Chapter 8. Advanced Visualization

Visualization methods have transformed from the traditional bar and pie graphs several decades ago to much more creative forms lately. Designing visualization is not as straightforward as picking one from the many choices that a particular tool offers. The right visualization conveys the right message, and the wrong visualization may distort, confuse, or convey the wrong message.

Computers and storage devices within them are useful in not only storing large chunks of data using data structures, but also to use the power of computing via algorithms. According to Michael Bostock, the creator of D3.js and a leading visualization expert, we should visualize the algorithm and not just the data that feeds into it. An algorithm is the core engine behind any process or computational model; therefore, this algorithm has become an important use case for visualization.

Visualizing algorithms has only been recognized in the recent past few years, and one interesting...