dygraphs JavaScript Visualization Library
+http://github.com/danvk/dygraphs
+See gallery and open issues
The dygraphs JavaScript library produces produces interactive, zoomable charts of time series. It is designed to display dense data sets and enable users to explore and interpret them.
Features
- Plots time series without using an external server or Flash -
- Supports multiple data series
- Supports error bands around data series -
- Displays values on mouseover +
- Displays values on mouseover (this makes it easily discoverable)
- Interactive zoom
- Adjustable averaging period
- Customizable click-through actions +
- Compatible with the Google Visualization API +
- Works in Internet Explorer (using excanvas) +
- Intelligent defaults make it easy to use +
- Lightweight (45kb) and responsive
Caveats
--
-
- Requires Firefox 1.5+ or Safari/WebKit 1.3+. -
- Internet Explorer is poorly supported. -
Demo
-(Mouse over to highlight individual values. Click and drag to zoom. Double-click to zoom out.)-
- - | - - | -
Demo
+(Mouse over to highlight individual values. Click and drag to zoom. Double-click to zoom back out. Change the number and hit enter to adjust the averaging period.)
+Usage
+Some things to notice:
+-
+
- There's less seasonal temperature variation in SF than in NY. +
- The difference is about 15° F for SF vs. 50° F for NY. +
- The daily data (set rolling period to 1) is quite noisy and hides this conclusion. +
- Using a 14-day moving average makes it clearer. A 100-day rolling period averages out nearly all the specifics from the data. +
- There's a gap in the data for SF, when the weather station was down (zoom into October 2007 to see it). +
- The bands around each point indicate average highs and lows. +
- There is a lot of data in this chart: low, average and high for each city on each day of a three year period ≈ 6000 data points in all. +
The DateGraph library depends on two other JS libraries: MochiKit and PlotKit. Rather than tracking down copies of these libraries, I recommend using a packed version of dygraphs that combines all three libraries into a single JS file. Either grab this file from dygraph project's downloads page or create it yourself by checking out a copy of the code and running: +
For more demos, browse the dygraph tests directory.
-./generate-combined.sh+
Usage
-The combined JS file is now in dygraph-combined.js
. Here's a basic example to get things started:
To use dygraphs, include the dygraph-combined.js
JavaScript file and instantiate a Dygraph
object.
Here's a basic example to get things started:
HTML | @@ -100,42 +165,41 @@<html> <head> -<script type="text/javascript" src="combined.js"></script> +<script type="text/javascript" + src="dygraph-combined.js"></script> </head> <body> -<div id="graphdiv" style="width:400px; height:300px;"></div> +<div id="graphdiv"></div> <script type="text/javascript"> - g = new DateGraph( - document.getElementById("graphdiv"), // containing div - function() { // function or path to CSV file. - return "20080507,75\n" + - "20080508,70\n" + - "20080509,80\n"; - }, - [ "Temperature" ], // names of data series - {} // additional options (see below) + g = new Dygraph( + // containing div + document.getElementById("graphdiv"), + // CSV or path to a CSV file. + "Date,Temperature\n" + + "2008-05-07,75\n" + + "2008-05-08,70\n" + + "2008-05-09,80\n", ); </script> </body> </html> | - + |
---|
In order to keep this example self-contained, the second parameter is a function that returns CSV data. These lines must begin with a date in the form YYYYMMDD. In most applications, it makes more sense to include a CSV file instead. If the second parameter to the constructor is a string, it will be interpreted as the path to a CSV file. The DateGraph will perform an XMLHttpRequest to retrieve this file and display the data when it becomes available. Make sure your CSV file is readable and serving from a place that understands XMLHttpRequest's! In particular, you cannot specify a CSV file using "file:///"
. Here's an example: (data from Weather Underground)
In order to keep this example self-contained, the second parameter is raw CSV data. The dygraphs library parses this data (including column headers), resizes the its container to a reasonable default, calculates appropriate axis ranges and tick marks and draws the graph.
+ +In most applications, it makes more sense to include a CSV file instead. If the second parameter to the constructor doesn't contain a newline, it will be interpreted as the path to a CSV file. The Dygraph will perform an XMLHttpRequest to retrieve this file and display the data when it becomes available. Make sure your CSV file is readable and serving from a place that understands XMLHttpRequest's! In particular, you cannot specify a CSV file using "file:///"
. Here's an example: (data from Weather Underground)
HTML | @@ -145,27 +209,28 @@<html> <head> -<script type="text/javascript" src="combined.js"></script> +<script type="text/javascript" + src="dygraph-combined.js"></script> </head> <body> -<div id="graphdiv" style="width:600px; height:300px;"></div> +<div id="graphdiv" + style="width:500px; height:300px;"></div> <script type="text/javascript"> - g = new DateGraph( - document.getElementById("graphdiv"), - "temperatures.csv", // path to CSV file - null, // labels in top line of CSV file - {} - ); + new Dygraph( + document.getElementById("graphdiv"), + "temperatures.csv", // path to CSV file + {} // options + ); </script> </body> </html> | - + |
---|
Click here to view the temperatures.csv
file. There are a few things to note here:
-
-
- Because the third parameter to the DateGraph constructor was
null
, the labels were taken from the first line of the data instead. The first line oftemperatures.csv
isDate,High,Low
.
