DevonMcCormick/DataVisualization/OverviewOfTools

There are so many visualization tools, it would be handy to have a compendium summarizing the pluses and minuses of each. However, since my time is not infinite, I'll offer this initial attempt (downloadable as pdf) showing some samples of web-based and desktop-oriented visualization tools with illustrations to give an idea what each has to offer.

Web-based Charting

Lovely Charts

See http://lovelycharts.com/ .

An online diagramming application to create diagrams such as flowcharts, sitemaps, org charts, wireframes, etc.

Google charts

See http://code.google.com/apis/chart/types.html#bar_charts

Types of charts:

1. Line charts, 2. Bar charts, 3. Pie charts, 4. Venn diagrams, 5. Scatter plots, 6. Radar charts, 7. Maps, 8. Google-o-meters, 9. QR codes
   • Some examples:

Chartle

Promises simple and interactive charts online - see http://www.chartle.net/ .

• Some examples:

Amcharts

Flash-based - see http://www.amcharts.com/

• Some examples:

Desktop-based Charting

MathGL

Claims to be a library for high-quality scientific graphics under Linux and Windows - see http://mathgl.sourceforge.net/

• Some examples:

dygraphs JavaScript Visualization Library

Is an open source JavaScript library that produces produces interactive, zoomable charts of time series - see http://www.danvk.org/dygraphs/ .

• Some examples: Zooming in on selection indicated by gray area above:

Grapheur

Interactive visualization and data mining - http://www.grapheur.com:

• Some examples:

1. Wireless Access Point Placement

The demo is related to the so called "access point placement problem". It consists of placing antennas in a building so that:

1. a sufficient signal strenght is guaranteed
2. the signal is never too strong to raise health concerns
3. the position of existing infrastructure (e.g., power and network outlets) must be taken into account
4. the cost of deployment and usage must be minimized.

One must therefore solve a multi-objective optimization problem, and the choice of the final solution is not always trivial. The outcome of the optimization procedure is a large number of solutions, each evaluated according to different criteria.

Download the data file [wapp.gpf] and open it with the Grapheur program.

2. A Social Network example

Political institutions can be studied in terms of interactions among their components. As an example, here we provide a graph representing interactions among members of the Italian Chamber of Deputies (the lower house of the Italian Parliament), where the proximity of two deputies depends on the number of law proposal bills that they have cosigned.

Different colors represent different parliamentary groups (reflecting membership to political parties). Evaluation criteria are also available, for example:

• The Google-like "pagerank" of a deputy, representing how much his own bills are supported by others
• The number of bills proposed by a deputy
• The HITS-like "authority" and "hub" values

• Download the data file [deputati.gpf] and open it with the Grapheur program. Planning

The Grove

A visual planning tool - see http://store.grove.com/visual_planning.html /

• Some examples: