Maps are awesome. Adding charts to a map is even more awesome. In addition to mapping data at Geocommons, users can now visualize the same data by utilizing our newly introduced charts. The backbone of these charts was created using g.Raphael, which is based on Raphael‘s JavaScript graphics library. RaphaelJS offers the unique ability to draw Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) across browsers and platforms by using SVG to draw vectors and implementing VML logic for older IE browsers. Point, line, area, column and pie charts are all included now in Geocommons.
Creating a chart is easy! After making a map, users can now select the option to include a chart (or many), then build it in two quick steps. First, select a chart type, then feed it the data one wishes to chart. The chart details pane allows users to easily change the chart’s title, x and y axis, attributes label, and how the chart is to be sorted.
The chart then displays in a dashboard at the bottom of the map together with the layer’s data grid. One can easily save this chart, add another, or edit the chart data feeds and type to better represent your data. The chart below looks at base elevation compared to total acreage for Colorado ski resorts. The chart clearly that resorts with higher base elevations are generally smaller in acreage in comparison to those with lower base elevations. Simple as this information may be, and even logical in this case, it offers more insight into the mapped data and provides new tools for analysis for the user.
Additional Tools and Functionality
Functionality for the charts includes sorting data (highest/lowest), charting numeric and non-numeric data, and creating multiple charts for the same layer. The charts are also interactive. As in the image below, selecting a feature on the bar chart will highlight the matching feature on the map. By mousing over the values in the charts, users are alerted to the associated values via overlay tooltips.
Charting non-numeric data is handled with our pie charts. For example, if you wish to view how many of your data points share the same description for a specified data set, you would select pie chart and choose “description” as the selected attribute.
More announcements to be forthcoming as we continue to release new capabilities in Geocommons!
4 Responses to More Ways to Visualize Data: Charts
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You guys using Raphael 2.0 ?
BT
Brian, not in this particular example. But it looks pretty nice!
Interesting, good work. But cartography is not a simple graph, and some precautions are mandatory. For example on your example, the data must be sorted before drawing the circles, so that big ones don’t mask the littles ones. One must also verify that the surface of the symbol is proportionnal to the value (not the radius or diameter).
Also, a well-known principle often compromised: viewers visually judge area charts (e.g., pie) quite a bit more poorly than graphs or charts based on length (e.g., column) in terms of matching it to data (i.e., the actual numbers).