Beginning JavaScript Charts

Beginning JavaScript Charts: With jqPlot, d3, and Highcharts shows how to convert your data into eye-catching, innovative, animated, and highly interactive browser-based charts. This book is suitable for developers of all experience levels and needs: for those who love fast and effective solutions, you can use the jqPlot library to generate charts with amazing effects and animations using only a few lines of code; if you want more power and need to create data visualization beyond traditional charts, then D3 is the JavaScript library for you; finally, if you need a high-performance, professional solution for interactive charts, then the Highcharts library is also covered.

If you are an experienced developer and want to take things further, then Beginning JavaScript Charts also shows you how to develop your own graphics library starting from scratch using jQuery. At the end of the book, you will have a good knowledge of all the elements needed to manage data from every possible source, from high-end scientific instruments to Arduino boards, from PHP SQL databases queries to simple HTML tables, and from Matlab calculations to reports in Excel. You will be able to provide cutting-edge charts exploiting the growing power of modern browsers.

• Create all kinds of charts using the latest technologies available on browsers (HTML5, CSS3, jQuery, jqPlot, D3, Highcharts, and SVG)
• Full of step-by-step examples, Beginning JavaScript Charts introduces you gradually to all aspects of chart development, from the data source to the choice of which solution to apply.
• This book provides a number of tools that can be the starting point for any project requiring graphical representations of data, whether using commercial libraries or your own

What you’ll learn

• Learn the jqPlot, D3, Highcharts, CSS, jQuery and SVG basics.
• Discover the world of JavaScript graphic libraries.
• Discover which charts can best represent your data.
• Switch from a vision of a chart sent from a server as a static image to a highly dynamic one, in which the user is able to interact in real time.
• Perform input data manipulation to increase chart readability.
• Develop your own graphic library.

Who this book is for

Beginning JavaScript Charts is for developers at all levels interested in data visualization, and ready to embrace modern web standards and animate and display their data with powerful, cutting-edge technologies.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Charting Technology Overview
Chapter 2: jQuery Basics
Chapter 3: Simple HTML Tables
Chapter 4: Drawing a Line Chart
Chapter 5: Drawing a Bar Chart
Chapter 6: Drawing a Pie Chart
Chapter 7: Creating a Library for Simple Charts
Chapter 8: Introducing jqPlot
Chapter 9: Line Charts with jqPlot
Chapter 10: Bar Charts with jqPlot
Chapter 11: Pie Charts and Donut Charts with jqPlot
Chapter 12: Candlestick Charts with jqPlot
Chapter 13: Scatter Charts and Bubble Charts with jqPlot
Chapter 14: Funnel Charts with jqPlot
Chapter 15: Adding Controls to Charts
Chapter 16: Embedding jqPlot Charts in jQuery Widgets
Chapter 17: Handling Input Data
Chapter 18: Moving from jqPlot to Highcharts
Chapter 19: Working with D3
Chapter 20: Line Charts with D3
Chapter 21: Bar Charts with D3
Chapter 22: Pie Charts with D3
Chapter 23: Candlestick Charts with D3
Chapter 24: Scatterplot and Bubble Charts with D3
Chapter 25: Radar Charts with D3
Chapter 26: Handling Live Data with D3

Appendix A: Guidelines for the Examples in the Book
Appendix B: jqPlot Plug-ins