Interactive visualization

As explained in D3.js in Action, Third Edition

An interactive visualization is a data visualization that changes or reveals information in response to user actions or dynamic data.

Interactive visualization changes or reveals information through user actions or dynamic data. Compared with static charts, it lets people explore datasets, inspect connections, focus on subsets, find outliers, and draw conclusions. section 1.3 section 7.1

A practical D3 workflow builds interaction around visible chart behavior:

• Listen for user events, such as mouse or touch input, and connect them to chart updates. section 7.0 section 7.1.1
• Filter existing charts to expose a relevant subset of data. section 7.0 section 7.1
• Use tooltips to reveal details without placing every value directly on the chart. section 7.0 section 7.1.1
• Animate enter, update, and exit selections with smooth, reusable transitions. section 7.0

Plan each interaction around the audience, available exploration time, device, subject knowledge, and technical confidence. Keep essential information visible, provide instructions when needed, and remove interactions that add novelty without improving understanding. section 7.1.1

Interactive flavor projects

The “98 flavors of Ben & Jerry’s,” “79 Additions of Ben & Jerry’s” chord diagram, and “Complete Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Guide” projects provide concrete visualization artifacts for exploring interactive presentation. section 1.3

“The 98 flavors of Ben & Jerry’s” project

Browse the “98 flavors of Ben & Jerry’s” project as a concrete interactive-visualization artifact. section 1.3

How D3.js in Action, Third Edition covers it

How deep it goes

Explains event listeners, filtering, tooltips, transitions, and selection updates through chart projects, while deferring brushing, zooming, and panning.

Examples

Uses filtered histograms, temperature-line tooltips, streamgraph breakdowns, scatterplots, and Ben & Jerry’s visualization projects.

What it assumes

Assumes familiarity with D3 charts and building blocks; teaches event listening, filtering, tooltips, and transitions through reuse.

What you can do after

Build it from scratch with D3 by wiring events, filters, tooltips, and animated enter-update-exit behavior into charts.

How it connects

Connects D3 with static visualization, user experience, event listeners, filtering, tooltips, transitions, brushing, zooming, and panning.

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Also explained in

• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Everyday Data VisualizationA data visualization whose displayed content or level of detail can be changed through user interaction.

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Related concepts

• datasetuses · A dataset is an organized collection of related data items, records, or observations treated as a unit for storage, processing, analysis, or computation.
• data explorationuses · Data exploration is the systematic examination and summarization of data to understand its structure, quality, distributions, relationships, patterns, and anomalies.
• data applicationkind of · A data application is software whose functionality substantially involves collecting, processing, analyzing, presenting, or interacting with data.
• tooltiphas part · A tooltip is a transient interface label that displays brief contextual information near an associated element during interaction.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of D3.js in Action, Third Edition. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.