Sunday, April 20, 2014

Experimenting with d3.js

I had a chance to experiment with d3.js, one of many Javascript libraries that can create awesome data visualization diagrams by using  HTML, SVG and CSS. When I saw the gallery of examples in GitHub I wanted to try every single one. Setting up the library locally was very easy, and trying out the first tutorials was addictive and rewarding. Coming from a background of traditional Javascript, I had a to stretch my mind to adjust to a new way of thinking, and I was able to produce some interesting results. However, to be really good at using this library you need to be willing to invest a lot of your time, and also be a ninja with JavaScript arrays. If you have the time and the inclination, it's an interesting library that I found easy to learn but hard to master.