D3 instead of jquery for dom management - possible? - javascript

I've been recently playing around in d3 and I became aware that it has similarities with jquery. Would it be possible to use d3 instead of jquery for general dom management?
This is not a comparison question, however I'd be glad if the answers include valid points to pick one over another.

D3 is focused on creating/manipulating data-driven documents, that is creating/manipulating visual documents from your data by using D3's data/enter/exit methods.
jQuery is a general purpose js/ajax library which offers general js/ajax functionalities like updating cookies, but it doesn't offer data-driven functionalities of D3.
D3 has many visualization extensions and jQuery has many general web app extensions.
Both are dom manipulation js libraries, have css selectors and fluent api and are based on web standards which makes them look similar.

Related

Is there a javascript lib to design an IVR diagram with JSON output

i need a javascript plugin can design an dynamic IVR diagram and in output can get object for pass to server side.
i found mxgraph but not for IVR.
Here is a sample IVR app: https://gojs.net/latest/samples/IVRtree.html
Call diagram.model.toJson() to save it as JSON-formatted text.
I don't see why mxGraph would not work for this kind of task. In fact any reasonable graph drawing library should be able to able to do that.
I know for sure that you can easily implement great looking IVR diagrams (which are mostly just simple trees with a possibly dynamic automatic layout and a custom visualization for the nodes) with yFiles for HTML. That library has been created specifically to be highly extensible and as such allows for easily adding your own specific visualization for nodes and edges. Also trees and "near-tree" can easily be laid out automatically and you can create a dynamic interactive visualization of such a tree like in this decision tree demo.
Disclaimer: I work for the company that creates the latter of the above mentioned libraries, but I do not represent my employer on SO.
There are many libraries available for IVR diagrams. You can use d3.js, Gojs and JointJs.

web library to create a interactive flowchart

i am searching for a library in javascript/html to enable my users to create, update and save basic flowcharts(start, end, task, decision, swimlane, fork and join) and create/edit some custom values of each task for later use in one ERP, similar like here!
I found RaphaelJS and GoJS, with those libraries can i make this interactive flowchart? I need others sugestions to evaluate.
If it weren't for the "interactive" part, I would suggest to take a look at this SO question and answers.
Since you are mentioning commercial libraries, I assume that this is in a commercial scenario, and thus I believe this interactive flow-chart demo is pretty much exactly what you are looking for. Maybe also this BPMN editing demo.
The demos are using the commercial yFiles for HTML Javascript/HTML5 diagramming library. The library provides (among other features) editing capabilities for flow-chart-like and BPMN diagrams, has robust support for (optionally hierarchical, two-dimensional) swim lanes and of course adding custom data and custom interaction logic is easily supported. The most advanced feature though is the ability to automatically arrange the elements on the screen according to the flow-chart logic:
Disclaimer: I work for the company that creates this library. I do not represent my employer on SO, though.
RaphaelJS deals with SVG shapes and generic functions relating to them.
It has no explicit support for creating/manipulating flowcharts.
You can use JointJS for flowcharts which
produces charts in SVG format, but the commercial license is not free
You can use also use
plumbJS which is
open source and pretty well documented. This library also has support
for a VML fallback if the browser is IE8 or below

design a widget [duplicate]