- - DateGraph automatically chose two different, easily-distinguishable colors for the two data series. +
- The Dygraph sent off an XHR to get the temperatures.csv file. +
- The labels were taken from the first line of
temperatures.csv
, which isDate,High,Low
.
+ - The Dygraph automatically chose two different, easily-distinguishable colors for the two data series.
- The labels on the x-axis have switched from days to months. If you zoom in, they'll switch to weeks and then days. -
- Some heuristics are used to determine a good vertical range for the data. The idea is to make all the data visible and have human-friendly values on the axis (i.e. 200 instead of 193.4). Generally this works well, but in this case the vertical range is way too large. +
- Some heuristics are used to determine a good vertical range for the data. The idea is to make all the data visible and have human-friendly values on the axis (i.e. 200 instead of 193.4). Generally this works well.
- The data is very spiky. A moving average would be easier to interpret.
These last two problems can be fixed by specifying the appropriate options in the fourth parameter to the DateGraph constructor. To set the number of days for a moving average, use the rollPeriod option. To set the range of the y-axis, use the valueRange option. Here's how it's done:
+This problem can be fixed by specifying the appropriate options in the "additional options" parameter to the Dygraph constructor. To set the number of days for a moving average, use the rollPeriod
option. Here's how it's done:
HTML | @@ -190,17 +256,18 @@<html> <head> -<script type="text/javascript" src="combined.js"></script> +<script type="text/javascript" + src="dygraph-combined.js"></script> </head> <body> -<div id="graphdiv" style="width:600px; height:300px;"></div> +<div id="graphdiv" + style="width:500px; height:300px;"></div> <script type="text/javascript"> - g = new DateGraph( + g = new Dygraph( document.getElementById("graphdiv"), - "temperatures.csv", null, + "temperatures.csv", { rollPeriod: 7, showRoller: true, - valueRange: [25, 100] } ); </script> @@ -208,23 +275,22 @@ </html> | - + |
---|
A rolling average can be set using the text box in the lower left-hand corner of the graph (the showRoller attribute is what makes this appear).
+A rolling average can be set using the text box in the lower left-hand corner of the graph (the showRoller attribute is what makes this appear). Also note that we've explicitly set the size of the chart div.
Error Bars
-Another significant feature of the dygraphs library is the ability to display error bars around data series. One standard deviation must be specified for each data point. A +/-n sigma band will be drawn around the data series at that point. If a moving average is being displayed, DateGraph will compute the standard deviation of the average at each point. (i.e. σ = sqrt((σ_1^2 + σ_2^2 + ... + σ_n^2)/n))
+Another significant feature of the dygraphs library is the ability to display error bars around data series. One standard deviation must be specified for each data point. A +/-n sigma band will be drawn around the data series at that point. If a moving average is being displayed, dygraphs will compute the standard deviation of the average at each point. (i.e. σ = sqrt((σ_1^2 + σ_2^2 + ... + σ_n^2)/n))
Here's a demonstration. There are two data series. One is N(100,10)
with a standard deviation of 10 specified at each point. The other is N(80,20)
with a standard deviation of 20 specified at each point. The CSV file was generated using Octave and can be viewed here.
Other Options
-These are the options that can be passed in through the fourth parameter of the DateGraph constructor.
+These are the options that can be passed in through the optional third parameter of the Dygraph constructor. To see demonstrations of many of these options, browse the dygraphs tests directory.
