expose the underlying data or not? If so, are the numbers always visible or are they visible only when some interaction occurs, such as when the viewer's mouse hovers over a data point? Is the initial visualization all there, or does the online version allow the user to drill down for more details? Is animation used to represent a dynamic change? Is there other interactivity available, such as horizontal scrolling along a timeline or zooming into it?

Then, of course, there is styling. With simple bar and pie charts, you'll not only need to decide which colors represent which elements, but also the size, color, style, and font to be applied for labels and legends, if any-yet another choice. Many such selections will be governed by other factors, such as the creating organization's branding or in-house standards; however, just as many will have no such foundation to work from, and the designer's vision will become paramount.

Moving beyond the basics of charting primitives, the visualization designer can choose to include graphics. Not only can background images frame a presentation-both literally and thematically-but symbols can be used as data points, like logos pinned in a map of third-quarter sales. An entire field of data visualization-infographics-is devoted to the combination of information and visual imagery.

The truth is that the web professional's current options for depicting data are a bounty of riches. Although the possibilities may appear to be overwhelming, it's up to the visualization designer to identify the optimum representation and bring it into reality.

Simultaneous Acquisition and Visualization

The world of data visualization doesn't just consume existing data: New data is constantly being added to the stores, even in real time. Information can be collected directly through an HTML form on a website and incorporated into the representation programmatically. One of the most common examples of this is an online poll, such as the one shown in Figure 1.1. After a site visitor has chosen his or her desired response and clicked Vote, the current relative standing of all entries, including the one just entered, is displayed.

Figure 1.1 Some polls allow the user to instantly see the current results.

Source: www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/18/1322337/-Cheers-and-Jeers-Monday

Collecting live data has a number of challenges, but the recent advances made by the widespread acceptance of HTML5 have ameliorated many of them. When combined with a few key JavaScript libraries, it is now possible to use advanced form elements, such as slider controls, across the full spectrum of modern browsers.

Acquiring the data in real time is just the first step. The web developer is also responsible for validating and standardizing the data. Validation is critical in two ways: first, to ensure that all required information is supplied, and second, to verify that the data is in the proper format. Naturally, if you're trying to find out where your clientele is based, you can't if the requested postal code is left blank. Likewise, if the postal code is in the wrong format, such as a four-digit entry for a U.S. address, the data is worthless. Both of these issues can be corrected by proper validation, whether handled on the client-side with JavaScript, server-side via PHP or another server language, or some combination of the two.

Standardized data is just as important and typically applies to time and date details. There are numerous ways to enter a date: March 10, 2011 could be 03/10/11, 10/03/11, or 11/03/10 depending on whether you're in the United States, Australia, or China, respectively. To make sure the intended date is collected correctly, the entered information will need to be standardized to a format the visualization application recognizes before it is saved. Read Chapter 6 for more information about data validation.

Applications of Data Visualization

So there's all this wonderful data out there, just waiting to be brought to life by this almost magical...