Locked. This question and its answers are locked because the question is off-topic but has historical significance. It is not currently accepting new answers or interactions.
Would anyone recommend a particular JavaScript charting library - specifically one that doesn't use flash at all?
There is a growing number of Open Source and commercial solutions for pure JavaScript charting that do not require Flash. In this response I will only present Open Source options.
There are 2 main classes of JavaScript solutions for graphics that do not require Flash:
Canvas-based, rendered in IE using ExplorerCanvas that in turns relies on VML
SVG on standard-based browsers, rendered as VML in IE
There are pros and cons of both approaches but for a charting library I would recommend the later because it is well integrated with DOM, allowing to manipulate charts elements with the DOM, and most importantly setting DOM events. By contrast Canvas charting libraries must reinvent the DOM wheel to manage events. So unless you intend to build static graphs with no event handling, SVG/VML solutions should be better.
For SVG/VML solutions there are many options, including:
Dojox Charting, good if you use the Dojo toolkit already
Raphael-based solutions
Raphael is a very active, well maintained, and mature, open-source graphic library with very good cross-browser support including IE 6 to 8, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Chrome, and Konqueror. Raphael does not depend on any JavaScript framework and therefore can be used with Prototype, jQuery, Dojo, Mootools, etc...
There are a number of charting libraries based on Raphael, including (but not limited to):
gRaphael, an extension of the Raphael graphic library
Ico, with an intuitive API based on a single function call to create complex charts
Disclosure: I am the developer of one of the Ico forks on github.
If you're using jQuery I've found flot to be very good - try out the examples to see if they suit your needs, but I've found them to do most of what I need for my current project.
Additionally ExtJS 4.0 has introduced a great set of charts - very powerful, and is designed to work with live data.
Check out http://www.highcharts.com !
Highcharts is a charting library written in pure JavaScript, offering an easy way of adding interactive charts to your web site or web application. Highcharts currently supports line, spline, area, areaspline, column, bar, pie and scatter chart types.
It maybe not exactly what you are looking for, but
Google's Chart API is pretty cool and easy to use.
There is another javascript library based on SVG. It is called Protovis and it comes from Stanford Visualization Group
It also allows making nice interactive graphics and visualizations.
http://vis.stanford.edu/protovis/ex/
Although it is only for modern web browsers
UPDATE: The protovis team has moved to another library called d3.js (Data Driven Documents) as they said:
"The Protovis team is now developing a new visualization library, D3.js, with improved support for animation and interaction. D3 builds on many of the concepts in Protovis"
The new library can now be found in:
http://mbostock.github.com/d3/
UPDATE 2:
"Rickshaw" is a JavaScript toolkit for creating interactive time series graphs. Based on d3.js that simplifies a lot the work with d3.js although is a little bit less powerful.
http://code.shutterstock.com/rickshaw/
I was recently looking for a javascript charting library and I evaluated a whole bunch before finally settling on jqplot which fit my requirements very well. As Jean Vincent's answer mentioned you are really choosing between canvas based and svg based solution.
To my mind the major pros and cons were as follows. The SVG based solutions like Raphael (and offshoots) are great if you want to construct highly dynamic/interactive charts. Or if you charting requirements are very much outside the norm (e.g. you want to create some sort of hybrid chart or you've come up with a new visualization that no-one else has thought of yet). The downside is the learning curve and the amount of code you will have to write. You won't be banging out charts in a few minutes, be prepared to invest some real learning time and then to write a goodly amount of code to produce a relatively simple chart.
If your charting requirements are reasonably standard, e.g. you want some line or bar graphs or perhaps a pie chart or two, with limited interactivity, then it is worth looking at canvas based solutions. There will be hardly any learning curve, you'll be able to get basic charts going within a few minutes, you won't need to write a lot of code, a few lines of basic javascript/jquery will be all you need. Of course you will only be able to produce the specific types of charts that the library supports, usually limited to various flavors of line, bar, pie. The interactivity choices will be extremely limited, that is to say non-existent for many of the libraries out there, although some limited hover effects are possible with the better ones.
I went with JQplot which is a canvas based solution since I only really needed some standard types of charts. From my research and playing around with the various choices I found it to be reasonably full-featured (if you're only after the standard charts) and extremely easy to use, so I would recommend it if your requirements are similar.
To summarize, simple and want charts now, then go with JQplot. Complex/different and not pressed for time then go with Raphael and friends.
jqPlot is great. If your requirements are fairly "normal" and you just want to draw some charts, you're probably overwhelmed by the quantity of js charting options. Assuming you don't want to do hours of research, just go with jqPlot as it's probably your best bet. It covers most use cases for most people well. Some of the alternatives are specialised on a certain type of chart or built with a certain use case in mind.
As some kind of late answer, try d3.js
http://mbostock.github.com/d3/
It's the continuation of protovis.
The big difference to flot is in the number of features supported.
Though flot may be simpler, d3.js is definitely more powerful.
Flotr is another, pure Javascript chart-library based on Prototype and inspired by Flot
Try PlotKit
I'd recommend gRaphaël for pure JavaScript charting along with the pure JavaScript vector graphics library it's built on (Raphaël).
gRaphaël currently supports Firefox 3.0+, Safari 3.0+, Opera 9.5+ and Internet Explorer 6.0+.
a framework: http://www.simile-widgets.org/
a basic: http://www.filamentgroup.com/examples/charting_v2/index_2.php
good looking: http://www.highcharts.com/
Another is RGraph: Javascript charts and graph library:
http://www.rgraph.net
Canvas based so it's fast and there's roughly 20 different chart types. It's free for non-commercial use too!
My favourite (flot) has already been mentioned.
But be sure to investigate Ortho.
It is excellent for tree charts and timelines.
There is a lot of activity in the dojo charting library, and what is great I am using it inside an AIR application without problems too, pretty cool!
See for example there http://www.sitepen.com/blog/2008/05/27/dojo-charting-event-support-has-landed/
Check out Google Visualization API, which is kind of a generalization of the simpler Chart API
http://code.google.com/apis/visualization/documentation/gallery.html
Has very cool interactive options including maps, gauges, and charts.
We just bought a license of TechOctave Charts Suite for our new startup. I highly recommend them. Licensing is simple. Charts look great! It was easy to get started and has a powerful API for when we need it. I was shocked by how clean and extensible the code is. Really happy with our choice.
Try the MIT simile timeline which could be made into a chart - http://simile.mit.edu/timeline/
or the final one, http://code.google.com/p/gchart/
Not a Javascript library but it may be a suitable alternative - check out Google Charts where you can generate charts by passing querystring data to their web service.
Take a look at Bluff. It's a JavaScript port of the Gruff graphing library for Ruby.
Protochart is all you need
Sencha acquired Raphael and now their charts are pure javascript as of version 4. Emprise and HighCharts mentioned above are my two favorites.
http://www.sencha.com/
For the more unusual charts: http://thejit.org/
I can recommend ArcadiaCharts. A brand-new professional charting library for JavaScript and GWT. Runs in all browsers without plugins. Easy and fast to use: creates great looking charts with just a few lines of code.
Free for non-commercial use.
Fusion charts has a new javascript/jquery library that looks promising.
In case what you need is bar chart only. I published some code I've been using in an old project. Someone told me the VML implementation is broken on recent versions of IE, but the SVG should work just fine. Might be getting back to the project and release some serverside renderers I already have and maybe WebGL rendering layer. There's a link: http://blog.conquex.com/?p=64
Probably not what the OP is looking for, but since this question has become a list of JS charting library options: jQuery Sparklines is really cool.
Check out ZingChart HTML5 Canvas, SVG, VML and Flash Charts. Very powerful and compatible library. I'm on the Zing team - mention us on twitter #zingchart or shoot any questions to support#zingchart.com.