-Name | Sample Value | Description | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
includeZero | +true, false |
+ Usually, dygraphs will use the range of the data plus some padding to + set the range of the y-axis. If this option is set, the y-axis will always + include zero, typically as the lowest value. This can be used to avoid + exaggerating the variance in the data. | +|||
rollPeriod | 7 |
Number of days over which to average data. Discussed extensively above. | -|||
showRoller | true |
Should the rolling average period text box be shown? Default is false. | -|||
colors | ['red', '#00FF00'] |
List of colors for the data series. These can be of the form "#AABBCC" or "rgb(255,100,200)" or "yellow", etc. If not specified, equally-spaced points around a color wheel are used. | -|||
colorSaturation | 1.0 |
If colors is not specified, saturation of the automatically-generated data series colors. (0.0-1.0, default: 1.0) | -|||
colorValue | 0.5 |
If colors is not specified, value of the data series colors, as in hue/saturation/value. (0.0-1.0, default 0.5) | -|||
clickCallback | function(e,date){ alert(date); } |
A function to call when a data point is clicked. The function should take two arguments, the event object for the click and the date that was clicked. (default null) | -|||
errorBars | -false |
- Does the data contain standard deviations? Setting this to true alters - the input format (see above). (default false) | -|||
zoomCallback | +function(minDate,maxDate) {} |
+ A function to call when the zoom window is changed (either by zooming + in or out). minDate and maxDate are millis since epoch. | +|||
strokeWidth | 2.0 |
Width of the data lines. This can be used to increase the contrast or some graphs. (default 1.0) | -|||
dateWindow | -[(new Date('2006-01-01')).valueOf(), | ||||
valueRange | [10, 110] |
Explicitly set the vertical range of the graph to [low, high]. By default, some clever heuristics are used (see above). | -|||
minTickSize | -1
- | The difference between ticks on the y-axis can be greater than or equal - to this, but no less. If you set it to 1, for instance, you'll never get - nonintegral gaps between ticks. | -|||
labelsSeparateLines | true |
Put <br/> between lines in the label string. Often used in conjunction with labelsDiv. (default false) | -|||
labelsDiv | document.getElementById('foo') |
Show data labels in an external div, rather than on the graph. (default null) | -|||
labelsKMB | true |
Show K/M/B for thousands/millions/billions on y-axis (default false). | |||
padding | -{left: 40, right: 30, |
- Adds extra pixels of padding around the graph. Sometimes a dygraph - gets clipped by surrounding text (see the Demo at the top of this page). - Setting this property appropriately will fix this problem. | +labelsDivWidth | +250 | +Width (in pixels) of the div which shows information on the + currently-highlighted points. | +
labelsDivStyles | +{} | +Additional styles to apply to the currently-highlighted points div. For + example, { 'font-weigth': 'bold' } will make the labels bold. | +|||
highlightCircleSize | +3 |
+ Size (in pixels) of the dot drawn over highlighted points (default 3). | +|||
drawPoints | +false |
+ Draw a small dot at each point, in addition to a line going through + the point. This makes the individual data points easier to see, but can + increase visual clutter in the chart. Default: false | +|||
pointSize | +1.0 |
+ The size of the dot to draw on each point in pixels (see + drawPoints). A dot is always drawn when a point is "isolated", i.e. + there is a missing point on either side of it. This also controls the + size of those dots. | +|||
pixelsPerXLabel, pixelsPerYLabel | +50 | +Number of pixels to require between each x- and y-label. Larger values + will yield a sparser axis with fewer ticks. Defaults: 60 (x-axis), 30 + (y-axis). | +|||
xAxisLabelWidth, yAxisLabelWidth | +50 | +Width (in pixels) of the x- and y-axis labels. | +|||
axisLabelFontSize | +14 | +Size of the font (in pixels) to use in the axis labels, both x- and + y-axis. | +|||
rightGap | +5 | +Number of pixels to leave blank at the right edge of the Dygraph. This + makes it easier to highlight the right-most data point. | +|||
errorBars | +false |
+ Does the data contain standard deviations? Setting this to true alters + the input format (see above). (default false) | +|||
sigma | +2 | +When errorBars is set, shade this many standard deviations above/below + each point. | +|||
fractions | +false | +When set, attempt to parse each cell in the CSV file as "a/b", where a + and b are integers. The ratio will be plotted. This allows computation of + Wilson confidence intervals (see below). | +|||
wilsonInterval | +true | +Use in conjunction with the "fractions" option. Instead of plotting +/- + N standard deviations, dygraphs will compute a Wilson confidence interval + and plot that. This has more reasonable behavior for ratios close to 0 or + 1. |
Any options you specify also get passed on to PlotKit's Renderer class. DateGraph will override some of these (e.g. strokeColor), but others may be useful. The padding
property is an example of this.
Common Gotchas
Here are a few problems that I've frequently run into while using the @@ -407,28 +609,37 @@ dygraphs library.
href="http://www.getfirebug.com/">Firebug.YYYYMMDD,series1,series2,...
. If you're specifying the
- names of each data series in the CSV file itself, make sure that you pass
- null
as the third parameter to the DateGraph constructor to let
- the library know that. And if you set the errorBars
property,
- make sure you alternate data series and standard deviations.YYYYMMDD,series1,series2,...
. And if you set the
+ errorBars
property, make sure you alternate data series and
+ standard deviations.
<center>
tag. This applies to the CSS text-align
property as well. If you
- want to center a DateGraph, put it inside a table with "align=center"
+ want to center a Dygraph, put it inside a table with "align=center"
set.colors
property or name the data series
- using the third parameter of the DateGraph constructor, make sure the number
- of data series agree in all places: colors
, third parameter and
- in each line of the CSV file itself.dateWindow
property to a date. It expects
milliseconds since epoch, which can be obtained from a JavaScript Date
object's valueOf method.Data Policy
+dygraphs is purely client-side JavaScript. It does not send your data to any +servers -- the data is processed entirely in the client's browser.
+Created May 9, 2008 by Dan Vanderkam
+ + + + + + +