JavaScript and jQuery for Data Analysis and Visualization

Chapter 4Integrating Existing Data

What's in This Chapter

• The basics of working asynchronously
• Techniques for working with different data formats (CSV, XML and JSON)
• Shortcuts for styling structured data
• Example of rendering external JSON data as a chart

CODE DOWNLOAD The wrox.com code downloads for this chapter are found at www.wrox.com/go/javascriptandjqueryanalysis on the Download Code tab. The code is in the chapter 04 download and individually named according to the names throughout the chapter.

The lion's share of the data visualist's work involves rendering existing data. Data can be stored in many different formats—plain text, CSV, XML, JSON, and others—but as long as it is in a digital format, chances are there are JavaScript and other server-side routines to access the information for representation. Naturally, some circumstances, such as building a complex infographic, require that you incorporate data manually. However, wherever possible, it's a good idea to keep content (the data) separate from presentation (the charting) as demonstrated throughout this chapter. Not only does this methodology make it a breeze to make updates, but it also opens the door to enhanced accessibility and data transparency.

Reading Data from Standard Text Files

Data is often stored in a plain text file. To be clear, “plain” or “standard” text refers to files such as .txt files that contain no extraneous coding or meta information. This section examines techniques for reading ...