Comparison of D3 and Dojo GFX

I intend to use one of D3 or Dojo GFX to create some big data visuals like TreeMap, Wave-forms etc. The great thing about D3 is that many of these visualizations are already available as example implementations for fast development. Also its enter-update-exit paradigm fits nicely with my dataset. But I am not averse to using Dojo GFX (and writing my own Treemap etc implementations) if it is said to be more stable and better suited for mobile.
Seeking suggestions and comparisons...
In short, the answer is simple: If you are using dojo, use the GFX module. If you are not using dojo, use D3.
What's more, GFX and D3 are effectively the same thing: low level drawing APIs (herein visualization toolkits), both of which can be used in tandem with a larger javascript framework. GFX, in fact, must be used within dojo.
Since graphing/charting/drawing/whatever is often only part of a web application, the underlying framework architecture should be the driving force behind choosing a visualization toolkit. So basically, if you go dojo or not is what will answer this question for you, and if you do, GFX is a great option since it is already baked in (though I should mention that D3 can be wrapped in an AMD as referenced here).
And now, a real answer
If you have decided that the visualization toolkit is the driving force behind choosing a javascript framework and not the other way around, here are some thoughts on GFX vs D3:
Community Support: More people are developing and asking questions on D3. Looking at github watches/stars/forks, D3 leads with 1.9k/22.7k/4.7k over GFX's 54/52/91 (dojox is GFX's parent module). Here on stackoverflow D3 has nearly 7k tags compared to GFX's 26.
Features: GFX can render using SVG, VML, canvas, and even silverlight. By this, GFX has superior cross platform, browser, and version support. Beyond this, both visualization toolkits enjoy the same access to every feature you get when writing visualizations declaratively.
Learning Curve: Both toolkits are very low level APIs that are complicated to learn. D3's enter-update-exit pattern may be especially confusing for those not familiar with extensive method chaining.
Frameworks: Both of these visualization toolkits are used in larger charting frameworks. GFX is used by Dojo Charting, D3 is used by many including NVD3, D3plus, and Vega to name a few.

What do I need to learn to build interfaces similar to LucidChart

Here's a link to their demo. Basically, it's an online tool that implements a lot of the visio functionality.
I'm building an app that would require similar type of user interaction, dropping, moving, editing, resizing objects, interacting with grids and guides, etc.
Since the project is for my own learning purposes, I was wondering what are some of the things I should focus on or learn to be able to develop such high quality interfaces
Cheers
There's draw.io, a very similar tool, but with the source on github.
To build such a rich user interface is a big task.
Which is why there are lots of frameworks and libraries which have already developed rich user interface stuff such as:
Sproutcore
Cappuccino
ExtJS
Dojo
jQuery UI
Sproutcore and Cappuccino are for developing desktop style applications for the web and include very good user interface components. As well as maintaing application states and data models. ExtJS has a lot of these features and a very nice UI toolkit, as does Dojo.
Lucidchart I notice uses the Canvas drawing API as well so thats something you would need to look into for shape manipulation and creating flexible connections. Mozilla Developer Center has some good stuff on the canvas API.
I would start off by taking a look at the Raphael library.
It allows you to write pretty simple Javascript code to draw graphic elements in the browser, including pretty straightforward animations and draggable/clickable interfaces.
In all honesty, it's not going to be quick and easy to write something as complex as the site you linked to, but Raphael is the quickest way to get started with the basics.
And best of all, Raphael is even compatible with older versions of IE, so you don't have to worry about only being able to support the latest browsers (though of course you may want to do other stuff that does need other new features).
Hope that helps.

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